BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2704 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016
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|Author: |Gipson |
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|Version: |4/26/2016 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Arthur Terzakis |
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SUBJECT: State Capitol: Mervyn Dymally bust
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the construction and maintenance
of a bust in the State Capitol Building Annex to honor Mervyn M.
Dymally.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Grants the Department of General Services (DGS) general
authority for planning, leasing, managing, disposing of state
property including maintenance of the park around the State
Capitol Building.
2)Provides for the placement of certain memorials on the grounds
of the State Capitol.
3)Grants the Joint Rules Committee exclusive authority to
allocate space in the State Capitol Building Annex except for
the first floor of the building which is under the control of
DGS. The State Capitol Building Annex is the annex to the
historic State Capitol, constructed to the east of the
original building, situated in the area bounded by 10th, L,
15th and N Streets in the City of Sacramento. The east Annex
was completed in 1952 to house the Governor and the Lieutenant
Governor and to provide additional office space and committee
rooms for the Legislature.
AB 2704 (Gipson) Page 2 of ?
This bill:
1)Authorizes the Mervyn Dymally Memorial Capitol Foundation
(Foundation), upon establishment, and in consultation with
DGS, to plan a bust of Mervyn Dymally to be placed in the
State Capitol Building Annex.
2)Requires DGS, in consultation with the Foundation, to review
preliminary designs, ensure compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), review and approve California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents, review final
construction documents, prepare the right-of-entry permit as
specified, prepare a maintenance agreement and inspect the
construction performed by the contractor selected by the
Foundation.
3)Requires the bust design and any other aspect of the bust be
approved by DGS and the Foundation.
4)Requires that the planning, construction and maintenance of
the bust be funded exclusively through private donations to
the Foundation.
5)Makes it explicit that construction of the bust shall not
begin until the Joint Committee on Rules has approved and
adopted the plan for the bust and the Joint Committee on Rules
and the Department of Finance have determined sufficient
private funding is available to construct and maintain the
bust.
6)Requires the Foundation, if it elects to undertake
responsibility for construction of the bust, to sign a
maintenance agreement with the state to maintain the bust with
private contributions.
7)Contains legislative findings and declarations relative to Mr.
Dymally's historic contributions as a leader, not only in the
African American Community, but for California as a whole.
Background
Mervyn Malcolm Dymally, born May 12, 1926, died October 7, 2012.
Mervyn Dymally was born in Cedros, Trinidad and moved to
AB 2704 (Gipson) Page 3 of ?
California when he was 19 years old. Mr. Dymally was elected to
the California State Assembly in 1962, becoming the first
foreign-born person of African descent to ever hold a state
office in California, and served until 1966. He then served in
the California State Senate from 1966 to 1974. Mervyn Dymally
served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975-1979, and was
California's first African American to hold this statewide
office. Mr. Dymally continued his public service as a United
States Congressman for 12 years from 1981-1993. He finished his
political career in the California State Assembly, serving six
years from 2002-2008. Mr. Dymally is widely recognized as a
significant and effective figure in California politics. In
fact, throughout his career of public service he was considered
the "Dean of Black Politicians," and for almost half a century
he impacted the political environment not only in California and
Washington, D.C., but in Africa, the Caribbean, and as a mentor
to a generation of elected officials.
Purpose of the bill. According to the author's office, placing
a bust in the State Capitol will memorialize Mervyn Dymally as
the first African American Lieutenant Governor in California and
commemorate his legacy of public service to this state. The
author's office states that this bust will serve to inspire
African Americans and all Californians as a model of community
and political leadership.
The author's office references the fact that there are busts of
Mr. Dymally at the following locations: Charles R. Drew
University of Medicine and Science (Mervyn Dymally School of
Nursing); CSU Dominguez Hills; Mervyn M. Dymally High School
(Los Angeles); Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and
Economic Institute; Cedros, Trinidad; the African American
Museum of California; and, the National African American Museum
in Washington D.C.
Comments. Although this bill does not designate a specific
location for the bust in the State Capitol Building Annex, the
author has expressed a desire to have it situated in or near the
Lieutenant Governor's Office. The location will need final
approval from DGS and the Joint Committee on Rules.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2358 (Hagman, Chapter 682, Statutes of 2012) authorized the
construction of a memorial in the State Capitol Building Annex
AB 2704 (Gipson) Page 4 of ?
to honor former Governor and United States President, Ronald
Reagan.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
California State Conference of the NAACP
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Watts Labor Community Action Committee
OPPOSITION:
None received