House members questioned the potential effects on Pennsylvania’s aging population of funding a proposal to create a state-run registry of home-care workers at a hearing Wednesday.

The proposal, called the Consumer Workforce Council, would create a board of consumers and public officials to address home-care concerns and a voluntary registry of direct-care workers.

Rendell administration officials say the council would help workers lobby for higher wages and benefits, and increase the availability of home-based care. However, the plan has drawn criticism from those who believe agency officials intend to implement it statewide without legislative input.

Representatives from the Aging and Older Adult Services and Labor Relations committees questioned department secretaries from Aging, Public Welfare, and Labor and Industry for the first panel of the four-and-a-half-hour hearing, before hearing from supporters and proponents within the industry.

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