BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          Bill No:  SCR 45
          Author:   Wolk (D), et al.
          Amended:  6/5/13
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  11-0, 6/11/13
          AYES:  DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,  
            Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution designates a segment of Interstate 80  
          in Solano County as the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Purpose of the resolution  .  According to the author, this  
          resolution is intended to honor the Tuskegee Airmen and the  
          contributions they made during World War II.

           Contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen  .  As a result of pressure  
          from civil rights organizations and the black press, on January  
          16, 1941, the United States War Department announced the  
          formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first African  
          American flying unit in the United States Army Air Corps.  This  
          squadron trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama,  
                                                                CONTINUED





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          and became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.  During World War II,  
          the Tuskegee Airmen flew 15,000 sorties, completing over 1,500  
          missions.  They shot down a total of 112 enemy aircraft,  
          including the first German jet fighters, and proved beyond a  
          shadow of a doubt that African Americans were capable of flying  
          the best of the Allied fighters to victory against the best of  
          the enemy fighters.  In addition, the Airmen lost so few Allied  
          bomber aircraft to enemy fighters when flying escort missions  
          that they earned the title "Red Tail Angels" from the bomber  
          crews who would specifically request them as their escort.   
          Ultimately, the Tuskegee Airmen earned an indelible place in the  
          history of air combat and in the history of the United States.

          This resolution designates the segment of Interstate 80 between  
          Midway Road and the State Route 12 East interchange in Solano  
          County as the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway.  The resolution  
          further requests that the Department of Transportation erect  
          appropriate signs upon receiving donations from non-state  
          sources to cover the costs.  

           Second highway named for the Tuskegee Airmen  .  SCR 90  
          (Anderson), Chapter 104, Resolutions of 2012, designated a  
          segment of Interstate 15 in San Diego County for the Tuskegee  
          Airmen.  This resolution designates a second segment for this  
          same group of individuals.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  Yes

          JA:nl  6/25/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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