BILL NUMBER: SR 71ENROLLED BILL TEXT ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2016 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Senators Berryhill, Runner, Anderson, Bates, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Hall, Hertzberg, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, and Vidak MARCH 31, 2016 Relative to organ donation LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST WHEREAS, The Legislature has established an official state organ and tissue donor registry that has become the largest in the world, with 13 million people signed up to save and heal the lives of others after death; and WHEREAS, The 10-year official partnership between Donate Life California and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has produced 95 percent of donors on the registry through the DMV with a simple checkoff box; and WHEREAS, The Legislature has approved the innovative Living Donation California information and referral tool to encourage living kidney donation; and WHEREAS, Our Superintendent of Public Instruction has recognized Donate Life California's high school education program, which has educated students about organ, eye, and tissue donation for the past six years and is anticipated to be added to the science frameworks; and WHEREAS, The Senate acknowledges that California has the greatest need for transplantation in the nation with 22,000 residents waiting for a second chance at life, representing one in five on the national waiting list; and WHEREAS, The Senate acknowledges that 918 Californians became organ donors in 2015 and 3,417 life-saving transplants were performed in our state that year. Tragically, 929 people died while waiting due to the shortage of available organs; and WHEREAS, The Senate sadly acknowledges that in 2015, California had the longest waiting time and most deaths while waiting, and that only 40 percent of Californians sign up as donors; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That in recognition of the month of April as National Donate Life Month, the Senate proclaims the month of April 2016 as DMV/Donate Life Partnership Month in the State of California; and be it further Resolved, That in doing so, the Senate encourages all Californians to register with the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry by checking "YES!" for organ and tissue donation when applying for or renewing a driver's license or identification card, or by signing up at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org; and be it further Resolved, That the Senate underscores its renewed efforts to save more lives through donor registration and calls on all members of the Senate to consider how to share information about the cause and about actions to help their constituents in need; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.