BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 48
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
ACR 48 (Gilmore) - As Introduced: March 5, 2009
SUBJECT : State Route 184
SUMMARY : Designates State Route (SR) 184 as the Deputy James
Throne Memorial Highway. Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the life and career of James Throne, a deputy with
the Kern County Sheriff's Department whose patrol car was
struck by another patrol car while he was assisting in the
pursuit of a suspect.
2)Designates SR 184, also known as Weedpatch Highway, in Kern
County as the Deputy James Throne Memorial Highway.
3)Requests the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 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.
EXISTING LAW : Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating
and maintaining state highways. This includes the installation
and maintenance of highway signs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : James Throne put himself through the Kern County
Sheriff's Department Academy, graduating in 2002, because he
wanted more out of his life.
After joining the Kern County Sheriff's Department as an extra
help deputy, he moved to the Taft Police Department where,
within less than one year, he was assigned to CAL-MMET, a
multijurisdictional, specialized unit targeted at street-level
ACR 48
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methamphetamine use and sales. Deputy Throne subsequently
rejoined the Kern County Sheriff's Department fulltime, where he
was initially assigned to the Court Services Division. After
completing a field training program, he was assigned to a patrol
position at the Lamont Substation, where he would spend the rest
of his career.
Because of Deputy Throne's prior experience, he was able to
assist his colleagues with their narcotics investigations. He
also served the department through teaching in-service classes
and defensive tactics, and as an involved member of the
Sheriff's Activity League he often read to children in
afterschool programs and presented classes on drug and gang
awareness.
In recognition of his law enforcement capabilities and
contributions to his colleagues and community, the Bakersfield
Optimist Club honored Deputy Throne as the 2007 Officer of the
Year. Tragically, on May 23, 2008, while assisting another
deputy in pursuit of a suspect, Deputy Throne's patrol car was
struck by another deputy's patrol car. He died at the accident
scene.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Kern County Supervisors Mike Maggard and Michael J. Rubio
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093