Substitute Senate Bill No. 1053, Special Act No. 23-17, is an act that establishes a task force to study and make recommendations concerning the elderly nutrition program administered by the Department of Aging and Disability Services. The study will cover various aspects of the program, including eligibility requirements, meal types, costs of meal preparation and delivery, the number of participants versus those in need, funding adequacy, and the contracting process for service providers. The task force will be composed of members appointed by various legislative leaders and will include representatives from area agencies on aging, elderly nutrition providers, a senior citizen who receives meals through the program, and designees from the Department of Aging and Disability Services and the Department of Social Services.
The task force will also include members of the General Assembly, and all appointments must be made within thirty days of the act's effective date. The task force will be chaired by the House and Senate chairpersons of the joint standing committee on human services or their designees, and the administrative staff of this committee will serve as the task force's administrative staff. The task force is required to submit a report on its findings and recommendations by January 15, 2024, to the joint standing committees on aging and human services, after which it will terminate. The first meeting of the task force is scheduled to take place no later than August 1, 2023.