SJR 22 Passes Legislature!

DATE:   August 15, 2006
TO:     Delegate Agencies, Board of Directors, Advocates and Staff
FROM:   Jennifer Sigafoos, Director of Public Policy
RE:     SJR 22 Passes Legislature!

Thanks to all of your hard work, SJR 22 (Speier) has passed out of the California Legislature.  CFHC co-sponsored SJR 22 with the Junior Leagues of California and the California Microbicides Initiative.  SJR 22 is a resolution in support of the Microbicide Development Act, (S 550 and HR 3854), a piece of federal legislation to strengthen and accelerate microbicide research and development at the National Institutes of Health, the US Agency for International Development, and the Centers for Disease Control. SJR 22 passed both the Senate and the Assembly without receiving a single vote in opposition.  SJR 22 does not need the Governor’s signature.

The next challenge will be to capitalize on the momentum generated in California by the success of SJR 22 and the attention microbicides have received at the International Conference in HIV/AIDS presently taking place in Canada.   SJR 22 is proof that policymakers within California view microbicides as a priority to the people of California.  We urge the California Congressional delegation to sign on to the Microbicide Development Act.

Thanks to Senator Speier for her leadership on this issue, and again, thanks to all of you for your calls and letters.

Background: Microbicides are products, such as a cream or gel, which would prevent transmission of HIV and other STDs.   Women in California and around the world desperately need more HIV and STD prevention tools.  AIDS is now the number one cause of death among African American women aged 25-34 in the US, and in California, women represent the fastest growing population with AIDS.  In 1985, women comprised 7% of all AIDS cases in the US.  By 2002, this had almost quadrupled to 26%.