One of the perks of serving in the California Legislature is naming highways, bridges and other public facilities – often for fellow politicians. In fact, there are hundreds of such signs on the state's highways.
So GOP Assemblyman Chris Norby faced an uphill battle in proposing a two-year moratorium so that tighter guidelines, he said, could be developed.
Norby introduced Assembly Bill 595 last year, but it languished in the Assembly Transportation Committee until this week.
The Fullerton Republican made his pitch Monday to his fellow committee members, citing costs and confusion from the welter of special signs.
(The Caltrans website lists 246 – yes, 246 – pages of named highways, bridges and tunnels.)
He even got support from the National Organization for Women, pointing out that just 2 percent of the official namings are for women, terming it "extreme gender disparity."
But the California Association of Highway Patrolmen opposed the measure. Its lobbyist, Aaron Read, said it would preclude honoring CHP officers killed in the line of duty.
Norby offered not only to exempt bills honoring CHP officers from the moratorium but to make it a one-year moratorium. That made the measure "pretty watered down," he said.
Even so, it attracted just five votes, well shy of the eight required for committee approval.
>CAPITOL WATCH
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has added her voice to those who want Caltrans to take over the state's controversial high-speed rail project. In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown made public Tuesday, Feinstein said using Caltrans' expertise and resources could turn the project around, adding that she has spoken with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about it.
>WORTH REPEATING
"If the lines stay the way they are, I am certainly very interested in running."
FORMER ASSEMBLY SPEAKER BOB HERTZBERG, now a Sherman Oaks businessman, talking to The Bee about whether he plans to run in the new 27th state Senate District. His entry into the race would set up a challenge with a fellow Democrat, Sen. Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills.
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