BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          SCR 38            Hearing Date:    5/5/2015 
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          |Author:   |Roth                                                  |
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          |Version:  |4/9/2015                                              |
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          |Urgency:  | No                    |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant|Christine Hochmuth                                    |
          |:         |                                                      |
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          SUBJECT:  Memorial highways


            DIGEST:  This resolution designates a portion of State Highway  
          Route (SR) 91 in the county of Riverside as the Staff Sergeant  
          Salvador J. Lara, Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas, and  
          Sergeant Jesus S. Duran Memorial Highway.

          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.








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          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 portion of SR 91 from Madison  
          Street to the SR 60, Interstate 215 interchange in the County of  
          Riverside as the Staff Sergeant Salvador J. Lara, Staff Sergeant  
          Ysmael R. Villegas, and Sergeant Jesus S. Duran Memorial  
          Highway.  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 service of three Medal of Honor recipients.

          2)Background on Honorees.  Staff Sergeant Salvador J. Lara was  
            born in Riverside, California, in 1920.  He achieved the rank  
            of Staff Sergeant and was awarded the Distinguished Service  
            Cross (upgraded to the Medal of Honor on March 18, 2014), the  
            Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal,  
            the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two  
            Bronze Service Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the  
            Presidential Unit Citation, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and  
            the Honorable Service Lapel Button - World War II.

            Staff Sergeant Lara died on September 1, 1945, and is buried  
            at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold,  
            Moselle, France.  He is survived by his niece Vivian Hernandez  
            and his brother Alfonzo, who accepted the Medal of Honor on  
            his behalf from President Barack Obama on March 18, 2014.

            Staff Sergeant Ysmael "Smiley" R. Villegas was a  
            Mexican-American who was born on March 21, 1924, and raised in  
            the Casa Blanca neighborhood in the City of Riverside,  
            California.  Staff Sergeant Villegas was awarded the Silver  
            Star for actions taken during the Battle of Luzon in the  








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            Philippines on March 1, 1945.  He was also a recipient of the  
            Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific  
            Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the  
            Philippine Liberation Medal.

            On March 20, 1945, Staff Sergeant Villegas was leading his  
            squad at Villa Verde Trail in Luzon in the Philippines and  
            became mortally wounded during a sweep of a combatant enemy  
            field.  On October 19, 1945, President Harry S. Truman  
            posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant  
            Villegas, presenting the medal to his surviving family,  
            consisting of his mother and father, and five brothers and six  
            sisters.  Staff Sergeant Villegas was the first Riverside  
            County resident to ever receive the Medal of Honor and the  
            first veteran to be buried at the Riverside National Cemetery  
            when it opened in 1978.  

            Sergeant Jesus S. Duran was born on July 26, 1948, in Juarez,  
            Mexico, and was the sixth of 12 siblings.  Sergeant Duran  
            joined the United States Army on May 13, 1968, and was  
            assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry  
            Division (Airmobile) to support Search and Destroy missions.   
            During his service in the Vietnam War, Sergeant Duran  
            distinguished himself during combat operations against an  
            armed enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on April 10, 1969.  For  
            his service, Sergeant Duran received the Bronze Star Medal,  
            the Air Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National  
            Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four  
            Bronze Service Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and many  
            awards for marksmanship. 

            Upon leaving the military, Sergeant Jesus S. Duran pursued a  
            career as a corrections officer at a juvenile detention center  
            in San Bernardino where he dedicated time to mentor youth and  
            lead them on educational trips. Sergeant Duran married twice  
            and had two beloved children.  Sergeant Jesus S. Duran passed  
            away on February 17, 1977, and is survived by his daughter  
            Tina Duran-Ruvalcaba, who accepted the Medal of Honor on his  
            behalf from President Barack Obama on March 18, 2014.  She  
            also received the Medal of Honor flag in a ceremony where  
            Sergeant Duran was inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes.

          3)Committee policy.  In order for this resolution to be  
            consistent with the provisions of the committee's policy on  
            highway and interchange designations, the segment of highway  








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            being named must not exceed five miles.
            
          4)Technical amendments.  The author has accepted amendments to  
            designate the portion of State Highway Route 91 between  
            Madison Street and 3rd Street as the Staff Sergeant Salvador  
            J. Lara, Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas, and Sergeant Jesus  
            S. Duran Memorial Highway.
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:       Fiscal Com.:  Yes    Local:  
            


            


          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          April 29, 2015.)
          
            SUPPORT:  

          American Legion, Department of California
          AMVETS, Department of California
          California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
          California State Commanders Veterans Council
          Military Officers Association of America, California Council of  
          Chapters
          Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
          Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council

          OPPOSITION:

          None received

          
          

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