Kentucky seniors would have more protection against financial exploitation under a bill okayed by the House Banking and Insurance Committee today.

House Bill 794 adds seniors 65 and older to the list of those protected under the state's exploitation laws.

It also increases criminal penalties under the law.

Republican State Representative Matt Lockett of Nicholasville sponsors the bill.

He says it also creates stronger safeguards for spotting and stopping financial exploitation, including more training for financial institutions.

Senior adults age 65 and older, as you guys know, have been very vulnerable to financial exploitation.

And so what the bill does, it increases the, felony limits to, to those it also requires those of us that are in the business to, do, do three hours per day per year, of credit.

That will be included in the 12 hours that's already included.

It.

It also, requires firms.

If an agent or someone, says that they are, they are going to put a hold, on a withdrawal.

They can do that already by state law.

What this says is that if they do that, the firm, must have procedures in place to to log that, who requested it?

Why?

All of those, those types of things.

And every person in the firm has to be trained on those procedures.

According to Kentucky's adult protective services, the abusers and almost 90% of elder financial exploitation cases are family members or trusted caregivers.