BILL ANALYSIS �
SCR 44
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Date of Hearing: September 11, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SCR 44 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 18, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Joe Eddy McDonald Memorial Overcrossing
SUMMARY : Designates a specific portion of State Highway Route
(SR) 4 in Contra Costa County as the Joe Eddy McDonald Memorial
Overcrossing. Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the life of Mr. McDonald and his lifetime
accomplishments.
2)Designates the Willow Avenue Overcrossing over SR 4 in Contra
Costa County as the Joe Eddy McDonald Memorial Overcrossing.
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 to 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Costs to make and erect the appropriate signs
are covered by donations.
COMMENTS : Mr. McDonald attended East Bay schools, graduating
from Richmond Union High School in 1964. Subsequently, he
enlisted in the United States Navy and served for two years.
Mr. McDonald received a degree in Business Administration from
Contra Costa College and completed professional development
courses offered by Duke and Harvard University's Schools of
Professional Studies. In 1966, Mr. McDonald began his career
with the United States Postal Service as a letter carrier.
Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Postal Clerk and
SCR 44
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ultimately to Postmaster of Hercules and Rodeo, where he served
the last 19 years of his career, retiring in 2002.
In 1994, Mr. McDonald lost his daughter and niece in a tragic
car accident on SR 4. Mr. McDonald and his wife spearheaded a
campaign to widen and divide SR 4 in western Contra Costa County
to keep others from suffering the same tragic fate as his
family. He collected signatures, made presentations to
governmental agencies, and organized a community walk to the
Hercules City Council meeting on behalf of the project. Mr.
McDonald's advocacy resulted in securing $86 million for the
project.
Upon retirement from the U.S. Postal Service, Mr. McDonald
served on the Hercules Planning Commission from 2002 to 2006.
He was elected to the Hercules City Council in 2006, serving as
Vice Mayor in 2008 and Mayor in 2009. This bill designating
this overcrossing on SR 4 in honor of Mr. McDonald acknowledges
the imperative role he played in his community and in the Contra
Costa region.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Hercules
Black American Political Action Committee of Contra Costa County
Community Mobilization Leadership Coalition
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093