BILL NUMBER: ACR 175AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 19, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Achadjian and Gipson ( Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chvez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernndez, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, and Wood ) APRIL 27, 2016 Relative to Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 175, as amended, Achadjian. Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day. This measure would proclaim May 19, 2016, as Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day in California. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Liver cancer and liver disease related to hepatitis B and C are two of the leading killers in California; and WHEREAS, Hepatitis C is the most prevalent bloodborne disease in the United States and in California; and WHEREAS, Early detection of hepatitis B and C infections promotes effective management or treatment of these infections, preventing disability, loss of productivity and income, and allowing people to live full, satisfying, and productive lives; and WHEREAS, An undetected and untreated hepatitis B or C infection can lead to disability or death; and WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 750,000 Californians with chronic hepatitis C infection do not know they are infected, and are therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer, or liver failure; and WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 350,000 California residents with hepatitis B infection do not know they are infected, and are therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer, or liver failure; and WHEREAS, Untreated hepatitis B and C infections are the leading causes of liver failure requiring liver transplant; and WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidelines calling for baby boomers - everyone born between 1945 and 1965 - to receive a one-time hepatitis C test, which would save over 100,000 lives; and WHEREAS, In 2013, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a Grade B rating for screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in persons at high risk for infection and adults born between 1945 and 1965; and WHEREAS, Baby boomers make up 30 percent of California's adult population, and African American baby boomers are twice as likely to have hepatitis C as other baby boomers; and WHEREAS, In 2009, the USPSTF issued a Grade A rating for screening pregnant women for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during their first prenatal visit; and WHEREAS, In 2014, the USPSTF issued a Grade B rating for screening people born in countries where hepatitis B is common, United States-born people who were not vaccinated against hepatitis B when they were babies and whose parents come from countries where hepatitis B is common, and other people at risk for hepatitis B; and WHEREAS, There is a vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis B - the first proven, low-cost vaccination against any form of cancer made available to Americans; and WHEREAS, Hepatitis B is most prevalent among people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, and one-third of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent live in California; and WHEREAS, Hepatitis B-related and hepatitis C-related hospitalization charges totaled $2.3 billion in 2010 in California, mostly paid for by tax-supported public health insurers; and WHEREAS, New medications can cure hepatitis C in over 90 percent of people who are linked to and retained in care and treatment; and WHEREAS, Hepatitis B can be treated effectively with proper medical management and may be curable in the near future; and WHEREAS, The Legislature will continue to work to increase the affordability of, and access to, care, treatment, and cures for hepatitis; and WHEREAS, Hepatitis awareness education campaigns and accessible screening for hepatitis B and C, along with appropriate treatment, can reduce the damage from hepatitis B and C viral infection to individuals and to our community, financially, as well as physically and emotionally; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims May 19, 2016, as Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.