BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 46
Author: Hill (D) and Knight (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : National Academy of Sciences
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution honors the sesquicentennial of the
National Academy of Sciences.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1. The year 2013 commemorates the sesquicentennial of the year
in which President Abraham Lincoln signed an act
incorporating the National Academy of Sciences to advise the
federal government on "any subject of science or art."
2. As science and technology began to play increasingly
important roles in national priorities and public life, the
National Academy of Sciences expanded to include the National
Research Council in 1916, which was created by executive
order of President Woodrow Wilson for the purpose of
conducting the institution's science policy and technical
work by working outside the framework of government to ensure
unbiased, credible advice on matters of science, technology,
and medicine.
3. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of
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Medicine were founded in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under
the same congressional charter as the National Academy of
Sciences to perform similar advisory roles.
4. These private, nonprofit institutions enlist the aid of the
nation's most knowledgeable scientists, engineers, health
professionals, and other experts who volunteer their time to
provide authoritative, independent advice on many of the
pressing challenges that face the nation and the world.
5. The earliest reports of these institutions addressed United
States weights, measures, and coinage; examined magnetic
deviation of compasses on the Navy's new ironclad warships;
and proposed the creation of the National Park Service and
the national park system; while other reports contributed to
the founding of the United States Geological Survey and the
reorganization of the National Weather Service and Signal
Corps.
6. On the health front, in the 1980s, the first reports to
identify research needed to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic
were issued; other studies led to a blueprint for the Human
Genome Project. A landmark 1999 study on medical errors also
galvanized the medical community and sparked a national
movement to improve patient safety.
7. The significance of these institutions' scientific reports
has come not only through their value to and impact on
California scientific disciplines of biotechnology and high
technology, but also as those reports have informed policy on
such diverse areas as marine health, greenhouse gas
emissions, evaluation in education, water policy, and
agriculture.
8. The state has been not only the beneficiary of scientific
policy advice, but also its benefactor, as more members of
the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, and Institute of Medicine live and work in
California than in any other state.
This resolution honors the National Academy of Sciences for its
150 years of commitment to providing unbiased, peer-reviewed
advice on science, technology, and medicine to our nation.
SCR 46
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FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
AL:d 5/29/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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