Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 29

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

(Principal coauthor: Senator Runner)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood)

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(Coauthor: Senator Berryhill)

February 23, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 29—Relative to organ donation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 29, as amended, Frazier. Donate Life California Day: driver’s license.

This measure would designate April 20, 2015, as DMV/Donate Life California Day in the State of California and the month of April 2015, as DMV/Donate Life California Month in the State of California, and would encourage all Californians to sign up with the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Organ, tissue, eye, and blood donation are
compassionate and life-giving acts looked upon and recognized
in the highest regard; and

WHEREAS, More than 123,000 individuals nationwide and
over 22,000 Californians are currently on the national organ
transplant wait list. While about one-third of these patients receive
a transplant each year, another one-third die while waiting due to
a shortage of donated organs; and

WHEREAS, A single individual’s donation of heart, lungs,
liver, kidneys, pancreas, and small intestine can save up to eight
lives, the donation of tissue can save and enhance the lives of up
to 50 others, and a single blood donation can help three people in
need; and

WHEREAS, Millions of lives each year are saved and enhanced
by donors of organs, tissue, eyes, and blood; and

WHEREAS, The California Department of Motor Vehicles is
celebrating 100 years of service to the State of California and ten
years as the official partner of Donate Life California; and

WHEREAS, A California resident can register with the Donate
Life California Registry when applying for or renewing his or her
driver’s license or identification card at the Department of Motor
Vehicles; and

WHEREAS, Nearly twelve million Californians have joined
together to save lives by signing up with the state-authorized
Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry to ensure
that their wishes to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor are
recognized and honored; and

WHEREAS, Minorities are more likely to need a life-saving
transplant due to higher incidences of hypertension, diabetes, and
hepatitis, conditions that can potentially lead to organ failure and
placement on the national organ transplant waiting list; and

WHEREAS, Nationwide, minorities make up 58 percent of
organ transplant candidates and 64 percent of those awaiting kidney
transplants. In California, Latinos make up 39 percent of those
waiting for life-saving transplants, Asians and Pacific Islanders
20 percent, and African Americans another 12 percent; and

WHEREAS, Minorities make up more than one-half of the
population of high school students in California, according to the
State Department of Education. These high school students will
have the opportunity to make a decision about saving lives and
joining the state-authorized Donate Life California Registry to
ensure that their wishes to be organ, eye, and tissue donors are
recognized and honored; and

WHEREAS, Donate Life California has developed a
comprehensive Educator Resource Guide that includes many of
the health education content standards for California public schools.
This Educator Resource Guide includes lesson plans and
educational DVDs about organ, eye, and tissue donation, and the
Donate Life California Registry created specifically for the youth
population; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That in recognition of April as National Donate
Life Month, the Legislature proclaims April 20, 2015, as
DMV/Donate Life California Day in the State of California, and
April 2015 as DMV/Donate Life California Month in the State of
California. In doing so, the Legislature encourages all Californians
to check “YES” when applying for or renewing a driver’s license
or identification card, or by signing up at
www.donatelifecalifornia.org or www.donevidacalifornia.org; and
be it further

Resolved, that the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.