BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 135|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 135
Author: Smyth (R), et al
Amended: 4/26/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 4/26/10
SUBJECT : West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week
SOURCE : Mosquito and Vector Control Association of
California
DIGEST : This resolution declares April 26 through April
30, 2010 as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can
result in debilitating cases of meningitis and
encephalitis and death to humans, horses, avian species,
and other wildlife.
2. In 2009, West Nile virus resulted in four deaths in
California and 105 individuals from 19 counties tested
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positive for the virus.
3. The Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention predict West Nile
virus will again pose a grave public health threat in
California in 2010.
4. Adequately funded mosquito and vector control, disease
surveillance, and public awareness programs are the best
ways to prevent outbreaks of West Nile virus and other
diseases borne by mosquitoes and other vectors.
5. Mosquitoes and other vectors, including, but not limited
to, ticks, Africanized honeybees, rats, fleas, and
flies, continue to be a source of human suffering,
illness, death, and a public nuisance in California and
around the world.
6. Excess numbers of mosquitoes and other vectors spread
diseases, reduce enjoyment of both public and private
outdoor living spaces, reduce property values, hinder
outdoor work, and reduce livestock productivity.
7. Professional mosquito and vector control based on
scientific research has made great advances in reducing
mosquito and vector populations and the diseases they
transmit.
8. Established mosquito- and vector-borne diseases such as
plague, Lyme disease, and encephalitis, and new and
emerging vector-borne diseases such as hantavirus,
arenavirus, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis cause illness
and sometimes death every year in California.
9. Mosquito and vector control districts throughout the
State of California work closely with the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and DPH to reduce
pesticide risks to humans, animals, and the environment
while protecting human health from mosquito- and
vector-borne diseases and nuisance attacks.
10.The public's awareness of the health benefits associated
with safe, professionally applied mosquito and vector
control methods will support these efforts, as well as
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motivate the public to eliminate mosquito and vector
breeding sites on private property.
11.Educational programs have been developed to include
schools, civic groups, private industry, and government
agencies, in order to meet the public's need for
information about West Nile virus, other diseases, and
mosquito and vector biology and control.
12.Public awareness can result in reduced production of
mosquitoes and other vectors on private, commercial, and
public lands by responsible parties, avoidance of the
bites of mosquitoes and other vectors when the risk of
West Nile virus and other disease transmission is high,
detection of human cases of mosquito- and vector-borne
diseases that may otherwise be misdiagnosed for lack of
appropriate laboratory testing, and the formation of
mosquito or vector control agencies where needed.
13.Public awareness can result in action to provide
adequate funding for existing mosquito and vector
control agencies or to create control agencies in areas
where there are no existing controls.
14.West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week will increase the public's awareness of
the threat of West Nile virus and other diseases and the
activities of the various mosquito and vector research
and control agencies working to minimize the health
threat within California, and will highlight the
educational programs currently available.
15.The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of
California has designated the week of April 26 through
April 30, 2010 as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and
Vector Control Awareness Week in the State of
California.
This resolution declares April 26 through April 30, 2010 as
West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness
Week.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/2/10)
Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California
(source)
Blood Centers of California
California Special District Association
CTW:mw 6/22/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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