Amended in Assembly May 22, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 64

Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago

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

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May 5, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 64—Relative to Asthma Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 64, as amended, Santiago. Asthma Awareness Month.

This measure would designate the month of May 2015 as Asthma Awareness Month in order to increase awareness and understanding about asthma and educate those with the disease on the treatments available and the methods of preventing attacks.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Approximately five million Californians have been
diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives, and almost
three million currently have asthma; and

WHEREAS, Asthma is responsible for approximately 400
deaths, 35,000 hospital discharges, and 180,000 emergency
department visits annually in California; and

WHEREAS, Lifetime and current asthma prevalence is highest
among children 5 to 17 years of age and about 30 percent higher
than among adults; and

WHEREAS, Asthma prevalence is higher among African
Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Puerto Ricans,
European Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and Filipinos; and

WHEREAS, Although people of all incomes have similar asthma
prevalence, people with lower incomes have more poorly controlled
asthma and higher rates of emergency department visits and
hospitalizations; and

WHEREAS, Asthma results in an estimated 11.8 million days
of work or usual activities missed per year among adults and 1.2
million days of school or day care missed per year among children;
and

WHEREAS, An estimated 19.4 percent of adults and 4.7 percent
of children with current asthma were uninsured at some point in
the past year; and

WHEREAS, Total charges for asthma hospitalizations in 2010
were over $1 billion, and intervention to prevent repeat
hospitalizations could have saved $156 million in these medical
costs; and

WHEREAS, It is important that every person with asthma be
diagnosed, receive appropriate treatment, learn how to manage his
or her asthma, and reduce exposure to environmental factors that
make his or her asthma worse; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
month of May 2015 as Asthma Awareness Month in order to
increase awareness and understanding about asthma and educate
those with the disease on the treatments available and the methods
of preventing attacks; and be it further

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