BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING Senator Jim Beall, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: ACR 1 Hearing Date: 6/9/2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Levine | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |4/23/2015 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Christine Hochmuth | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Robin Williams Tunnel DIGEST: This resolution designates the Waldo Tunnel on State Highway Route (SR) 101 in the County of Marin as the Robin Williams Tunnel. ANALYSIS: The committee has adopted a policy regarding the naming of state highways or structures. Under the policy, the committee will consider only those resolutions that meet all of the following criteria: 1)The person being honored must have provided extraordinary public service or some exemplary contribution to the public good and have a connection to the community where the highway or structure is located. 2)The person being honored must be deceased. 3)The naming must be done without cost to the state. Costs for signs and plaques must be paid by local or private sources. 4)The author or co-author of the resolution must represent the district in which the facility is located, and the resolution must identify the specific highway segment or structure being named. 5)The segment of highway being named must not exceed five miles ACR 1 (Levine) Page 2 of ? in length. 6)The proposed designation must reflect a community consensus and be without local opposition. 7)The proposed designation may not supersede an existing designation unless the sponsor can document that a good faith effort has uncovered no opposition to rescinding the prior designation. This resolution designates the Waldo Tunnel on State Highway Route 101 between postmile 0.885 and postmile 1.074 in the County of Marin as the Robin Williams Tunnel. The resolution further requests that the Department of Transportation erect appropriate signs upon receiving donations from non-state sources to cover the costs. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. The author introduced this resolution to honor the life and charitable contributions of Robin Williams. 2)Background on honoree. 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. He 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 acting and comedy. 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. He then appeared on several television programs and starred in "Mork and Mindy" in the late 1970s to early 1980s. His film credits include 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. In 1997, Robin Williams was voted funniest man alive by Entertainment Weekly. 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. In 2005, Robin Williams received the Cecil B. ACR 1 (Levine) Page 3 of ? DeMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards. Robin Williams' charity work included health care, human rights, education, environmental protection, the arts, and much more. He 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. Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014, in his home in Paradise Cay, Tiburon, California, as a result of suicide after suffering from addiction and mental illness. 3)Consistent with committee policy. The segment of highway to be named is popularly known as the Waldo Tunnel. However, there has never been an official designation. Therefore, this resolution is consistent with committee policy that the proposed designation may not supersede an existing designation. Assembly Votes: Floor:77-0 Appr: 16-0 Trans: 16-0 FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.) SUPPORT: ACR 1 (Levine) Page 4 of ? None received OPPOSITION: None received -- END --