Bill Text: CA SCR28 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2021-07-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 64, Statutes of 2021. [SCR28 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SCR28-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 28

CHAPTER 64

Relative to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

[ Filed with Secretary of State July 09, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 28, Umberg. Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 37 as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.

Fiscal Committee: YES

WHEREAS, The Korean War was a historically significant armed conflict, fought from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953, that featured a coalition of 21 United Nations (UN) member countries contributing to the defense of a democratic Korea; and

WHEREAS, Reverberations of this war continue to affect global politics and the region, with no official peace treaty ever replacing the 1953 Korean War Armistice; and

WHEREAS, The amount of lives lost during this conflict was appalling, with over 929,000 military casualties and over 1,732,000 civilian casualties; and

WHEREAS, Members of the United States Armed Forces made significant contributions and sacrifices throughout this conflict, committing 5,700,000 military personnel, of whom over 36,000 were killed in action; and

WHEREAS, The conditions of this conflict were especially brutal, marked by freezing temperatures and a seemingly constant loss and recapturing of territory by both sides; and

WHEREAS, One hundred forty-five United States military personnel received the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor in combat and 14,388 received a Purple Heart, a statistic that personifies the extraordinary bravery and sacrifice of American military personnel throughout the conflict; and

WHEREAS, Despite the historical and global significance of the Korean War, and the extraordinary bravery and sacrifice displayed by American veterans, this conflict has become discounted and colloquially known as the “Forgotten War”; and

WHEREAS, Upon returning to the United States, many veterans felt a sense of alienation and recalled going home as a “lonely” experience; and

WHEREAS, After the war, many essential benefits were reduced for newly minted veterans, with the Department of Veterans Affairs sustaining a substantial budget decrease along with reductions in unemployment benefits and GI Bill benefits; and

WHEREAS, The veterans’ loss of these benefits was devastating, causing hospital closures, doctors to be fired, increased wait times for services, and refusals to treat veterans’ “minor” ailments, all of which were disastrous for Korean War veterans; and

WHEREAS, Countless Korean War veterans have persevered through these hardships and have established vibrant communities in California and the United States; and

WHEREAS, Current and future generations will be enriched by learning about the sacrifices made by Korean War veterans and how the Korean War and its veterans helped shape the world; and

WHEREAS, A memorial highway located in California near the same 38th parallel that demarcates North and South Korea constitutes a fitting and proper contribution to the remembrance of our Korean War veterans; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Highway Route 37 between the Atherton Avenue undercrossing at postmile 13.773 and its junction with State Highway Route 121 at postmile 3.900 as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing the special designation, consistent with the signage requirements for the state highway system, and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost of signs for which the donations were made, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.