BILL NUMBER: SCR 139 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 9, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Gaines
(Coauthors: Senators Fuller, Nielsen, and Pan)
MAY 5, 2016
Relative to the Merle Haggard Memorial Overpass.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 139, as amended, Gaines. Merle Haggard Memorial Overpass.
This measure would designate the overpass at the interchange of
Interstate 5 and State Highway Route 44 in the City of Redding
as the Merle Haggard Memorial Overpass. 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.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, Merle Ronald Haggard was born to James and Flossie
Haggard on April 6, 1937, in Oildale, just north of Bakersfield,
California. Merle's father was a railroad worker, and Merle grew up
during the Great Depression. He lived with his family in a boxcar
that they had converted into a home. As a child, Merle suffered from
a respiratory condition that frequently kept him out of school and
confined to bed rest; and
WHEREAS, James Haggard died from a brain tumor when Merle was nine
years of age. After his father's death, Merle became rebellious. In
an attempt to straighten her son out, his mother put him in several
juvenile detention centers, but it had little effect on Merle's
behavior; and
WHEREAS, As a teenager, Merle fell in love with country music,
particularly the songs of Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and
Hank Williams. When he was 12 years of age, Merle was given his first
guitar by his older brother. He then taught himself how to play by
listening to records. Continuing to rebel, he went to Texas with his
friend Bob Teague and, after returning to California, he moved to
Modesto, where he made his performing debut with Teague at a bar
named the Fun Center. The two were paid five dollars and given all
the beer that they could drink; and
WHEREAS, In 1958, at 20 years of age, Merle was sentenced to
the California State Prison at San Quentin State
Prison for burglary and an attempted escape from county
jail. While serving a two-and-one-half-year term, he played in the
prison's country band and took high school equivalency courses. In
1959, he was a member of the audience that witnessed Johnny Cash's
first performance at San Quentin. Merle Haggard would later be
officially pardoned in 1972 by then-Governor Ronald Reagan; and
WHEREAS, In 1962 1962, Merle Haggard
signed with a small label called Tally Records for whom
which he recorded five songs, including his
debut single, "Sing a Sad Song," which rose to No. 19 on the country
music charts. In 1965 1965, he formed
his own band, The Strangers, before signing with Capitol Records, and
later that year the band released their its
debut self-titled album. Their The
group's followup album, "Swinging Doors," reached No. 1 on the
country music charts the following year, and in 1967 their
the group's single "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" did
the same. Later that year, Merle Haggard continued his runaway
success with "Branded Man," his first self-penned No. 1 song; and
WHEREAS, During the remainder of the 1960s, Merle Haggard produced
a string of No. 1 singles, culminating with what would become his
signature song and his most controversial recording, "Okie from
Muskogee." Released in 1969, the song became an anthem for middle
Americans whose patriotism and traditional values were under attack
from Vietnam War protesters and hippies. "Okie from Muskogee" crossed
over to the pop charts and in 1970 earned Merle Haggard the Country
Music Association's awards for Single, Entertainer, and Top Male
Vocalist of the Year. The album of the same name also won Album of
the Year; and
WHEREAS, Merle Haggard released nearly 70 albums and 600 songs,
250 of which he wrote himself. Among his most memorable albums were
"The Fightin' Side of Me" (1970), "Someday We'll Look Back" (1971),
"If We Make It Through December" (1974), and "A Working Man Can't Get
Nowhere Today" (1977). In 1982 1982,
he recorded a duet album with George Jones called "A Taste of
Yesterday's Wine," which yielded the chart toppers "Yesterday's Wine"
and "C.C. Waterback." The following year, he collaborated with
Willie Nelson to record the widely praised compilation "Pancho &
Lefty." In addition to an impressive title track, "Pancho & Lefty"
featured the touching ballads "It's My Lazy Day," "Half a Man,"
"Reasons to Quit," and "All the Soft Places to Fall"; and
WHEREAS, Merle Haggard was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1977. In 1994 1994, his wealth of
artistic achievements, including 38 No. 1 hits, earned him induction
into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Though his musical output waned
over the years, he continued to find success with albums such as "If
I Could Fly" (2000), "Haggard Like Never Before" (2003), and his 2015
reunion album with Willie Nelson, "Djano
"Django & Jimmie," which placed him atop the country music
charts one more time; and
WHEREAS, In 2008 2008, Merle Haggard
was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove a
tumor. Reflecting on the situation, he referred to it as "the
greatest test of my fortitude"; and
WHEREAS, At the time of his death, Merle Haggard was married to
Theresa Lane, whom he married in 1993. He had three
four children from his marriage to Leona Hobbs
and two children with Lane; and
WHEREAS, Merle Haggard died at home on his northern California
ranch in Palo Cedro in Shasta County on April 6, 2016, his 79th
birthday. He had been suffering from double pneumonia and had to
cancel a string of scheduled concerts with Willie Nelson. The 11 days
he spent trying to recover from his illness had become so difficult
that he reportedly told his friends and family that he would die on
his birthday; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
overpass on Interstate 5 at the interchange of Interstate 5 and State
Highway Route 44 in in the City of Redding as the
Merle Haggard Memorial Overpass; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of appropriate signs to be placed on Interstate 5,
north and south, 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.