Colorado 2024 Regular Session

Colorado House Bill HJR1017 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		Second Regular Session
2	2		Seventy-fourth General Assembly
3	3		STATE OF COLORADO
4		-	~~REVISED~~
	4	+	ENGROSSED
5	5
6	6
7	7		LLS NO. R24-0928.01 Lauren Hackett x2291
8	8		HJR24-1017
9	9		House Committees Senate Committees
10	10		HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1017
11	11		C
12	12		ONCERNING RENAMING BRIDGE I-04-K ON U.S. HIGHWAY 50 OVER101
13	13		THE GUNNISON RIVER AS THE "BRIGADIER GENERAL FELIX102
14	14		S
15	15		PARKS MEMORIAL BRIDGE".103
16	16		WHEREAS, Brigadier General Felix Sparks was a famous resident1
17	17		of Delta, Colorado who made significant contributions to the peace,2
18	18		safety, and general welfare of our great state and nation as a World War3
19	19		II war hero who helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp and was4
20	20		also a District Attorney for Colorado's 7th Judicial District, the longtime5
21	21		Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, an Associate Justice6
22	22		of the Colorado Supreme Court, and a Brigadier General of the Colorado7
23	23		National Guard; and8
24	24		WHEREAS, Sparks was born in San Antonio, Texas on August 2,9
25	25		1917, and raised in the small copper mining town of Miami, Arizona; and10
26		-	SENATE
27		-	Final Reading
28		-	February 27, 2024
29	26		HOUSE
30	27		Final Reading
31	28		February 23, 2024
32	29		HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
33	30		Soper and Weissman, Amabile, Armagost, Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Bottoms, Bradley,
34	31		Brown, Clifford, Daugherty, deGruy Kennedy, Duran, English, Evans, Frizell, Froelich,
35	32		Garcia, Hamrick, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp, Lieder, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Lukens, Lynch, Mabrey,
36	33		Marshall, Martinez, Marvin, Mauro, McCluskie, McCormick, McLachlan, Ortiz, Parenti,
37	34		Pugliese, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Snyder, Story, Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Velasco, Weinberg,
38	35		Willford, Wilson, Winter T., Young
39	36		SENATE SPONSORSHIP
40		-	Will and Roberts, Baisley, Bridges, Buckner, Coleman, Cutter, Danielson, Exum, Fenberg,
41		-	Fields, Gardner, Ginal, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Kolker,
42		-	Liston, Lundeen, Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Pelton B., Pelton R., Priola, Rich,
43		-	Rodriguez, Simpson, Smallwood, Sullivan, Van Winkle, Winter F., Zenzinger
	37	+	Will and Roberts,
44	38		Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
45	39		Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
46	40		Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. WHEREAS, Sparks enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1936 and served1
47	41		two years on active duty before joining the Army Reserve and attending2
48	42		the University of Arizona; and3
49	43		WHEREAS, Sparks was called to active duty for World War II in4
50	44		1939 and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1940; and5
51	45		WHEREAS, Through combat in Sicily, Italy, France, and6
52	46		Germany, Sparks served with the 45th Infantry Division's 157th Infantry7
53	47		Regiment and, near the end of the war, was commander of the 157th8
54	48		Infantry's 3rd Battalion, which he led during the liberation of the Dachau9
55	49		concentration camp; and10
56	50		WHEREAS, Sparks was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and11
57	51		twice awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his wartime efforts;12
58	52		and13
59	53		WHEREAS, After the war, Sparks came to Colorado where he14
60	54		attended law school at the University of Colorado, graduated with his15
61	55		Bachelor of Laws degree in 1947, and immediately began practicing law16
62	56		in Delta, Colorado at the law firm of Sparks, Willett, Conklin, and17
63	57		Carroll; and18
64	58		WHEREAS, Sparks' law firm and the names associated with it19
65	59		would go on to make history, with Willett's son, Yeulin Willett, and20
66	60		Carroll's granddaughter, Morgan Carroll, serving in the Colorado state21
67	61		legislature and Charles Conklin serving as Speaker of the House from22
68	62		1957 until 1960; and23
69	63		WHEREAS, In 1948, Sparks was elected District Attorney for the24
70	64		7th Judicial District, and he served as an Associate Justice of the25
71	65		Colorado Supreme Court in 1956; and26
72	66		WHEREAS, In 1958, Sparks was appointed Director of the27
73	67		Colorado Water Conservation Board, a position he maintained until his28
74	68		retirement in 1979; and29
75	69		WHEREAS, Along with his leadership on the Colorado Water30
76	70		Conservation Board, Sparks was a commissioner on the Upper Colorado31
77	71		River Commission and represented the state in important water resource32
78	72		management negotiations including negotiations that led to the passage33
79	73		1017
80	74		-2- of the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act; and 1
81	75		WHEREAS, Sparks' work on the Colorado Water Conservation2
82	76		Board and Upper Colorado River Commission led to the funding and3
83	77		construction of several Colorado river projects including the Dolores4
84	78		Project, the Dallas Creek Project, and the Animas-La Plata Project; and5
85	79		WHEREAS, Sparks was a lead drafter on the 1969 Water Rights6
86	80		Determination and Administration Act, and in 1972 he took a lead role in7
87	81		developing Colorado's initial instream flow protection program; and8
88	82		WHEREAS, Sparks continued his military service until 1977,9
89	83		working his way up the ranks of the Colorado National Guard and10
90	84		eventually being promoted to Brigadier General and serving as Assistant11
91	85		Adjutant General for Army and Commander of the Colorado Army12
92	86		National Guard; and13
93	87		WHEREAS, On September 25, 2007, at the age of 90, Sparks14
94	88		passed away of pneumonia in Denver; and15
95	89		WHEREAS, In 2020, Netflix released a docudrama titled "The16
96	90		Liberator" that is based on Sparks' leading of his battalion to free the17
97	91		prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp in World War II; and 18
98	92		WHEREAS, While Sparks may be best remembered for his heroic19
99	93		military career, he was also one of our state's most accomplished leaders20
100	94		in water legislation, and his work continues to have ripple effects to this21
101	95		day; now, therefore,22
102	96		Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the23
103	97		Seventy-fourth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate24
104	98		concurring herein:25
105	99		That it is fitting and proper to rename the U.S. highway 50 bridge26
106	100		over the Gunnison river in Delta as the "Brigadier General Felix Sparks27
107	101		Memorial Bridge", and that funds from gifts, grants, and donations be28
108	102		used to pay for appropriate signage indicating the bridge's name.29
109	103		Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent30
110	104		to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Water31
111	105		Conservation Board, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the32
112	106		City of Delta, Delta County, the Colorado River District, the Delta33
113	107		1017
114	108		-3- County Historical Society, and members of the Sparks family. 1
115	109		1017
116	110		-4-