Bill Text: CA ACR130 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Caltrans District 7 Fallen Workers Memorial Interchange.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [ACR130 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR130-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 130 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 10, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gomez
FEBRUARY 1, 2016
Relative to the Caltrans District 7 Fallen Worker
Workers Memorial Interchange.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 130, as amended, Gomez. Caltrans District 7 Fallen
Worker Workers Memorial Interchange.
This measure would dedicate the interchange at State Highway Route
2 and Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County as the Caltrans District 7
Fallen Worker Workers Memorial
Interchange. The measure would also request the Department of
Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing
this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, Highway construction is one of the most dangerous
occupations in the United States. The risk of death is seven times
higher for highway workers than for an average worker, according to a
study conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
of the United States Department of Labor; and
WHEREAS, There have been 183 Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) workers killed on the job since 1921. On average, 1,000
Caltrans vehicles are struck each year. In addition to the danger to
workers, an estimated 85 to 90 percent of people who are killed in
highway work zones are drivers and their passengers; and
WHEREAS, On April 24, 2013, two Caltrans maintenance employees
lost their lives at a massive rockslide along State Route 96 in
Siskiyou County. They were specialized rock scalers who died while
working to prevent rocks from falling onto motorists. Shawn Baker of
Weed, California, who was 50 years of age at the time, is survived by
his wife and four children. Joseph "Robert" Jones of Montague,
California, who was 40 years of age at the time, left behind his wife
and three children. A third rock scaler, Kevin Skillen of Yreka,
California, was severely injured; and
WHEREAS, The deaths of Shawn Baker and Robert Jones ended a
two-year stretch of Caltrans not having had a maintenance employee
fatality on the job. Most recently, on May 2, 2013, another Caltrans
worker, Dean Patton of Grass Valley, California, who was 51 years of
age at the time, was fatally hit by a motorist while on his way to
the 23rd annual statewide Caltrans worker memorial ceremony held on
the west steps of the State Capitol to honor Caltrans workers who
have died on the job, including Joseph Jones and Shawn Baker; and
WHEREAS, In addition to law enforcement and Department of
California Highway Patrol officers, contracted highway workers are
also at risk of death. The latest data shows that speeding was a
factor in more than 35 percent of all fatal work zone crashes. Most
work zone fatalities are the result of rear-end collisions caused by
driver distraction, inattention, and aggressive driving; and
WHEREAS, Caltrans has adopted a "Slow for the Cone Zone" campaign
to raise public awareness and to ask motorists to be alert and slow
down, allow extra following room, expect sudden stops, never drive
impaired, and avoid distractions, including the use of cell phones,
in highway work zones. Fines are doubled in highway work zones and
can easily total $1,000 or more for drivers who speed, drive
aggressively, text or are otherwise distracted, or cause collisions
in a highway work zone; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, Caltrans installed 100 permanent "Move Over"
signs throughout California to promote Senate Bill 240 (Chapter 175
of the Statutes of 2010), the Move Over law, which requires drivers
on a freeway to move over a lane if safe to do so, or slow down, when
approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle or a
stationary authorized Caltrans vehicle that is displaying flashing
amber warning lights; and
WHEREAS, the The Legislature desires
to promote the safe operation of motor vehicles in and through all
highway and freeway work zones and the use of caution and
care when the motoring public sees the state work force working along
the state's highways. The Legislature strives to promote the safety
of all state employees by serving notice to motorists who travel
upon and commute daily in and through the state to
be cognizant of those who have given their lives to provide safe,
consistent mobility of travel seven days a week, 24 hours a day; and
WHEREAS, Caltrans District 7 has diligently strived to eliminate
worker fatalities through training, safe practices, and
implementation of features to lessen the exposure of maintenance
personnel upon the state's highways. Considerable efforts have
yielded no fatalities in District 7 since the year 2000. It is
therefore important that a memorial interchange in District 7 be
established at a time where improvement can be cited rather than a
rush to announce another fatality; and
WHEREAS, A Caltrans District 7 Fallen Worker
Workers Memorial Interchange should be dedicated to the
men and women who have served California as transportation
professionals deserving of recognition for the highest sacrifice,
while performing their duties on the state highway system. State
highway workers in District 7 have made the ultimate sacrifice in
serving the state with 31 fatalities since 1921; now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature dedicates the interchange at
State Route 2 and Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County as the Caltrans
District 7 Fallen Worker Workers
Memorial Interchange; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested 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 that cost, to erect those signs; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.
