Executive Order  No. 71: Establishing a Governor's Special Planning Commission on Elderly Affairs

WHEREAS, the problems of our senior citizens in Massachusetts can be solved only by the combined efforts and resources of all segments of the community; and

WHEREAS, by call of the Congress and the President of the United States, a 1971 White House conference on the Aging has been declared a vital national priority; and

WHEREAS, the Congress and the President have invited the states to undertake immediate evaluation of programs and services for the elderly in preparation for said conference;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Francis W. Sargent, Governor of the Commonwealth, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order as follows:

1. There is hereby established a commission to be known as the "Governor's Special Planning Commission on Elderly Affairs and the 1971 White House Conference on the Aging" to consist of not more than sixty members representing, among others, the following segments of the community: the elderly, business, government, labor, academia, the clergy, the health professions, and social welfare services. Twenty- five members shall be appointed by the Governor, five by the President of the Senate and five by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Governor shall name one of the appointed members chairman and one a deputy chairman. Said deputy chairman shall serve on a semi-staff basis and shall be permitted compensation for said staff work. The remaining members shall be elected by vote of the thirty-five appointees. Any vacancies which may occur shall be filled by the Governor.

2. The Commission shall (a) survey and evaluate Massachusetts programs and services for the elderly, (b) prepare a report for the governor on the status of said programs and an inventory of the needs of the elderly for programs and services, (c) make recommendations from time to time to the Governor on improvements in existing programs, (d) plan and prepare a report for the 1971 White House Conference on the Aging, (e) select, with the approval of the Governor, the Massachusetts delegation to said conference, (f) make a report to the Governor on the results of said conference, and (g) coordinate, with the approval of the Governor, the implementation of the recommendations of said conference.

3. The Commission shall appoint from among its members an Executive Committee of not more than fifteen members who shall administer the affairs of the Commission and its staff and who shall, with the approval of the Commission, promulgate rules and procedures for the Commission's activities. The Executive Committee shall include the Chairman and the Deputy Chairmen of the Commission among said fifteen members.

4. The Commission may, with the approval of the Governor and the Department of Community Affairs, hire or contract with an appropriate staff which shall be funded through federal grants to the Department of Community Affairs, in conformity with state law. The Department shall, in addition, hire one permanent liaison agent to serve with the Commission staff and may assign employees of the Bureau of Aging to serve with the staff from time to time.

5. The Commission shall meet at regular intervals in public or executive session and may hold public hearings and seminars in various parts of the Commonwealth.

6. There is hereby established a Governmental Advisory Committee to consist of thirteen members of the legislature, five to be appointed by the Governor, four by the President of the Senate and four by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Commissioners of Administration, Community Affairs, Mental Health, Public Health, Public Welfare, Education, Natural Resources and Rehabilitation, the Commissioner for the Blind, the Director of the Division of Employment Security and the Director of the Office of Planning and Program Coordination, whose function shall be to advise, cooperate with and establish coordination with the Commission. The Governor shall appoint a chairman from among the members of the Governmental Advisory Committee who, by virtue of that office, shall serve as a gubernatorial appointee and a Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

7. The Commission shall receive the cooperation of all state departments and agencies in carrying out its responsibilities.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this tenth day of April in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seventy and of the Independence of the United States of America, one hundred and ninety-third.

FRANCIS W. SARGENT
Acting Governor
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

JOHN F. X. DAVOREN
Secretary of the Commonwealth