BILL NUMBER: SR 40ENROLLED BILL TEXT ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2015 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill JULY 13, 2015 Relative to Coats Eye Disease Awareness Day LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST WHEREAS, There are multiple debilitating eye diseases that affect millions of Californians and others throughout the country; and WHEREAS, Coats eye disease is a rare eye disease that mostly afflicts young children and teenagers; and WHEREAS, Coats eye disease can cause blood vessels in one or both eyes to develop abnormally, causing leakage of blood into the eye resulting in trauma, damage, partial or total blindness, or even removal of the eye without early detection, treatment, or surgery; and WHEREAS, Coats eye disease is still not widely known and can be misdiagnosed by some in the medical community, even among retinal specialists; and WHEREAS, Coats eye disease is classified as an orphan disease yet impacts thousands in the state and nation; and WHEREAS, California leads the nation in many ways in scientific, academic, and commercial endeavors to find cures and treatments for many rare diseases or afflictions; and WHEREAS, California can be a leader in promoting awareness, research, study, and, ultimately, cures for many of these rare diseases, including Coats eye disease; and WHEREAS, Coats Eye Disease Awareness Day is an important nationwide tool for raising awareness among governmental officials, medical professionals, academic institutions, commercial ventures, and the public about this rare disease, and efforts to increase early detection towards eventually finding a cure; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That August 17, 2015, is proclaimed as Coats Eye Disease Awareness Day, in support of efforts to broaden awareness of this rare disease, promote and enable early detection and advance treatments, achieve prevention, further scientific research, and find a cure for this disease; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.