BILL NUMBER: ACR 48	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 25, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooley

                        MARCH 18, 2015

   Relative to Brain Injury Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention
Month.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 48, as amended, 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.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   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 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, 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.