BILL NUMBER: AJR 18	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 7, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Carter
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Allen, Bradford, Campos, Cedillo,
Davis, Roger Hernández, Hueso, Lara, Mitchell, Solorio, Torres,
Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Swanson,
Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, and Yamada)
   (Coauthors: Senators De León and Rubio)

                        SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

   Relative to Sickle Cell Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 18, Carter. Sickle Cell Awareness Month.
   This measure would recognize September 2011 as Sickle Cell
Awareness Month in California and would urge the President and the
Congress of the United States to restore funding for sickle cell
anemia centers and research and to make sickle cell anemia and other
genetic hemoglobinopathies a public health priority.



   WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia and sickle cell disease, though used
interchangeably, refer to a group of inherited disorders that affect
the red blood cells; and
   WHEREAS, Red blood cells with normal hemoglobin are smooth and
round, and glide easily through blood vessels. In the bodies of
people with sickle cell disease, their cells assume a curved or
"sickle" shape and become hard and sticky, blocking blood flow and
preventing oxygen from getting through tissues and causing severe
pain and damage to organs; and
   WHEREAS, It is estimated that over 70,000 Americans have sickle
cell anemia. About 2.5 million Americans have the sickle cell trait,
meaning they carry one copy of the gene for the disease; and
   WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia occurs in 1 out of every 400 African
American births and 1 out of every 19,000 Hispanic American births.
The sickle cell trait occurs in approximately 1 out of 12 African
Americans and 1 out of 100 for Latino populations; and
   WHEREAS, The Sickle Cell Control Act was signed into law in 1972
by President Richard Nixon after pledging that his administration
would "reverse the record of neglect on the dreaded disease" and to
increase funding and expand sickle cell disease-related activities
including the development of comprehensive sickle cell centers; and
   WHEREAS, Over 30 years later, the Sickle Cell Treatment Act of
2003 was signed into law; and
   WHEREAS, Originating in 1975, when the Sickle Cell Disease
Association of America and its member organizations began conducting
month-long events in September to call attention to sickle cell
disease and the need to address the problem at national and local
levels, chose September as National Sickle Cell Awareness Month for
the public to reflect on children and adults whose lives, education,
and careers have been affected by this disease; and
   WHEREAS, Since 2002, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of
America has worked with congressional champions to authorize and fund
a number of national sickle cell disease legislative programs that
provide support for patients suffering from sickle cell disease,
while encouraging enhanced research intended to identify
next-generation treatments and a cure for sickle cell disease; and
   WHEREAS, The effort to have Sickle Cell Awareness Month officially
recognized at all levels succeeded in 1983 when the House of
Representatives unanimously passed, and the President signed, the
first resolution introduced by the Congressional Black Caucus
designating September as National Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month
in 1983; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of California recognizes
September 2011 as Sickle Cell Awareness Month in California; and be
it further
   Resolved, That the California State Legislature urges the
President and the Congress of the United States to restore funding
for sickle cell anemia centers and research and to make sickle cell
anemia and other genetic hemoglobinopathies a public health priority;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.