BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SCR 24 Hearing Date: 5/5/2015
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|Author: |Wolk |
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|Version: |2/27/2015 |
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|Urgency: | No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Lieutenant Colonel James C. Warren Memorial
Interchange
DIGEST: This resolution designates the interchange of
Interstate Routes 80 and 505 in Solano County as the Lieutenant
Colonel James C. Warren Memorial Interchange.
ANALYSIS:
This committee has adopted a policy regarding the naming of
state highways or structure. 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.
SCR 24 (Wolk) Page 2 of ?
5)The segment of highway being named must not exceed five miles
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 interchange of Interstate Routes
80 and 505 in Solano County as the Lieutenant Colonel James C.
Warren Memorial Interchange. This 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 service of Lt. Colonel Warren.
2)Background on Lieutenant Colonel James C. Warren. James C.
Warren was born on August 16, 1923, in the racially segregated
community of Gurly, Alabama. He left the area at age 15 when
his mother sent him to Island Park, Illinois to attend high
school. Mr. Warren enlisted in 1943 with the U.S. Army Air
Force's Tuskegee Airmen unit. He was assigned to Indiana's
Freeman Field, where he completed training to qualify as both
a navigator and bombardier. Lt. Colonel Warren was one of the
101 black officers at Freeman Field in 1945 who were arrested
and charged with mutiny because they refused to comply with
base regulations excluding black officers from a base
officers' club. The Air Force cleared the service records of
all 101 officers in 1995.
After serving with the 477th Bombardment Group of the Tuskegee
Airmen, Lt. Colonel Warren spent 35 years with the U.S. Air
Force, for which he flew 173 combat missions in Korea and
Vietnam. He earned numerous awards during this time,
including the Congressional Gold Medal, the Distinguished
Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force
Commendation Medal.
SCR 24 (Wolk) Page 3 of ?
Lt. Colonel Warren graduated from the University of Nebraska
and ultimately became the oldest individual to earn a pilot's
license at the age of 87 years. Lt. Col. Warren distinguished
himself through his community leadership and participation in
the Nut Tree Airport's Young Eagles Program, as well as his
membership with the Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum
Foundation, the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and Tuskegee
Airmen Incorporated. Lt. Col. Warren passed away on May 17,
2014, at the age of 90 following a battle with cancer.
3)Consistent with committee policy. This resolution is
consistent with the provisions of the committee's policy on
highway designation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Yes Local:
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 29, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received
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