BILL NUMBER: SCR 85	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Correa

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   Relative to the Viet Dzung Human Rights Memorial Highway.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 85, as introduced, Correa. Viet Dzung Human Rights Memorial
Highway.
   This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway
Route 39 (Beach Boulevard) in the County of Orange as the Viet Dzung
Human Rights Memorial Highway. The measure would request the
Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate
signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations
from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
   Fiscal committee: yes.



   WHEREAS, Prior to his death in December 2013, at the age of 55
years, Viet Dzung was a recognized musician, songwriter, emcee,
community leader, and an ardent voice for freedom, human rights, and
democracy, particularly in Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung was born in Saigon, Vietnam, on September 8,
1958, to a former member of parliament and a school teacher; and
   WHEREAS, After the end of the Vietnam War, he fled to Singapore
before moving to the United States in 1976 and being reunited with
his family; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung's father served honorably as a South
Vietnamese military police officer and suffered at the hands of a
communist government as a prisoner in a concentration camp for seven
years, and his mother struggled every day to support her family in
postwar Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, Drawing strength from his family's refugee experience,
Viet Dzung was a champion involved in and leading the Vietnamese
American community to honor the Vietnamese culture and to celebrate,
defend, and press for freedoms both here and in Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung was instrumental as an organizer and emcee for
the annual Black April Commemoration at the Vietnam War Memorial in
the City of Westminster to honor United States and South Vietnamese
veterans and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for freedom
during the Vietnam War; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung reached out to and involved thousands of
Vietnamese Americans, including performers, singers, students,
business owners, religious leaders, and nonprofit leaders, as a daily
voice on Radio Bolsa every morning providing news and public service
announcements to the largest Vietnamese American community in the
United States; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung, whose real name was Nguyen Ngoc Hung Dung,
was respected in Little Saigon and worldwide for his dedication to
the Vietnamese refugee community and his commitment to fighting for
human rights, religious freedom, and democracy in Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, Thousands of people have been inspired by Viet Dzung's
activism, music, and art throughout his meaningful life; and
   WHEREAS, Viet Dzung's life serves as an example of how one person
can have a positive impact on those around him and his community;
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 39 (Beach Boulevard) between State
Highway Route 405 and Talbert Avenue in the County of Orange as the
Viet Dzung Human Rights 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 Department of Transportation and to the author for
appropriate distribution.