BILL NUMBER: ACR 80CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 119 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 21, 2015 ADOPTED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gallagher (Principal coauthor: Senator Nielsen) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chvez, Grove, Lackey, Wilk, Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Williams, and Wood) (Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Bates, Hall, and Leno) MAY 27, 2015 Relative to Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and The Longest Day. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 80, Gallagher. Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and The Longest Day. This measure would recognize June 2015 as Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, and June 21, 2015, as The Longest Day in California, and would urge all residents to wear purple on this day to help spread global awareness of the Alzheimer's Association's vision of imagining a world without Alzheimer's disease. WHEREAS, The month of June 2015 has been declared Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month to help spread awareness of this debilitating disease and the need to increase efforts to combat its devastating symptoms; and WHEREAS, The summer solstice, June 21, 2015, has been declared The Longest Day, with teams around the world coming together to honor the strength, passion, and endurance of people facing Alzheimer's disease with a day of activity; and WHEREAS, Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder, tragically robs individuals of their memories and leads to mental and physical impairments; and WHEREAS, This condition has become the fifth leading cause of death in California as numbers have increased by 169 percent since 2000; and WHEREAS, An estimated 5.1 million Americans 65 years of age and older have Alzheimer's disease, and another 200,000 people under 65 years of age have younger-onset Alzheimer's disease; and WHEREAS, Deaths from other major causes have decreased significantly, official records indicate that deaths from Alzheimer's disease have increased significantly; and WHEREAS, In 2014, friends and family of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias provided an estimated 17.9 billion hours of unpaid care, a contribution to the nation valued at $217.7 billion; and WHEREAS, In 2015, the direct cost to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer's disease will total an estimated $226 billion, with one-half of the costs borne by Medicare, and an expected growth of $1.1 trillion by the year 2050; and WHEREAS, There is currently no way to prevent, cure, or even slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease; and WHEREAS, Researchers in California and around the world continue their efforts to develop scientific breakthroughs that could one day bring about a world without Alzheimer's disease; and WHEREAS, In recognition of the individuals, families, friends, and caregivers dealing with Alzheimer's disease; and the researchers who are seeking a cause or cure; and WHEREAS, In recognition of the efforts of the Alzheimer's Association to raise funds and promote awareness to fight Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, thereby improving the quality of human life for people living with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California recognizes the month of June as Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, and recognizes June 21, 2015, as The Longest Day in California and urges all residents to wear purple on this day to help spread global awareness of the Alzheimer's Association's vision of imagining a world without Alzheimer's disease; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.