Bill Text: CA ACR239 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and The Longest Day.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 54-21-1)

Status: (Passed) 2018-08-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 162, Statutes of 2018. [ACR239 Detail]

Download: California-2017-ACR239-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Concurrent Resolution

No. 239

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Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Cooley)

May 14, 2018

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Relative to Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and The Longest Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 239, as introduced, Maienschein. Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and The Longest Day.

This measure would recognize the month of June 2018 as California’s Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and Thursday June 21, 2018, as The Longest Day in California, and would urge all Californians to wear purple on this day to help spread global awareness of the Alzheimer’s Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s disease.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: NO  

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Bill Text

WHEREAS, The month of June 2018 has been declared Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month to help educate the public on this debilitating disease and the need to increase efforts to combat its human and economic costs; and

WHEREAS, The summer solstice, June 21, 2018, has been declared The Longest Day, with teams around the world coming together to honor the strength, passion, and endurance of people facing Alzheimer’s disease with a day of activity and advocacy; and

WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder, tragically robs individuals of their memories and leads to cognitive decline resulting in functional, emotional, and behavioral impairment; and

WHEREAS, California has 650,000 residents living with Alzheimer’s disease, more than any other state in the nation, and the state’s population is projected to grow by 29 percent in the next decade, reaching 840,000 individuals by 2025; and

WHEREAS, California’s Medi-Cal program will spend $3.8 billion this year on skilled nursing care and home and community-based supports for beneficiaries living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that amount is expected to climb quickly to $5 billion within eight years; and

WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is always fatal and today it is the third leading cause of death in California; and

WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is a family disease impacting 1.6 million California spouses, partners, children, and other relatives who provide unpaid assistance to a loved one; and

WHEREAS, California caregivers devote 1.8 billion hours of unpaid assistance to family members valued at over $23 billion in nongovernment financial support; and

WHEREAS, California’s 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey found that 27.1 percent of people with memory problems in California live alone; and

WHEREAS, African Americans, Latinos, and women are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and have higher prevalence rates than the general population; and

WHEREAS, Disparities in detection and diagnosis persist and less than 50 percent of individuals affected by the disease receive a formal diagnosis that is disclosed to them by a clinician and documented in their medical records; and

WHEREAS, On average, a person with Alzheimer’s disease lives four to eight years after diagnosis, but may live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors; and

WHEREAS, Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, which has no known cause, cure, or prevention; and

WHEREAS, Californians invest in Alzheimer’s research through the voluntary tax check-off fund and have raised more than $24 million since its inception for research into treatments to slow the progress of or cure the disease; and

WHEREAS, Individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers need acknowledgment, support, and services to meet their needs over the lengthy progression of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes June 2018 as California’s Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and Thursday, June 21, 2018, as The Longest Day in California, and urges all Californians to wear purple on that day to help spread global awareness of the Alzheimer’s Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s disease, and be it further;

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.