BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SCR 45 Hearing Date: 7/14/2015
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|Author: |Berryhill |
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|Version: |7/6/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Holly Glasen |
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SUBJECT: Joe Levy Memorial Highway
DIGEST: This resolution redesignates a portion of State Highway
Route (SR) 41 in the County of Fresno as the Joe Levy Memorial
Highway instead of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Freeway,
which shall be shifted southward and shall remain the same
length.
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.
SCR 45 (Berryhill) 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 redesignates the portion of SR 41 from Bullard
Avenue to Herndon Avenue in the County of Fresno as the Joe Levy
Memorial Highway. The portion of SR 41 designated as the Dwight
D. Eisenhower Memorial Freeway shall be shifted to the portion
from Golden State Boulevard to Bullard Avenue.
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 and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce
introduced this resolution to honor the achievements and
contributions of Joe Levy.
2)Background on Mr. Levy. Joe Levy was born on January 30,
1932, in Fresno, and graduated from Fresno High School in
1950. He attended the University of Southern California,
Marshall School of Business, where he graduated in 1954.
Mr. Levy began his career with Gottschalks as an Assistant
Merchandise Manager in 1956, working his way up to Executive
Vice President in 1972. He was named CEO and Chairman in
1982. Under his watch, the store expanded across Central
California and the West Coast, growing to more than 100 stores
in six western states.
Mr. Levy encouraged civic participation among Gottschalks'
employees to support an array of local organizations and
programs, including the annual "Coats for Kids" campaign. In
addition, he won the Leon S. Peters Award in 1989, the top
honor for service to the community recognized by the Fresno
Chamber of Commerce. A former president of the Fresno Chamber
SCR 45 (Berryhill) Page 3 of ?
of Commerce, Mr. Levy was active in the Downtown Association
of Fresno, the Boys Club of Fresno County, the Fresno Arts
Museum, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, and the Craig School
of Business at Fresno State. He received other awards
including the City of Hope's Spirit of Life Award and the
Fresno Advertising Federation Foundation's J.U. Berry Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Leadership positions he held include serving on the Board of
Trustees during the founding of the University of California,
Merced, the Business Advisor Council for the Craig School of
Business at Fresno State, the Executive Committee for the
Fresno Business Council, as a board member for the Fresno
Economic Development Corporation, a board member for the San
Joaquin Political Academy, a cofounder and sustaining sponsor
of the annual Central California Women's Conference, a Trustee
and Secretary of Community Hospitals of Central California, a
leader in successfully obtaining "All-American City"
designation for Fresno in 1967, a board member of the National
Retail Federation, a board member of the Fresno County
Transportation Authority, and as past president of the Fresno
Host Lions Club.
Governor George Deukmejian appointed Mr. Levy to the
California Transportation Commission in 1983, where he served
until 1991, and he was its chairman in 1986. Mr. Levy was a
driving force for successfully securing funding for the
expanding freeway system in Fresno and he aided in the
development of Highways 168 and 180 that serve as integral
transportation lines in Fresno County.
Joe Levy died on February 10, 2014. He is survived by his
wife, Sharon; his children, Felicia Weston, Dr. Jody
Schlesinger, and Bret Levy; and his nine grandchildren.
3)A bit unusual. Committee policy allows redesignation of an
existing highway segment if the sponsor can document a
good-faith effort has uncovered no opposition to rescinding
the prior designation. In this case, the author of the
original highway designation request for the Dwight D.
Eisenhower Memorial Freeway is deceased. The author of this
bill has creatively proposed to shift the Eisenhower Memorial
Freeway designation south about a mile, keeping the same
length. This frees up a segment of highway in Fresno which
will be named after Mr. Levy. The cost of changing the
SCR 45 (Berryhill) Page 4 of ?
signage will be covered through private donations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 8, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
Fresno Chamber of Commerce
Fresno City Councilmember Steve Brandau
OPPOSITION:
None received -- END --