BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 91
Author: Fuller (R), et al.
Amended: 8/7/14
Vote: 21
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 6/16/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,
Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Calderon, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 8/7/14
SUBJECT : Valley Fever Awareness Month
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares August 2014 as Valley Fever
Awareness Month.
Assembly Amendments add coauthors.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1.Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive,
multi-symptom, respiratory disorder, is a debilitating disease
caused by the inhalation of tiny airborne fungi that live in
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the soil but are released into the air by soil disturbance or
wind.
2.Valley Fever attacks the respiratory system, causing
infections that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold,
influenza, or pneumonia that, if left untreated or mistreated,
can spread from the lungs into the bloodstream, causing
inflammation to the skin, permanent damage to lung and bone
tissue, and swelling of the membrane surrounding the brain,
leading to meningitis, which can be devastating and even
fatal.
3.Once serious symptoms of Valley Fever appear, including
pneumonia and labored breathing, prompt treatment with often
toxic antifungal drugs must be given, which is especially
disagreeable for patients who require the drugs to be injected
beneath the base of their skulls for meningitis and which can
cause side effects such as nausea, fever, and kidney damage.
4.Within California alone, Valley Fever is found in portions of
the Sacramento Valley, all of the San Joaquin Valley, desert
regions, and portions of southern California.
5.California does not have an official statewide method of
tracking the rate of Valley Fever infections, however, in the
last 10 years, infection rates in California and Arizona have
risen 400%.
6.Researchers estimate that the fungus infects more than 150,000
people each year who either suffer serious ailments without
knowing the cause of their illness or escape detection of the
disease and misdiagnosis of Valley Fever is so pervasive that
experts say that some people suffer and even die from Valley
Fever without knowing they ever had the disease.
7.The Governor declared a Drought State of Emergency on January
17, 2014, and California is experiencing record dry
conditions, with 2014 projected to become the driest year on
record, and dry conditions and lack of precipitation present
urgent problems regarding Valley Fever because it is usually
found in soil two to eight inches from the surface and the
extreme dry conditions caused by drought increase the chances
of coccidioidomycosis airborne fungi exposure.
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8.Central Valley prison inmates are being infected by Valley
Fever at epidemic rates, contributing significantly to the
state's prison health care costs and the rapid spread of
Valley Fever at state prisons in the Central Valley has
resulted in multiple prison inmate deaths and prompted calls
to close certain affected prisons, further exacerbating
efforts to comply with federal orders to reduce prison
overcrowding.
9.Valley Fever is a disease that has been studied for the past
100 years but still remains impossible to control and
difficult to treat since there is no known cure for Valley
Fever.
This resolution declares August 2014 as Valley Fever Awareness
Month.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
JL:e 8/12/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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