BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: scr 119
          SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN              AUTHOR:  fuller
                                                         VERSION: 6/3/14
          Analysis by:  Carrie Cornwell                  FISCAL:  yes
          Hearing date:  June 10, 2014




          SUBJECT:

          California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Gerald N. Harris  
          Memorial Interchange

          DESCRIPTION:

          This resolution names the interchange of State Route (SR) 99 and  
          eastbound SR 58 in Bakersfield as the CHP Officer Gerald N.  
          Harris 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  
            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 measure must represent the  
            district in which the facility is located, and the measure  
            must identify the specific highway segment or structure being  
            named. 
           If the segment of highway is being named for a specific  
            individual or individuals, it 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  




          SCR 119 (FULLER)                                       Page 2

                                                                       


            designation.

           This resolution  designates the interchange of SR 99 and  
          eastbound SR 58 in the County of Kern as the CHP Officer Gerald  
          N. Harris Memorial Interchange.  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 honor the  
            life and service of Gerald N. Harris.   

           2.Background on CHP Officer Gerald N. Harris  .  Born in  
            Bakersfield in 1938, Gerald Harris graduated from North High  
            School there and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Upon  
            his honorable discharge the Marine Corps in 1965, he enrolled  
            in the CHP Academy.  Officer Harris served all but one year of  
            his CHP career in Bakersfield, and it was there in February  
            1974, while directing traffic at an intersection in his home  
            city, that a vehicle hit him.  He survived the accident with  
            what seemed like non-life-threatening injuries, but ultimately  
            died of an embolism after flying to San Francisco for further  
            treatment.  Survived by his wife, Sherril, and his daughter  
            Holly, who was then age eight, Gerald N. Harris died on 
          February 27, 1974.

           3.Consistent with the committee's policy  .  This resolution is  
            consistent with all the provisions of the committee's policy  
            on highway designations.  
          
          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,                                             June 4,  
          2014.)

               SUPPORT:  California Association of Highway Patrolmen  
          (sponsor)

               OPPOSED:  None received.







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