BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SCR 77
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 9, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                 SCR 77 (Cannella) - As Introduced:  January 28, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :  35-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Special Agent Richard "Rick" K. Oules Memorial Highway

           SUMMARY  :  Designates a portion of State Highway Route 140 in  
          Merced County as the Special Agent Richard "Rick" K. Oules  
          Memorial Highway. Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Recounts the life and accomplishments of Special Agent Richard  
            "Rick" K. Oules.

          2)Designates the portion of Highway 140 from Arboleda Drive to  
            Plainsburg Road in Merced County as the Special Agent Richard  
            "Rick" K Oules Memorial Highway.

          3)Requests that the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)  
            determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special  
            designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate  
            sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

           EXISTING LAW  :  Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating  
          and maintaining state highways, including the installation and  
          maintenance of highway signs.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown, but the measure requests that Caltrans  
          only erect the appropriate signage upon receiving donations from  
          nonstate sources covering the cost.  

           COMMENTS  :  Special Agent Richard "Rick" K. Oules served in  
          California law enforcement for over 30 years, including as a  
          patrol deputy, narcotics detective, and patrol sergeant in  
          Merced County; a special agent in the Department of Justice's  
          Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement; director of the Department of  
          Justice's Division of Law Enforcement; and as law enforcement  
          coordinator in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento.  He was  
          past president of the California Narcotics Officers' Association  
          (CNOA), served on the executive boards of CNOA and the  
          California Peace Officers' Association, and was appointed to the  
          California Council on Criminal Justice.  From 1987 to 2004,  








                                                                  SCR 77
                                                                  Page  2

          Special Agent Oules supervised an enforcement team that  
          dismantled approximately 300 methamphetamine labs.  He passed  
          away on April 4, 2011, at age 55 after battling lung cancer,  
          which was determined to be a result of long-term exposure to  
          chemicals found in methamphetamine labs.  This resolution  
          designates the portion of Highway 140 from Arboleda Drive to  
          Plainsburg Road in Merced County as the Special Agent Richard  
          "Rick" K. Oules Memorial Highway in his honor.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
          Attorney General Kamala Harris
          California Police Chief's Association
          Tom Cavallero, Merced County Sheriff-Coroner 
           
            Opposition 
           
          None

           Analysis Prepared by  :   Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093