BILL NUMBER: SCR 9 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Kelley JANUARY 21, 1997 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9--Relative to the Avocado Highway. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 9, as introduced, Kelley. Avocado Highway. This measure would designate the section of Interstate Highway Route 15 between the junction of State Highway Route 78 in the City of Escondido and the City of Temecula the Avocado Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate plaques and markers showing these designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect appropriate plaques and markers. Fiscal committee: yes. WHEREAS, Approximately 90 percent of the avocados consumed in the United States are grown between the City of San Luis Obispo and the United States-Mexico border; and nearly 50 percent of the avocados are grown in San Diego County; and WHEREAS, The average annual California avocado crop is approximately 330 million pounds and is valued at over $230 million at the farm gate level; and WHEREAS, The California avocado industry contributes approximately $1 billion to the California economy; and WHEREAS, The California avocado industry employs 21,000 persons, including over 6,000 growers; and WHEREAS, The section of Interstate Highway Route 15 between the junction of State Highway Route 78 in the City of Escondido and the City of Temecula is the most fertile avocado growing area in the nation; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the section of highway of Interstate Highway Route 15 between the junction of State Highway Route 78 in the City of Escondido and the City of Temecula is hereby officially designated the Avocado Highway; and be it further Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate plaques and markers, consistent with the signing requirements of the state highway system, showing those special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those plaques and markers; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Director of Transportation.