Bill Text: CA ACR110 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Step Up California Month and Step Up California Day.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2010-08-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 108, Statutes of 2010. [ACR110 Detail]

Download: California-2009-ACR110-Enrolled.html

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BILL NUMBER: ACR 110	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2010
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 20, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Conway and Beall
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Block, Chesbro, Eng, Hall, Hill,
Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Nestande, Niello, Saldana, and Audra
Strickland)

                        JANUARY 27, 2010

   Relative to Step Up California Month and Step Up California Day.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 110, Conway. Step Up California Month and Step Up California
Day.
   This measure would designate the month of February 2010, and
February 2011, as Step Up California Month, designate February 3,
2010, and February 3, 2011, as Step Up California Day, and encourage
and support various activities relating to the reduction of poverty.




   WHEREAS, According to the decades-old federal poverty measure,
California's poverty rate was 12.8 percent and is projected to reach
17 percent by 2014; and
   WHEREAS, Due to higher costs of living in the state, California
families need an income that is two to three times higher than the
poverty line just to make ends meet; and
   WHEREAS, Families unable to save and that live paycheck to
paycheck, just one layoff or hospital bill away from state support,
make up the asset poor in California and outnumber those officially
considered to be in poverty; and
   WHEREAS, One in four homeless Americans is a Californian and the
housing crisis has significantly impacted California. As of August
2007, four out of the top 10 metropolitan areas for foreclosures in
the United States were in California. Nearly 250 residential
developments with a combined total of 9,389 houses and condominiums,
and an estimated worth of $3.5 billion, are now on hold. Rising
foreclosures are putting families at risk and decreasing home values
are endangering elderly people whose main asset is their home; and
   WHEREAS, One in four families that lose their source of income
would only last three months or less on savings. While a source of
income maintains a family, savings and assets make higher education,
entrepreneurship, debt reduction, and retirement possible; and
   WHEREAS, 2009 is the third consecutive year of drought in
California, resulting in record unemployment rates, with over 40
percent unemployment in some communities, food shortages, and adverse
impacts on the stability of families, businesses, communities, and
ecosystems; and
   WHEREAS, The demand for basic safety net services from public and
nonprofit service providers is dramatically increasing while historic
cuts in state funding and a deteriorating economy are reducing or
eliminating both public and private financial resources for these
services; and
   WHEREAS, The most vulnerable members of our communities who are
poor, including the severely disabled, the sick, the elderly, the
seriously mentally ill, and the dying, may always need assistance
from others to survive; and
   WHEREAS, The poor are two to five times more likely to suffer from
a mental disorder than any other group and are more likely to
encounter significant barriers to obtaining treatment; and
   WHEREAS, Poverty particularly affects the elderly and the young.
More than 800,000 California seniors are unable to pay for basic
needs, including housing, food, transportation, and medical care.
Approximately 22 percent of California's children are poor, and the
impact of poverty on young children is significant and enduring; and
   WHEREAS, Families where adults lack a high school diploma have a
poverty rate of 41 percent and single-mother families have a poverty
rate of 37 percent, highlighting the importance of education at a
time when education becomes more expensive and less available to
families; and
   WHEREAS, California has the eighth largest economy in the world,
has the largest population of any state, and has been at the
forefront of technological and cultural innovation throughout its
history; and
   WHEREAS, For the good of our great state, Californians must step
up and apply this innovative spirit to reducing poverty and
increasing economic opportunities; and
   WHEREAS, There are multiple ways that individuals, organizations,
and corporations can step up to cut poverty, regardless of political
or religious affiliation, race, gender, and economic status; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature commends the Step Up
California Campaign to Cut Poverty and all the individuals and
organizations working to reduce poverty in California; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature encourages all Californians to help
those in need, including volunteering time and donating money to
direct service providers; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature supports the broadening of economic
opportunities and asset ownership for all Californians in order to
reduce poverty and strengthen the economy, and shall advance policies
that support those ends; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature designates February 2010, and
February 2011, as Step Up California Month, and February 3, 2010, and
February 3, 2011, as Step Up California Day in California; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.