Bill Text: CA ACR51 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 45, Statutes of 2015. [ACR51 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR51-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 51 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 45
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 26, 2015
ADOPTED IN SENATE MAY 18, 2015
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wood
MARCH 23, 2015
Relative to West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 51, Wood. West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
This measure would declare the week of April 19, 2015, through
April 25, 2015, as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
WHEREAS, West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can
result in debilitating cases of meningitis and encephalitis and death
to humans, horses, avian species, and other wildlife; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, West Nile virus resulted in 29 human deaths in
California, a 93 percent increase over 2013, and 798 individual cases
in 31 counties, nearly doubling the number of cases during 2013, of
which 543 developed neuroinvasive disease; and
WHEREAS, The State Department of Public Health and the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict West Nile virus
will again pose a public health threat in California in 2015; and
WHEREAS, Adequately funded mosquito and vector control, disease
surveillance, and public awareness programs, coupled with best
management practices on public and private lands, are the best ways
to prevent outbreaks of West Nile virus and other diseases borne by
mosquitoes and other vectors; and
WHEREAS, Mosquitoes and other vectors, including, but not limited
to, ticks, Africanized honeybees, rats, fleas, and flies, continue to
be a source of human suffering, illness, and death, and a public
nuisance in California and around the world; and
WHEREAS, Excess numbers of mosquitoes and other vectors spread
diseases, reduce enjoyment of both public and private outdoor living
spaces, reduce property values, hinder outdoor work, reduce livestock
productivity, and have a negative impact on the environment; and
WHEREAS, As a result of the threat mosquitos posed to California's
economic development and the health of its citizens, the Legislature
enacted, in 1915, 100 years ago, the Mosquito Abatement Districts
Act; and
WHEREAS, Professional mosquito and vector control based on
scientific research has made great advances in safely reducing
mosquito and vector populations and the diseases they transmit; and
WHEREAS, Established mosquito- and vector-borne diseases, such as
plague, Lyme disease, flea-borne typhus, and encephalitis, and new
and emerging vector-borne diseases, such as hantavirus, arenavirus,
babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis, cause illness and sometimes death every
year in California; and
WHEREAS, Two invasive mosquito species in California, Aedes
albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, which was detected in southern
California in 2011, and Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito,
which was detected in central and northern California in 2013, and in
southern California in 2014, are posing new public health threats
due to their capability to transmit potentially deadly or
debilitating diseases, such as dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya,
diseases that are not currently transmitted in California, as well
as other encephalitis-causing viruses; and
WHEREAS, Mosquito and vector control districts throughout the
State of California work closely with the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and the State Department of Public Health to
reduce pesticide risks to humans, animals, and the environment while
protecting human health from mosquito- and vector-borne diseases and
nuisance attacks; and
WHEREAS, Best management practices, emphasizing nonchemical
approaches, have been developed to guide mosquito control that can
significantly reduce mosquito populations for new development and on
state and private lands; and
WHEREAS, The State Department of Public Health maintains
information on how to eliminate risks from vectors at both
www.cdph.ca.gov and www.westnile.ca.gov, which the public is
encouraged to review; and
WHEREAS, The public's awareness of the health benefits associated
with safe, professionally applied mosquito and vector control methods
will support these efforts, as well as motivate the state and the
public to eliminate mosquito and vector breeding sites on public and
private property; and
WHEREAS, Educational programs have been developed to include
schools, civic groups, private industry, and government agencies, in
order to meet the public's need for information about West Nile
virus, other diseases, and mosquito and vector biology and control;
and
WHEREAS, Public awareness can result in reduced production of
mosquitoes and other vectors on residential, commercial, and public
lands by responsible parties, avoidance of the bites of mosquitoes
and other vectors when the risk of West Nile virus and other disease
transmission is high, detection of human cases of mosquito- and
vector-borne diseases that may otherwise be misdiagnosed for lack of
appropriate laboratory testing, and the formation of mosquito or
vector control agencies where needed; and
WHEREAS, Public awareness can result in action to provide adequate
funding for existing mosquito and vector control agencies or to
create control agencies in areas where there are no existing
controls; and
WHEREAS, West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness
Week will increase the public's awareness of the threat of West Nile
virus and other diseases and the activities of the various mosquito
and vector research and control agencies working to minimize the
health threat within California, and will highlight the educational
programs currently available; and
WHEREAS, The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California
has designated the week of April 19 to April 25, 2015, inclusive, as
West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week in
the State of California; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares that the
week of April 19 to April 25, 2015, inclusive, be designated as West
Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit a copy of
this resolution to the Governor, the State Public Health Officer, and
the author for appropriate distribution.
