Bill Text: CA SCR121 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-12 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 39, Statutes of 2016. [SCR121 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SCR121-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 121 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 39
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 12, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE MAY 9, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wieckowski
MARCH 28, 2016
Relative to West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 121, Wieckowski. West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector
Control Awareness Week.
This measure would declare the week of April 17, 2016, to April
23, 2016, inclusive, as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector
Control Awareness Week in California.
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 2015, West Nile virus resulted in 53 human deaths in
California, more than triple the number from 2013, and 783 individual
cases in 41 counties; 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 the Mosquito Abatement Districts Act, just over a century
ago, in 1915; 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, new and
emerging vector-borne diseases, such as hantavirus and babesiosis,
and travel-associated mosquito-borne disease threats, such as dengue,
chikungunya, and Zika, can cause illness and sometimes death 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, These invasive species of mosquitos are responsible for
transmitting the Zika virus, an infectious disease that has seen
growth in Latin America over the past several months. Public health
officials have recommended that pregnant women, in any trimester,
avoid traveling to areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing;
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 17, 2016, to April 23, 2016,
inclusive, as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week in California; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares the week of
April 17, 2016, to April 23, 2016, inclusive, as West Nile Virus and
Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week in California; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit a copy of this
resolution to the Governor, the State Public Health Officer, and the
author for appropriate distribution.
