On the agenda — seniors’ issues from long term care to education and medical issues.

They will be pushing for more oversight of people in the caregiving industry, more tax exemptions for services seniors would be likely to use, and increased Medicaid funding for assisting living communities.

One proposal that may be taken up would require drivers over 70 to take a defensive driving course.

“There’s been a lot of talk about senior driving and we thought we should come up with an idea from our own point of view,” said Theodore Riehl, 81, of Flasher. “We need to make them better drivers, more aware, because you’re never on the road alone.”

Not all of the proposals are senior-specific. Assembly President Ray Siver, 71, of Grand Forks, is pushing legislation that would put an organ donor symbol on license plates to alert police officers to act more quickly.

“It could save some time and perhaps some organs,” Siver said.

Ramona Two Shields, 68, has a couple of her own ideas for legislation; she is the first representative for the Indian reservations in several years.

She wants to do more to address senior housing issues on the reservation, where she said seniors are ignored and left in substandard living conditions while younger people move into new housing.

She also said little has been done on the reservation to stop elder abuse or punish those who hurt seniors.

Beyond bills, Two Shields said she was eager to use the House’s electronic voting system, something her tribe has ordered but has yet to use.

The Silver Haired Legislative Assembly takes seniors through the entire legislative process from committee meetings to drafting bills to debating and voting.

Robert Johnson, 78, of Bismarck, spent years roaming the halls of the Capitol as head of the League of Cities but said he hopes this will give him a new perspective.

“You can understand the process from a layman’s point of view, but you don’t really understand it until you’ve done it yourself,” Johnson said.

The steering committee will meet after the assembly to prioritize the bills that passed and bring them forward to actual legislators.

“We look for sponsors on both sides of the aisle. We’ve had more

success that way,” Siver said.

“You’re supposed to get to know your representatives and senators because that’s how you get them to push something that affects you,” Riehl said.

rebecca.beitsch@bismarcktribune.com.)

(Reach reporter Rebecca Beitsch at 250-8255 or 223-8482 or