BILL NUMBER: ACR 1	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Levine

                        DECEMBER 1, 2014

   Relative to the Robin Williams Tunnel.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 1, as introduced, Levine. Robin Williams Tunnel.
   This measure would designate the tunnel on State Highway Routes 1
and 101 at postmile .89 in the County of Marin as the Robin Williams
Tunnel. 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, Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, on
July 21, 1951, to his mother Laurie McLaurin and father Robert
Fitzgerald Williams. At 16 years of age Robin Williams moved with his
family to Tiburon, California; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams attended Redwood High School in Larkspur,
California, and studied theater at the College of Marin in Kentfield,
California. Robin Williams received a full scholarship to the
Juilliard School in New York City where he pursued his gift as an
actor and comedian; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams began his career as a comedian doing
stand-up comedy shows in the San Francisco Bay area and continued his
work in Los Angeles where he developed his improvisational style as
an actor and a stand-up comedian; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams then appeared on several television
programs and starred in "Mork and Mindy" in the late 1970s to early
1980s. Many successful film roles followed, including his role as
radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer in "Good Morning, Vietnam" in 1987,
and teacher John Keating in "Dead Poets Society" in 1989. Both roles
earned him lead actor Academy Award recognition; and
   WHEREAS, In 1997, Robin Williams was voted funniest man alive by
Entertainment. The next year, in 1998, Entertainment Weekly listed
him as one of the 25 Best Actors of all time. In 2003, he won the
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album; and
   WHEREAS, In 2005, Robin Williams received the Cecil B. DeMille
Award at the Golden Globe Awards. He dedicated that lifetime
achievement award to the memory of his good friend, fellow actor, and
roommate at Juilliard, Christopher Reeve; and
   WHEREAS, Along with his talent to make people laugh, Robin
Williams raised funds for various causes. Robin Williams' charity
work included health care, human rights, education, environmental
protection, the arts, and much more. In 2010, he gave 100 percent of
the proceeds from his shows in New Zealand to victims of the
devastating earthquake in Christchurch; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams supported the following foundations and
their work: Aid Still Required, American Foundation for AIDS
Research, Amnesty International, Andre Agassi Foundation for
Education, Augie's Quest, Bob Woodruff Foundation, Celebrity Fight
Night Foundation, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Comic Relief,
David Foster Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Dogs Deserve
Better, Dream Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation,
International Medical Corps, Keep Memory Alive, LIVESTRONG, Love Our
Children USA, Luke Neuhedel Foundation, Muhammad Ali Parkinson
Center, MusiCares, Prince's Rainforests Project, Prince's Trust,
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Smile Train, St. Jude Children's Research
Hospital, and UNICEF; and
   WHEREAS, One of Robin Williams' strongest affiliations with
philanthropy was working with Comic Relief, a nonprofit organization
with a mission to raise money for housing, health care, and the
homeless. Robin Williams would help by hosting events and shows and
performing to help raise funds; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams also was an active volunteer through the
United Service Organizations where he went on at total of six tours
and visited about 89,000 troops in 12 countries, including Iraq and
Afghanistan. Regardless of the challenging circumstances, comedian
Robin Williams made troops in conflict zones smile and laugh. Robin
Williams also listened to their personal experiences; and
   WHEREAS, He also funded the Robin Williams Scholarship at his alma
mater, the Juilliard School in New York City. Each year Robin
Williams provided a scholarship to cover the tuition cost for one
theater student; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams was a local friend to the North Bay
community of the San Francisco Bay area. He would often drop in
unannounced at comedy nights at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill
Valley. There he would encourage young, budding comedians. He did so
with kindness and humility and many comedians aspired to perform with
the same level of wit and insight as Robin Williams; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014, in his home in
Paradise Cay, Tiburon, California, as a result of suicide. Though he
bravely battled addiction and mental illness, his death was a
consequence of those diseases; and
   WHEREAS, Robin Williams will be remembered for making us laugh and
for his generosity to others. It is altogether fitting to officially
name what is commonly known as the Waldo Tunnel after Robin
Williams; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the tunnel
on State Highway Routes 1 and 101, located at postmile .89 in the
County of Marin, as the Robin Williams Tunnel; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of erecting the appropriate signs, consistent with
the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing this
special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.