California Assembly Bill ACR130 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: ACR 130AMENDED 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.