69th Legislature 2025 HJ 19.1
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – HJ 19
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19
2 INTRODUCED BY J. REAVIS, B. EDWARDS, J. ISALY, M. LEE, P. STRAND, J. SECKINGER, B. CLOSE, S.
3 FYANT, J. WEBER, C. SCHOMER, J. SOOKTIS, A. GRIFFITH, D. BEDEY, E. BUTTREY, E. MATTHEWS, T.
4 RUNNING WOLF, M. FOX, M. CAFERRO, B. CARTER, J. COHENOUR, D. HAWK, J. KARLEN, C. KEOGH, L.
5 REKSTEN, K. SULLIVAN, M. THANE, M. MARLER, S. DEMAROIS, D. JOY, C. FITZPATRICK, V. MOORE
6
7 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
8 MONTANA TO DECLARE THE LAST FULL WEEK IN SEPTEMBER AS FRONTOTEMPORAL
9 DEGENERATION AWARENESS WEEK IN THE STATE OF MONTANA.
10
11 WHEREAS, it is the custom of the Montana Legislature to recognize official weeks that are set aside to
12 increase awareness of conditions that affect the lives of citizens of Montana; and
13 WHEREAS, attendant to such concern, it is the sense of the Montana Legislature to proclaim the last
14 full week of September as Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) Awareness Week in the State of Montana, in
15 conjunction with the observance of World FTD Awareness Week; and
16 WHEREAS, FTD is identified in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease as a related
17 dementia and included as a priority in the goals and strategies of the plan to achieve the vision of a nation free
18 of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; and
19 WHEREAS, a primary goal of the Montana Alzheimer’s and Dementia State Plan is to promote public
20 awareness and understanding of dementia related diseases; and
21 WHEREAS, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) reports that frontotemporal
22 degeneration (FTD) is a terminal and incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting the frontal and temporal
23 lobes, causing impairments to speech, personality, behavior, and motor skills, which constitutes a major public
24 health concern; and
25 WHEREAS, it takes an average of 3.6 years from the onset of symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis
26 of FTD with average life expectancy of 7-13 years after start of symptoms; and
27 WHEREAS, FTD strikes people as young as 21 and old as 80 with the largest percentage of those
28 affected being in their 40s to 60s, rendering people in the prime of life unable to work or function normally; and 69th Legislature 2025 HJ 19.1
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1 WHEREAS, FTD represents an estimated 5 to 15 percent of all dementia cases and is the most
2 common form of dementia for people under 60 years of age; and
3 WHEREAS, FTD is often misdiagnosed as a psychiatric problem or other neurodegenerative disease
4 because of the wide range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms and their young onset; and
5 WHEREAS, FTD imposes average annual costs associated with care and living with the disease that
6 are approximately double those of Alzheimer’s disease; and
7 WHEREAS, FTD often affects a person’s ability to express emotions and to show affection and
8 empathy for loved ones; and
9 WHEREAS, in the behavioral variant of FTD, a person’s sense of social graces and appropriate
10 behavior can be lost, and their personality may be significantly changed; and
11 WHEREAS, in the language variants of FTD (primary progressive aphasia), a person may have trouble
12 producing speech and understanding grammar, lose the meaning of words or become hesitant in their speech,
13 and may eventually become mute; and
14 WHEREAS, in the movement variants of FTD, a person may experience muscle weakness, falling, loss
15 of balance, difficulty making speech, difficulty swallowing, or choking; and
16 WHEREAS, while there has never been a global epidemiology study of FTD, it is estimated that more
17 than 60,000 people are affected in the United States today; and
18 WHEREAS, AFTD is the leading national organization exclusively focused on the spectrum of FTD
19 disorders with a mission to improve the quality of life of people affected by FTD and drive research to a cure;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, it is imperative that there be greater awareness of this serious disease, and more must be
22 done to increase activity at the local, state, and national levels.
23
24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF
25 THE STATE OF MONTANA:
26 That the Legislature proclaims the last full week of September as Frontotemporal Degeneration
27 Awareness Week and requests that the Governor issue a proclamation of the same.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State send a copy of this resolution to the 69th Legislature 2025 HJ 19.1
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1 Governor, to the director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, and to the county
2 commission of each county in Montana.
3
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