Amended in Senate August 22, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 64

Introduced by Senator Roth

August 12, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 64—Relative to the Sergeant Gilbert begin delete Cortez, Sr. end delete begin insert Cortez end insert and K-9 Mattie Memorial Highway.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 64, as amended, Roth. Sergeant Gilbert begin delete Cortez, Sr. end delete begin insert Cortez end insert and K-9 Mattie Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 15 in the County of Riverside as the Sergeant Gilbert begin delete Cortez, Sr. end delete begin insert Cortez end insert and K-9 Mattie Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, Gilbert begin delete Cortez, Sr. end delete begin insert Cortez end insert was born on October 4,
1966; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Cortez was raised in the City of Norco and
attended Norco High School, where he played baseball; and

WHEREAS, On September 17, 1990, Mr. Cortez began his
career with the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Cortez was first assigned to the California
Institution for Men in Chino and then transferred to Calipatria
State Prison on October 29, 1992, where he became part of the
Investigative Services Unit; and

WHEREAS, While at Calipatria State Prison, Mr. Cortez was
promoted to the rank of begin delete Sergeant; end delete begin insert sergeant; end insert and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cortez then transferred to the California
Rehabilitation Center on October 29, 2001, to return to his
hometown of Norco; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cortez held various positions at the
California Rehabilitation Center and was able to join the
Investigative Services Unit once again as an investigator; and

WHEREAS, In 2011, Sergeant Cortez became a part of the
Southern Regional K-9 Unit, partnering with K-9 Mattie, who was
certified to search for contraband and narcotics; and

WHEREAS, K-9 Mattie was a Belgian Malinois who was
donated by a private citizen in the San Diego area; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cortez, at the age of 46, and K-9 Mattie
were killed in an automobile accident on State Highway Route 79
near San Felipe Road in the County of San Diego on March 25,
2013; and

WHEREAS, K-9 Mattie died at the scene of the accident, while
Sergeant Cortez succumbed to his injuries at a local fire station
before an emergency services helicopter could transport him to a
trauma center; and

WHEREAS, At the time of the accident, Sergeant Cortez was
part of a convoy of state corrections K-9 officers that was en route
to inspect the La Cima Conservation Fire Camp, an inmate-staffed
firefighting outpost in a rural part of the County of San Diego; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cortez was well loved and respected in
the Eastvale and Norco communities; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cortez is survived by his wife, two
children, and parents; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
portion of State Highway Route 15 from Second Street in Norco
to Limonite Avenue in Eastvale as the Sergeant Gilbert begin delete Cortez,
Sr. end delete begin insert Cortez end insert and K-9 Mattie Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system showing this
special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.