BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SCR 82
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  SCR 82 (Blakeslee) - As Amended:  August 6, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              B&P  Vote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This measure seeks placement in Capitol Park of a memorial 
          honoring veterans who fought and served in Iraq. Specifically, 
          this bill:

          1)Requests the Department of General Services (DGS), working 
            with interested parties, to advise and oversee creation of the 
            memorial, to erect the memorial upon receiving sufficient 
            donations from non-state sources to cover the costs of design, 
            construction, and maintenance, and to ensure that the memorial 
            is in the best interest of Capitol Park.

          2)State's legislative intent to enact future legislation 
            authorizing creation of a larger memorial honoring those who 
            served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Any costs to DGS will be covered by donations from non-state 
          sources.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  According to the author's office, "This 
            resolution is consistent with the long-standing tradition of 
            the California Legislature to honor our brave California 
            soldiers that have sacrificed life and limb in various wars 
            throughout our nation's history?The scope and scale of service 
            of those who have served with distinction in the Global War 
            Against Terror both in Iraq and Afghanistan merits 
            recognition.  The President has declared the official combat 
            mission in Iraq complete and has ordered troops home and those 








                                                                  SCR 82
                                                                  Page  2

            returning home from Iraq to California deserve to be 
            recognized for their service to our state and nation. The 
            intent of this resolution is to honor Iraq Veterans in the 
            short term by placing a plaque in the ground which would serve 
            as a placeholder designating a section of Capitol Park near 
            the standing veterans' memorials for a future larger memorial 
            for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan."


           2)Moratorium . Joint Rules Committee staff is working with DGS to 
            develop a master plan for the Capitol Park grounds. Until the 
            plan is developed, DGS has instituted an "unofficial" 
            moratorium on additional memorials in Capitol Park, which is 
            supported by staff of the Joint Rules Committee. As noted 
            above, the memorial envisioned in this resolution will be 
            relatively modest and should not usurp the master planning 
            process. A larger memorial, which would need to be consistent 
            with the eventual master plan, is contemplated at a later 
            date.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081