BILL NUMBER: SCR 39	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 24, 2009
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 15, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 15, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Steinberg
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula,
Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, and Yamada)

                        APRIL 28, 2009

   Relative to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 39, Steinberg. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month.
   This measure would proclaim the month of May 2009 as Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month in California, and would encourage
continued research in order to find treatments and eventually a cure
for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and care and support for patients
and families.



   WHEREAS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as
Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative
disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord; and
   WHEREAS, When motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to
initiate and control muscle movement is lost and never regained; and
   WHEREAS, As ALS progresses, patients lose the ability to walk,
eat, speak, move, and breathe and require 24-hour, seven-day-a-week
care; and
   WHEREAS, ALS does not usually affect a patient's mental capacity,
thus resulting in persons with ALS who are alert and aware while
being trapped in their bodies; and
   WHEREAS, ALS is usually diagnosed between 40 and 70 years of age,
with the peak age of onset being around 56 years of age; and
   WHEREAS, Every 90 minutes someone in the United States is
diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes someone else dies of ALS; and

   WHEREAS, ALS knows no boundaries and can strike anyone, resulting
in all citizens being at risk of having ALS; and
   WHEREAS, American veterans have a higher incidence of ALS than the
general population, and Gulf War veterans, in particular, have twice
the incidence of ALS compared to the general population; and
   WHEREAS, Eighty-five percent of patients diagnosed with ALS
survive only two to five years from the time of first noticing muscle
weakness; and
   WHEREAS, ALS has no known cause, prevention, or cure; and
   WHEREAS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month increases
the public's awareness of ALS patients' circumstances and
acknowledges the terrible impact this disease has, not only on
patients, but on patients' families as well, and recognizes the need
for ALS research and for quality treatment, care, and support of
patients and families living with ALS; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby proclaims the month of May 2009 as Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis Awareness Month in California; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature encourages continued research in
order to find treatments and eventually a cure for amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis and care and support for patients and families; and
be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.