BILL NUMBER: SJR 19INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Strickland FEBRUARY 23, 2012 Relative to military base closures. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 19, as introduced, Strickland. Military base closures. This measure would urge the California delegates of Congress to protect California military bases from closure during any upcoming base realignment and closure processes. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently released the 2013 Fiscal Year defense budget proposal which includes a request for two new base closure periods, one in 2013 and one in 2015; and WHEREAS, The Department of Defense lists 33 installations in the State of California; and WHEREAS, As of September 30, 2009, the Department of Defense listed 117,806 military personnel and 61,365 civilian personnel employed in military bases located in California; and WHEREAS, Nearly fifty-seven billion dollars ($57,000,000,000) of federal defense funding is spent in California; and WHEREAS, California has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation; and WHEREAS, Another base closure in California could have a devastating impact on the state and local economies; and WHEREAS, The impact of a base closure goes beyond the employment of the base personnel, impacting small, local businesses, schools, sales and property tax bases of the local community, the environment, the hospitality industry, and the housing market; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the California delegates of Congress to protect California military bases during any upcoming base realignment and closure processes; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the minority leader of each house, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.