BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SCR 45
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Date of Hearing: August 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SCR 45 (Wolk) - As Amended: June 5, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 33-0
SUBJECT : Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway
SUMMARY : Designates a specific portion of Interstate 80 (I-80)
in Solano County as the "Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway."
Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the contributions and accomplishments of the Tuskegee
Airmen during World War II.
2)Designates a portion of I-80 between Midway Road and State
Route 12 East Interchange in Solano County as the Tuskegee
Airmen Memorial Highway.
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 : Each legislative session produces a number of Senate
and Assembly resolutions proposing to name state highway
segments or structures in honor of an individual, group or
historical event. In order to ensure fairness in determining
whether a particular facility or segment is to be specifically
designed, the committee has an established set of basic
guidelines that are considered when evaluating highway naming
resolutions. Guidelines include, but are not limited to, the
individual or group being honored having a direct connection or
affiliation with the community where the highway designation is
SCR 45
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located.
In January of 1941, the United States (US) Department of War
established the 99th Pursuit Squadron; the first
African-American flying unit in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Known
as the "the Tuskegee Experiment", the squadron trained at the
Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, and engaged in combat
in the Mediterranean and European Theaters in World War II.
From 1942 to 1945 the Tuskegee Airmen successfully engaged in
hostile combat with several members ultimately receiving a
number of awards including, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the
Air Medal, and the Bronze Star. On November 6, 1998, the
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site was established by the
federal government at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama to
commemorate the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen. This bill
designating a specific portion of I-80 in honor of the Tuskegee
Airmen acknowledges the significant role this group played in
the country's national history.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093