Bill Text: CA ACR128 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 47-23-1)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 171, Statutes of 2016. [ACR128 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR128-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 128 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 171
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 29, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brown
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula,
Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia,
Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood)
JANUARY 28, 2016
Relative to Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 128, Brown. Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month.
This measure would recognize the month of September 2016 as Sickle
Cell Anemia Awareness Month.
WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia and sickle cell disease, used
interchangeably, refer to a group of inherited disorders that affect
the red blood cells; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which a person's body
produces abnormally shaped red blood cells that resemble a crescent
or sickle and that do not last as long as normal round red blood
cells, which leads to anemia. The sickle cells also get stuck in
blood vessels and block blood flow, which can cause pain and organ
damage; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder that occurs in
individuals who are born with two sickle cell genes, each inherited
from one parent. An individual with only one sickle cell gene has
"sickle cell trait," which occurs in one out of every 12 African
Americans and in one out of every 100 Latinos in the United States;
and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Health and
Human Services Office of Minority Health, approximately two million
Americans carry the sickle cell trait, and unlike most people with
sickle cell anemia, most people who have sickle cell trait never know
they have it and can live their entire lives without any
complications from it; and
WHEREAS, Serious problems associated with sickle cell trait are
rare. However, exercise-related sudden death in individuals who have
sickle cell trait most commonly occurs in those undergoing intense
physical exertion, such as military recruits in basic training and
athletes during conditioning workouts; and
WHEREAS, Individuals with sickle cell trait should not be excluded
from physical activity, including sports, unless recommended by
medical personnel. Instead, people should be educated about
precautions that should be taken, including drinking adequate amounts
of fluids, pacing training with longer periods of rest and recovery,
avoiding participation in performance tests such as sprints and mile
runs, and, most importantly, being familiar with the symptoms of
overexertion; and
WHEREAS, According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, it is estimated that more than 90,000 Americans have
sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia occurs in one out of every 500
African American births and in one out of every 36,000 Latino
births; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia can be a life-threatening condition,
and access to comprehensive care can be limited by social, economic,
cultural, and geographic barriers; and
WHEREAS, The average cost of hospitalization for sickle cell
anemia in 2004 was $6,223, for more than 84,000 hospital admissions
that year. Total hospitalization costs for individuals with sickle
cell anemia equaled $488,000,000, of which 65 percent were covered by
Medicaid funds; and
WHEREAS, Individuals living with sickle cell anemia encounter
barriers to obtaining quality care and improving their quality of
life. These barriers include limitations in geographic access to
comprehensive care, the varied use of effective treatments, the high
reliance on emergency care and public health programs, and the
limited number of health care providers with knowledge and experience
to manage and treat sickle cell anemia; and
WHEREAS, The Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act was signed into law in
1972 by President Richard Nixon after pledging that his
administration would "reverse the record of neglect of the dreaded
disease" by increasing funding for and expanding sickle cell
anemia-related programs, including the development of comprehensive
sickle cell anemia centers; and
WHEREAS, In 1975, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America,
Inc., and its member organizations began conducting month-long events
in September to call attention to sickle cell anemia and the need to
address the problem at national and local levels, and chose
September as National Sickle Cell Awareness Month in order for the
public to reflect on the children and adults whose lives, education,
and careers have been affected by this disease; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell disease is a chronic condition that can
affect any organ, including the kidneys, lungs, and spleen. Research
indicates that patients experience many severe complications,
including stroke, infections, and pulmonary embolism; and
WHEREAS, Pain is the most common complication of sickle cell
disease and the primary reason that people with the disease go to the
emergency room or hospital; and
WHEREAS, While there is no widely available cure for sickle cell
disease, emerging treatments, including medications that prevent
blood cells from sickling, are being studied; and
WHEREAS, A potentially groundbreaking investigational drug, GMI
1070, designed to treat painful vaso-occlusive crises, which occur
when red blood cells lump together and impede blood flow in sickle
cell patients, has been found to be safe following a clinical trial
at the University of California, Davis; and
WHEREAS, In 2003, the Sickle Cell Treatment Act was signed into
law; and
WHEREAS, The effort to officially recognize Sickle Cell Anemia
Awareness Month succeeded at the federal level in 1983 when the
United States House of Representatives unanimously passed, and
President Ronald Reagan signed, the first resolution introduced by
the Congressional Black Caucus that recognized September as National
Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the month of
September 2016 as Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
