BILL NUMBER: ACR 61	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MARCH 25, 2004
	PASSED THE SENATE  MARCH 15, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  FEBRUARY 24, 2004
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 15, 2004

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Koretz

                        MARCH 10, 2003

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 61--Relative to Financial
Literacy Month.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 61, Koretz.  Financial Literacy Month.
   This measure would declare the month of April 2004 as Financial
Literacy Month, in order to raise public awareness about the need for
increased financial literacy.




   WHEREAS, Californians' total personal income is 60 percent higher
than any other state and accounts for 13 percent of all personal
income in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, During the past two decades the proportion of households
with outstanding debt has risen dramatically, and this increase has
been the greatest for the bottom 40 percent of the income
distribution; and
   WHEREAS, Sixty percent of American households carry forward some
portion of their credit card debt every month, with an average
balance of more than $4,000, and 20 percent of families with an
annual income below $50,000 spend close to one-half of their net
income on debt payments; and
   WHEREAS, More than 75 percent of all college students have at
least one credit card with an average debt of almost $3,000, and some
university administrators state that more students drop out due to
credit card debt rather than to academic failure; and
   WHEREAS, More young adults filed for bankruptcy than graduated
from college in 2001, and personal bankruptcy filings increased in
2003 to 1.7 million, with personal nonbusiness bankruptcies
accounting for 97.6 percent of all bankruptcy cases, thereby
contributing to an alarming decade-long increase in personal
bankruptcies of more than 70 percent; and
   WHEREAS, Approximately 15 percent of workers in the United States
report they are experiencing stress from financial problems that
negatively impacts their productivity on the job, more than one-third
of the workforce reports that financial worries sometimes hamper job
performance, and 34 percent of workers rate their financial stress
as high to extreme, while 54 percent worry about the amount they owe;
and
   WHEREAS, The net worth of the average middle-class American
household, after accounting for debt, is less than $10,000; and
   WHEREAS, The average life expectancy in the United States recently
reached a record high of 74.1 years for men and 79.5 years for
women, 25 percent of women currently retire on an income below the
poverty level, and over the next 40 years the number of women over 85
is expected to triple; and
   WHEREAS, The United States reportedly has the lowest individual
savings rate in the industrialized world, almost one-half of all
workers have accumulated less than $50,000 for their retirement, and
one-third have saved less than $10,000; and
   WHEREAS, Nearly 40 percent of older Baby Boomers are not confident
about a secure retirement that is predicted to last up to 35 years;
and
   WHEREAS, More older Americans will be confronted with the
inadequate funding of a much longer retirement, and are going to be
relying on second careers, family contributions, charity, or
government programs to subsidize retirement programs and savings; and

   WHEREAS, High school seniors taking part in a national survey of
financial knowledge scored an average of 50.2 percent, a failing
grade, continuing a declining trend in scores since 1977; and
   WHEREAS, Increasing the financial literacy of all economic and
ethnic groups has been proven successful in improving attitudes,
leading to improved decisionmaking, and providing a more secure
future for individuals who have been educated in financial literacy
and their families; and
   WHEREAS, Financial literacy training may easily be integrated as a
valuable component for elementary and secondary schools, colleges
and universities, community groups, and citizen town hall meetings;
and
   WHEREAS, Many groups are dedicated to increasing the financial
literacy of Americans and a broad range of quality personal finance
instructional materials and curricula have been created for this
purpose, but the audience to which this information is vital is not
being reached; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares the month of
April 2004 as Financial Literacy Month, in order to raise public
awareness about the need for increased financial literacy; and be it
further
   Resolved, That legislators, employers, schools, service groups,
community organizations, libraries, financial institutions, and the
media, be encouraged to provide opportunities for financial literacy
education for all Californians through a variety of means, including
collaboration with members of the California Society of Certified
Public Accountants, California Jump$tart Coalition, and others, in
order to provide outreach and education; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.