BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  ACR 117
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   February 18, 2010

                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
                                 Ted W. Lieu, Chair
             ACR 117 (Hill and Huffman) - As Amended:  February 16, 2010
           
          SUBJECT  :   Rare Disease Day.

           SUMMARY  :   Proclaims February 28, 2010, as Rare Disease Day.   
          Specifically,  this resolution  makes the following legislative  
          findings:  

          1)Diseases and conditions considered rare are those affecting  
            fewer than 200,000 Americans each; and while each of these  
            diseases may affect small numbers of people, rare diseases are  
            serious and debilitating conditions that, as a group, affect  
            almost 30 million Americans.

          2)Rare diseases, such as Lou Gehrig's disease and Huntington's  
            disease, are relatively well known; but many others are not  
            known at all by the public, making patients and their families  
            bear a large share of the burden for fundraising and research.  


          3)The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is  
            organizing a nationwide observance of Rare Disease Day on  
            February 28, 2010, to focus attention on rare diseases as a  
            public health issue.
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None.

           COMMENTS  :  Committee staff suggests adopting an amendment to  
          clarify language regarding how many Californians are affected by  
          rare diseases.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Healthcare Institute (CHI)
          Children's Rare Disease Network
          Kakkis EveryLife Foundation
          Rare Disease Advocacy Research Education (RARE) Project

           Opposition 








                                                                 ACR 117
                                                                  Page  2

           
          None on file.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Anna McCabe / RLS. / (916) 319-2800