BILL NUMBER: ACR 48CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 44 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 26, 2015 ADOPTED IN SENATE MAY 18, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chvez, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernndez, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood) MARCH 18, 2015 Relative to Brain Injury Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 48, Cooley. Brain Injury Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention Month. This measure would designate the month of March 2015 and each year thereafter as Brain Injury Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention Month, and would encourage public officials and the citizens of California to observe the month with appropriate activities and programs to raise awareness about the symptoms of, treatments for, and ways of preventing, traumatic brain injuries. WHEREAS, Each year, 2.5 million Americans sustain traumatic brain injuries; and WHEREAS, A traumatic brain injury is a contributing factor in roughly one-third of all injury-related deaths in the United States; and WHEREAS, Each year, 250,000 people in California sustain a traumatic brain injury; and WHEREAS, These injuries are largely the result of falls, motor vehicle crashes, assaults, sporting-related injuries, or occupational injuries; and WHEREAS, More than 5.3 million Americans are living with disabilities related to traumatic brain injury; and WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as many as 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States annually; and WHEREAS, Significant national attention has been drawn to this issue due to the prominence and visibility of scholarship that has identified repeated concussions and brain injury as leading to negative long-term health outcomes; and WHEREAS, Traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, presenting new challenges for members of the military and their families; and WHEREAS, The Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-196) has provided new authority for the CDC to review brain injury management in children, and to identify ongoing and potential opportunities for research; and WHEREAS, Research, treatment, and support help speed recovery from a traumatic brain injury; and WHEREAS, The Brain Injury Association of California offers education and support to individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families to help those individuals integrate into the community and live as independently as possible; and WHEREAS, The Brain Injury Association of California has designated March as Brain Injury Awareness Month to promote public awareness on the extent, causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of traumatic brain injury, and to remind people with traumatic brain injuries and their families that they are not alone; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of March 2015, and each year thereafter, as Brain Injury Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention Month, and encourages public officials and the citizens of California to observe the month with appropriate activities and programs to raise awareness about the symptoms of, treatments for, and ways of preventing, traumatic brain injuries; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.