BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 113
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 22, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
ACR 113 (Caballero) - As Introduced: January 27, 2010
SUBJECT : State Route 101
SUMMARY : Designates a segment of State Route (SR) 101 as the
Bracero Memorial Highway. Specifically, this bill :
1)Recounts the history of the Bracero program in California
during and after World War II and the tragic accidents that
took scores of lives of these Mexican laborers.
2)Designates the 15-mile segment of SR 101 from exit 302, south
of Soledad, to exit 317, south of Chualar, in Monterey County
as the Bracero 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.
4)Specifies that the signs are to be erected within 100 feet of
exit 302, south of Soledad, on the northbound lane and 200
feet south of Chualar after exit 317 in the southbound lane.
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 : As noted in this bill, Mexican nationals, known as
Braceros, were legally contracted to work mostly in the
agricultural and railroad industries in the Salinas Valley, and
elsewhere, to alleviate a labor shortage during World War II.
This bill describes two tragic, preventable incidents as an
illustration of their unsafe working conditions and points out
that legal immigrant farmworkers continue to cross the border to
work in many parts of California without being provided safe
working conditions or being treated with dignity and respect.
It therefore seeks to recognize the Braceros' contributions and
ACR 113
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sacrifice in the Salinas Valley and elsewhere in California by
designating a segment of SR 101, between Soledad and Chualar, in
Monterey County, as the Bracero Memorial Highway.
Suggested Committee amendment : It is unusual for a
highway-naming resolution to identify precisely where signs and
markers should be erected. This is usually done through a
collaborative process between Caltrans and resolution sponsors
that takes place subsequent to a resolution's enactment, in
order to ensure that all relevant engineering and safety factors
are taken into account. The bill should therefore be amended so
that it simply requests Caltrans to erect the appropriate
signage. This can be accomplished by deleting the language on
page 3, lines 10 through 12 ("within 100 feet of exit 302, south
of Soledad, on the northbound lane and 200 feet south of Chualar
after exit 317 in the southbound lane"), that attempts to
specify sign location.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Services Immigration Rights & Education Network
The Bracero Program of Monterey County
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093