BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 137|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 137
Author: Atkins (D), et al.
Amended: 4/23/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 4/23/12
SUBJECT : West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week
SOURCE : Mosquito and Vector Control Association of
California
DIGEST : This resolution declares April 22 through April
28, 2012, 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 2011, West Nile virus resulted in eight human deaths
in California and 155 individuals in 23 counties tested
positive for the virus, of which 111 developed
neuroinvasive disease.
CONTINUED
ACR 137
Page
2
3. The State Department of Public Health and the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict West
Nile virus will again pose a public health threat in
California in 2012.
4. Adequately funded mosquito and vector control, disease
surveillance, and public awareness programs, coupled
with best management practices on public and private
lands, 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, and 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 the State Department
of Public Health 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
CONTINUED
ACR 137
Page
3
associated with safe, professionally applied mosquito
and vector control methods will support these efforts,
as well as motivate the state and the public to
eliminate mosquito and vector breeding sites on public
and 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 residential, 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 22 through
April 28, 2012, as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and
Vector Control Awareness Week in the State of
California.
This resolution declares April 22 through April 28, 2012,
as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control
Awareness Week.
CONTINUED
ACR 137
Page
4
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/12)
Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California
(source)
CTW:do 5/22/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED