Elder abuse legislation unveiled

A proposal to encourage more reporting of senior abuse and strengthen penalties against people convicted of the abuse will be unveiled tomorrow at the state Capitol.

The measure will deal with physical and financial abuse of elderly people.

Republican state Senator Tanya Schuitmaker has worked on the issue for a couple years.

“You hear all too often about many cases that—where seniors are getting defrauded and certainly there are vulnerable adults out there that need to be protected.”

“I think [the proposal] strengthens and tightens the regulations that are also there. It also adds some assistance in terms of when someone with Alzheimer’s walks away that there’s a system of alert similar to the Amber Alert.”

Schuitmaker will introduce the bills during “Older Michiganians Day” at the Capitol. She expects the Legislature to vote on the measure this fall.