Who would oppose a bill to "Protect California's Seniors from Financial Abuse?"

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Today, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Democratic-sponsored Financial Elder Abuse Reporting Act of 2005 to help protect California's elderly and dependent adults from financial abuse.

According to the Governor's press release - "This legislation will both help protect our elderly citizens by keeping them out of the grasp of unscrupulous people, while also protecting our financial institutions from frivolous lawsuits."

According to the Attorney General’s Office, more than 225,000 elderly Californians are the subject of financial abuse. Seems like a good enough reason to enact legislation, right?

So...who in their right mind would oppose this new law sponsored by the California State Sheriffs' Association and supported by a host of groups including the American Association of Retired Persons California, the California District Attorneys Association and the CA Police Chiefs Association?

That would be the man who would like to be the next Republican Attorney General of California: "Tough on crime" Senator Chuck Poochigian.

Pooch, along with almost the entire Senate Republican Caucus and eighteen members of the Assembly Republican Caucus, bucked their Governor and said "NO" to protecting seniors from financial abuse.

We now know where the GOP priorities are…sticking to party lines, even if it means putting the elderly citizens of California on the sidelines.

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