Committee advances bill to expand free dementia training for businesses after personal testimony from caregivers

A House committee recommended SB 2259 to advance after testimony from caregivers, advocates and agency staff urging the legislature to expand free dementia-awareness training for businesses.

Hayden Cobb, who said he helped draft the bill, recounted losing both parents and urged passage: “I lost my dad to Alzheimer's disease… I strongly believe if my parents' workplace had access to these free dementia training programs, they might still be alive right now.” Jean Simon and other caregivers described workplace caregiver strain and supported employer access to training.

Kobi Chok of the Alzheimer's Association urged amendments allowing DBEDT to offer retraining every two years to address workforce turnover and to clarify EOA’s role supporting rollout. Dennis Ling of DBEDT said the program is worthy but noted DBEDT lacks direct relationships with health and aging service providers and that training must be made feasible for businesses (for example, online delivery) to ensure uptake.

Committee members asked whether the house and senate versions align and whether retraining and online options were feasible; witnesses said the Alzheimer’s Association already offers online modules and that retraining provisions would help ensure trained personnel remain available in high-turnover workplaces.

Next steps: The committee recommended the measure pass with technical amendments and asked staff and stakeholders to reconcile language between house and senate versions and to define program leadership and retraining cadence.