BILL NUMBER: ACR 50INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Garrick APRIL 7, 2011 Relative to the Ronald Reagan Coronado Bridge. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 50, as introduced, Garrick. Ronald Reagan Coronado Bridge. This measure would redesignate the San Diego-Coronado Bridge as the Ronald Reagan Coronado Bridge. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing the designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs. Fiscal committee: yes. WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois in 1911 to John Edward "Jack" Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan, and arrived in Hollywood in 1937. In December 1941, right after the United States entered into World War II, Reagan was drafted into the army. His nearsightedness kept him from the front line so he spent three years working for the motion picture army unit making training and propaganda films. Over the next three decades, he starred in 53 films and was the host of General Electric Theater; and WHEREAS, During his time in the entertainment industry, Ronald Reagan served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 through 1952 and again in 1959. In 1957, the film "Hellcats of the Navy," which featured Ronald Reagan and his future wife Nancy David, was filmed in San Diego. It was the only film that starred both Ronald and Nancy; and WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was elected Governor of California in 1966, serving two terms until 1975. In 1980, he was elected President of the United States and was reelected in 1984. Ronald Reagan won the majority of votes in San Diego County in the 1966 and 1970 gubernatorial elections, as well as the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. He ended both of his presidential campaigns in San Diego. With these victories, Ronald Reagan became the first and only person to serve as Governor of California and President of the United States; and WHEREAS, Dealing skillfully with Congress, President Reagan pursued legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and government expenditures. During his two terms as President, he successfully moved a nation, whose national spirit had been low, toward greater prosperity and a sense that better times were ahead; and WHEREAS, The excellent speech delivered by President Reagan in Berlin on June 12, 1987, was not only the most important speech of the entire Cold War, but also a turning moment for the East German and Eastern European opposition. His message, a straightforward call for freedom and democracy along with a proposal for several more initiatives that should not be forgotten, encouraged all those behind the Iron Curtain who hoped for a better future. The Berlin Wall came down 10 months after President Reagan left the White House, but his boldness in calling for its demolition two years earlier plainly deserves much of the credit; and WHEREAS, San Diego has played host to many of the significant events that marked the life of Ronald Regan, including events at the El Cortez Hotel, University of California, San Diego, the Embarcadero, and the San Diego Concourse. On August 2, 1969, Governor Reagan gave the dedication speech for the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. He was quoted in 1988 stating that when he was in San Diego, he felt he was with family and friends and that he loved San Diego; and WHEREAS, It is appropriate to redesignate the San Diego-Coronado Bridge for Governor and President Ronald Reagan to commemorate his deep-rooted connection with San Diego; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the San Diego-Coronado Bridge is hereby designated as the Ronald Reagan Coronado Bridge; and be it further Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is hereby requested to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing the designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit a copy of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.