BILL NUMBER: ACR 142 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nunez
APRIL 6, 2006
Relative to Marco Antonio Firebaugh.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 142, as introduced, Nunez Marco Antonio Firebaugh
Interchange.
This measure would designate the Interstate 5 and Interstate 710
interchange in Los Angeles County as the Marco Antonio Firebaugh
Interchange.
This measure would also request the Department of Transportation
to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special
designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources
covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh, at the age of 39 years, was
running for the California State Senate when he succumbed to health
ailments on March 21, 2006, at the University of California, Los
Angeles Medical Center; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh was born to humble beginnings in
Tijuana, Mexico on October 13, 1966, and immigrated to the United
States when he was a young boy; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh worked hard to pay his own way
through school and earned his bachelor of arts degree in political
science from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree
from the UCLA School of Law; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh was the first in his family to
attend college and was committed to the notion that free universal
public education is the cornerstone of our democratic society and
worked hard to improve educational opportunities for all California
students; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, the City of Lynwood named their newest school
the "Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School" as a result of Mr.
Firebaugh's record of achievement in providing educational
opportunities for all students; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh was elected into the California
State Assembly at the young age of 32 years; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh served in the California State
Assembly from 1998 to 2004, representing the 50th Assembly District
located in southeast Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure in the Assembly, Marco Antonio
Firebaugh was recognized for his impressive legislative and advocacy
record on behalf of California's working families and their children,
establishing him as a leader and role model in the Latino community;
and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh demonstrated outstanding
leadership in introducing legislation aimed at improving the lives of
immigrants and low-income families including undocumented immigrants
who come to California to work and give their children a better
life; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh recognized the importance of
environmental justice issues and authored air quality legislation
that provides funding for the state's most important air emissions
reductions programs and that ensures that state funding be targeted
to low-income communities that are most severely impacted by air
pollution; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh recognized the need to protect
the health of the most vulnerable members of our state--children. As
a result, he authored legislation funding a mobile asthma treatment
clinic known as a Breathmobile to provide free screenings and
treatment for school children in southeast Los Angeles and fought
hard in the Legislature to make California the first state to outlaw
smoking in a vehicle carrying young children to protect them from the
hazards created by breathing secondhand smoke; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh understood that education is the
great equalizer; and
WHEREAS, In 2002, Marco Antonio Firebaugh won a great victory with
the passage of Assembly Bill 540, landmark legislation allowing
undocumented California high school students to pursue a college
education and pay in-state tuition fees; and
WHEREAS, From 2002 to 2004, Marco Antonio Firebaugh served as
Chairman of the California Latino Legislative Caucus where he was
responsible for managing the development of the Latino Caucus' annual
Agenda for California's Working Families as a policy document that
focuses on issues affecting California's diverse population; and
WHEREAS, Under Marco Antonio Firebaugh's stewardship the Latino
Caucus grew from 22 to 27 members; and
WHEREAS, While chairing the Latino Caucus, Marco Antonio Firebaugh
led the effort to appoint more qualified Latinos and Latinas to
high-level positions in state government, including the appointment
of only the second Latino to serve on the California Supreme Court,
the first Latina to serve as Chancellor of a University of California
campus, and two additional Latino Presidents at the California State
University at Fresno and Sacramento; and
WHEREAS, Because of his effectiveness both as a policymaker and
political leader, Marco Antonio Firebaugh was appointed Majority
Floor Leader in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Alongside former Speaker Herb J. Wesson Jr., Marco
Antonio Firebaugh served as Floor Leader from 2002 to 2004, making
him the highest ranking Latino in the Assembly and one of the chief
negotiators for Assembly Democrats; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh also served six years on the
State Allocation Board, which provides funding for public school
construction and modernization; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure on the State Allocation Board,
California invested more than $16 billion in the construction and
modernization of public schools making it the largest investment in
public school improvements in the history of the state; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh was a visiting Professor and
Policy Fellow at the UCLA School of Medicine, Center for the Study of
Latino Health and Culture; and
WHEREAS, Marco Antonio Firebaugh is survived by his two children
Ariana and Nicolas Firebaugh, and his mother, Carmen Rose Garcia, and
many beloved family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
Interstate 5 and Interstate 710 interchange in the County of Los
Angeles as the "Marco Antonio Firebaugh Interchange"; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent with the signing
requirements for the state highway system, showing this special
designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources
covering the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.