[Filed with Secretary of State July 16, 2015.]
SCR 2, Gaines. Eugene “Gene” Chappie Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 193 in El Dorado County as the Eugene “Gene” Chappie Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
WHEREAS, Eugene “Gene” Chappie was a long-time El Dorado County resident and rancher who dedicated his life to serving his county, his state, his country, and the American people; and
WHEREAS, Gene Chappie was born on March 28, 1920, in Sacramento. After graduating from high school in 1938, he joined the United States Army and was promoted to the rank of Captain while serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and later returned to serve his country again during the Korean War; and
WHEREAS, In 1950, Governor Earl Warren appointed Gene Chappie to a vacant seat on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, where he served and represented the residents of the 4th Supervisorial District until he was elected to the State Assembly in 1964, where he served and represented the residents of the 6th Assembly District; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure in the Legislature, Gene Chappie served as Chair of the Welfare Committee from 1967 to 1969, and Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee from 1969 to 1971. He pioneered legislation in the area of eliminating architectural barriers for the handicapped, and authored measures with a more direct bearing on his district, including legislation regulating the safety and use of snowmobiles and efforts to introduce planning concepts into the Lake Tahoe basin; and
WHEREAS, Gene Chappie was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980, where he served and represented the residents of the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. During his six years in Congress, he served on the Agriculture Committee, the Small Business Committee, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and the Select Committee on Drugs and Narcotics Abuse. He announced his retirement in 1986 and returned to his family’s ranch in Cool, California; and
WHEREAS, Governor George Deukmejian appointed Gene Chappie in 1987 to the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, where he served until 1992; and
WHEREAS, Governor George Deukmejian appointed Gene Chappie in 1988 to a vacant seat on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, returning him once again to represent the constituents of the 4th Supervisorial District until 1991; and
WHEREAS, Gene Chappie served on various boards and commissions. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. At the state level, he served on the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission of the Californians, and the Heritage Preservation Commission; and
WHEREAS, Gene Chappie was a founder of the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District, and was one of the original organizers and supporters of the Jeepers Jamboree. He was a member of the Rotary Club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Pilot Hill Grange, the Native Sons of the Golden West, the El Dorado County Farm Bureau, the Elks, and the Holy Name Society; and
WHEREAS, Gene Chappie passed away on May 31, 1992, at 72 years of age at his home in Georgetown, California; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of Gene Chappie’s four decades of service to the citizens of El Dorado County and the State of California, it is fitting to designate a portion of State Highway 193 in his honor; 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 193 from State Highway 49 to Cramer Road in El Dorado County as the Eugene “Gene” Chappie 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 Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.
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