BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: acr 67
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: alejo
VERSION: 6/25/14
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: August 5, 2014
SUBJECT:
Senator Henry J. Mello Highway, Oscar Rios Highway, John
Steinbeck Highway, Gateway to Pinnacles Highway, and CHP Officer
Kenyon Youngstrom Memorial Interchange
DESCRIPTION:
This resolution names a portion of Highway 1 in Monterey County
as the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway; a portion of State
Highway Route 129 in the City of Watsonville as the Oscar Rios
Highway; a portion of Highway 101 in the City of Salinas as the
John Steinbeck Highway; a portion of Highway 101 in Monterey
County as the Gateway to the Pinnacles Highway; and an
interchange in Contra Costa County as the CHP Officer Kenyon
Youngstrom Memorial Interchange.
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:
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.
The person being honored must be deceased.
The naming must be done without cost to the state. Costs for
signs and plaques must be paid by local or private sources.
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.
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The segment of highway being named must not exceed five miles
in length.
The proposed designation must reflect a community consensus
and be without local opposition.
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 designates the following:
Highway 1 from the Pajaro River to Struve Road in Monterey
County as the Senator Henry J. Mello Highway
State Highway Route 129 from Blackburn Street to the Highway 1
junction at Riverside Drive in the City of Watsonville as the
Oscar Rios Highway
Highway 101 from the Espinosa Road/Russell Road undercrossing
to John Street in the City of Salinas as the John Steinbeck
Highway
Highway 101 from Exit 305 at Camphora Gloria Road to Exit 301
at Arroyo Seco Road in Monterey County as the Gateway to the
Pinnacles Highway
The interchange at Interstate 80 and Highway 24 in Contra
Costa County as the CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom Memorial
Interchange
This resolution also repeals SCR 43 (DeSaulnier), Resolution
Chapter 98, Statutes of 2013, which designated the Livorna Road
Undercrossing of State Highway Route 680 in Contra Costa County
as the CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom Memorial Undercrossing.
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 introduced this resolution to recognize
the rich history that exists in and around the Counties of
Monterey and Santa Cruz, as well as to honor the life and
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service of CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom.
2.Background :
Senator Henry J. Mello. Henry Mello, the son of
Portugese immigrant parents, was born and raised in
Watsonville. In the 1940s, he helped start the Mello
Packing Company, a family apple business, and became a
member of the California Agricultural Advisory Board.
Mello was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of
Supervisors in 1966, to the California State Assembly in
1976, and to the California State Senate in 1980. Senator
Mello represented the counties of Santa Cruz and San
Benito, as well as parts of the counties of Monterey and
Santa Clara, until 1996. Senator Mello authored 726 bills,
120 of which focused on senior issues; he also created the
California Senior Legislature. After leaving the state
Senate, Senator Mello worked with the state Department of
Transportation to prioritize construction of an overpass to
improve traffic safety at the intersection of Highway 1 and
Salinas Road.
Oscar Rios. Oscar Rios was born in El Salvador in 1950
and currently resides in Santa Cruz County. In 1960, his
family emigrated to San Francisco, where he became a U.S.
citizen. Mr. Rios moved to Watsonville in 1985, where he
became the regional organizer for La Alianza, a non-profit
agency that provides advocacy referral and citizenship
processing. In 1989, Mr. Rios was elected to the
Watsonville City Council. In 1992, he became the first
mayor of Salvadorean descent in the country. Mr. Rios was
a founding member of the Latino Caucus of the League of
California Cities. Mr. Rios led voter registration drives
through the Southwest Voter Registration Project and worked
on numerous campaigns to get other Latinos elected to
public office. He served for 17 years on the Watsonville
City Council and is the longest serving Latino city
councilmember in Santa Cruz County history. Mr. Rios
retired from the council on December 11, 2012.
John Steinbeck. John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr., was born on
February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Mr. Steinbeck's
work as an author has attracted people from around the
world to visit the central coast of California, Monterey
Bay, and the Salinas Valley. John Steinbeck was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize in 1940, the Nobel Prize for Literature
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in 1962, and the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1964 for his
cultural contributions as a novelist, journalist,
historian, and social commentator. Mr. Steinbeck's
literary works include 16 novels, a collection of short
stories, four screenplays, various journalistic essays,
three travel narratives, a translation, and two published
journals.
Pinnacles National Park. President Theodore Roosevelt
established Pinnacles National Monument in 1908. On
January 10, 2013, President Obama signed an act of Congress
making it Pinnacles National Park. The City of Soledad,
located five miles from the park, is known as the "Gateway
to the Pinnacles."
CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom. Officer Youngstrom was
killed in the line of duty in September 2012. SCR 43
(DeSaulnier), Resolution Chapter 98, Statutes of 2013,
designated the Livorna Road Undercrossing of SR 680 in
Contra Costa County as the CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom
Memorial Undercrossing. This bill repeals SCR 43 and
instead designates the interchange at Interstate 680 and
Highway 24 in Contra Costa County as the CHP Officer Kenyon
Youngstrom Memorial Interchange.
1.Not consistent with committee policy . This resolution is
consistent with committee policy in all but one section. The
section naming a portion of Highway Route 129 as the Oscar
Rios Highway violates the committee policy provision stating
that the person being honored must be deceased. Mr. Rios is
still alive. Therefore, the committee must vote to waive
committee policy prior to taking this bill up for a vote.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 54-3
Appr: 12-5
Trans: 11-1
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, July 30,
2014.)
SUPPORT: California Association of Highway Patrolmen
City of Soledad
Soledad Unified School District
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Transportation Agency for Monterey County
OPPOSED: None received.