JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP Attorney General
CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General
AGO 82-1113
No. 82-1113
California Attorney General Opinion
Office of the Attorney General State of California
April 6, 1983
THE
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE has
requested an opinion on the following question:
Is the
California Commission on Aging and Long-Term Care empowered
by law to sell advertising space in its monthly newsletter,
The Senior Advocate, to help defray the cost of printing and
publishing such newsletter?
CONCLUSION
The
California Commission on Aging and Long-Term Care is not
empowered by law to sell advertising space in its monthly
newsletter, The Senior Advocate, to help defray the cost of
printing and publishing such newsletter.
ANALYSIS
The
Older Californians Act is contained in division 8.5 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, section 9000 et
seq.
1
Under that act both the California Commission on Aging and
Long-Term Care (§ 9200 et seq.) and the California
Department of Aging and Long-Term Care (§ 9300) are
established, as well as Area Agencies on Aging (§ 9350
et seq.,) and advisory councils thereof (§ 9360 et seq.)
and community long-term care agencies (§ 9810 et seq.).
Our focus herein is on the California Commission on Aging and
Long-Term Care (hereinafter "Commission"), and its
newsletter, "The Senior Advocate."
The
duties and functions of the Commission are generally set
forth in section 9201. The Commission is to act as the
"principal advocate body in the state on behalf of older
persons and younger functionally impaired adults." In
acting in such capacity the Commission is to perform such
duties and functions as advising the Department of Aging and
Long-Term Care and aiding it in preparing a State Plan on
Aging, holding hearings throughout the state to gather
information to advise the Governor, Legislature and all state
agencies regarding solutions to problems confronting older
persons and younger functionally impaired adults, and
participating in workshops for the benefit of other
"senior advocates."
Subdivision
(c) of section 9201 sets forth the specific duty of the
Commission which gives rise to this request for our opinion.
It provides that the Commission is to:
"(c) Prepare, publish and disseminate information,
findings and recommendations regarding the well-being of
older or functionally impaired adults."
To
discharge its duty to "prepare, publish and disseminate
information," the Commission has been publishing for a
number of years a monthly newsletter containing
information of interest to older citizens. For example, the
July 1982 newsletter consisted of eight pages and contained
reports on the 1981 White House Conference on Aging, state
legislation both enacted and proposed of interest to older
citizens, the Commission's position on certain election
matters, and a report on social security and private pension
matters. To date the Commission has paid the costs of
printing and publishing...