BILL ANALYSIS �
ACR 67
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Date of Hearing: August 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
ACR 67 (Alejo) - As Introduced: June 24, 2013
SUBJECT : State Highways: designations
SUMMARY : Designates specific portions of State Highway Routes
(SR) 152, 1, 129, and 101 in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties as
the Dolores Huerta Highway, the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway,
Oscar Rios Highway, and Gateway to the Pinnacles Highway.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the lifetime accomplishments of Dolores Huerta,
Senator Henry J. Mello, and Oscar Rios; and also recognizes
the entryway to Pinnacles National Park in the City of
Soledad.
2)Designates a portion of SR 152, 1, 129, and 101 in the
counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz as the Dolores Huerta
Highway, the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway, Oscar Rios
Highway, and Gateway to the Pinnacles Highway, respectively.
3)Requests that the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system,
showing the special designation and, upon receiving donations
from non-state sources covering that cost, to erect those
signs.
EXISTING LAW : Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating
and maintaining state highways. This includes the installation
and maintenance of highway signs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Costs to make and erect the appropriate signs
are covered by donations.
COMMENTS : Ms. Huerta, Senator Mello, and Mr. Rios, all made
significant contributions within Santa Cruz and Monterey
Counties as well as throughout the State of California. Ms.
Huerta was a nationally recognized civil rights activists and
cofounder of the United Farm Workers of American. Senator Mello
served in the State Senate, took on a number of legislative
leadership roles, and was a longtime advocate for seniors. Mr.
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Rios became the first El Salvadorian Mayor in the United States
and has been a lifelong civic and community activist. Lastly,
Pinnacles National Park was established in January 2013 as the
59th National Park. Adjacent to the park, the City of Soledad
serves as the gateway to both Pinnacles National Park and one of
California's 21 historic Missions. This bill designating a
specific portions of SR 152, 1, and 129 in honor of these civic
and community leaders acknowledges the significant roles Ms.
Huerta, Senator Mello, and Mr. Rios played in the State of
California. Additionally, this bill designates a specific
portion of SR 101 to acknowledge the entryway into both state
and national landmarks.
Each legislative session produces a number of Senate and
Assembly resolutions proposing to name state highway segments or
structures in honor of some individual, group or historical
event. Over the years, an informal policy developed relative to
the criteria for approval of such designations and memorials.
The lack of firm legislative guidelines often resulted in
inconsistency or controversy over a proposed designation. In
response, the Committee adopted a resolution at the beginning of
this legislative session to provide guidelines for naming
highways and structures. The resolution is intended to promote
fairness in determining whether a particular facility or segment
is to be specially designated. Specific minimum criteria
identified in the Committee's resolution are:
1)Any person being honored must have provided extraordinary
public service or some exemplary contribution to the public
good and have a connection to the community where the highway
is located;
2)The author or a co-author of the resolution must represent the
district in which the facility is located and the resolution
must identify the specific highway segment or structure being
named;
3)The proposed designation must reflect a community consensus;
4)The proposed designation may not supersede an existing
designation unless the sponsor can document that a good faith
effort has uncovered no opposition to rescinding the prior
designation; and,
5)When a resolution names a highway or structure in honor of an
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individual, the designee must have been deceased, except in
the instance of elected officials, in which case they must be
out of office.
ACR 67 fails to meet one of the criteria adopted by the
Committee: one of the designees does not meet the fifth
requirement from the abovementioned requirements. Should the
author amend the resolution to remove Ms. Huerta as a designee,
the remaining three designees meet the Committee's criteria.
(The author has agreed to strike this provision from the bill.
However, due to committee schedule constraints, any amendments
accepted will need to be taken in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.)
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Soledad
Soledad Community Health Care District
Soledad Unified School District
Soledad Mission Chamber of Commerce
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093