Bill Text: CA AB1289 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: State government: California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-5)

Status: (Passed) 2013-08-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 191, Statutes of 2013. [AB1289 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1289-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1289	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooley

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to add Section 429.9 to the Government Code, relating to
state government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1289, as introduced, Cooley. State government: California
Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
   Existing law establishes the state flag and the state's emblems,
including, among other things, the poppy as the official state flower
and the California redwood as the official state tree.
   This bill would establish the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial
as the official state Vietnam veterans war memorial.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California has the largest United States veteran population in
the nation, comprised of approximately two million armed services
veterans, which is 12.3 percent of the nationwide veteran population
of nearly 25 million veterans, who represent approximately one-fifth
of California's total population.
   (b) More than 350,000 California veterans served in Vietnam,
resulting in 5,822 killed or missing in action, which comprised more
than 10 percent of the nation's total, and 40,000 wounded.
   (c) More California residents died in Vietnam than residents of
any other state and California veterans received more Medals of
Honor, Bronze Stars, and Purple Hearts than veterans of any other
state.
   (d) The history of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial began
when Herman Woods, a double amputee who served in the 1st Air Cavalry
Division, United States Army (1970), returned to California from the
dedication of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in our nation's
capitol, Washington, D.C., in 1982.
   (e) Assembly Member Richard Floyd subsequently held a rally on the
steps of the State Capitol and over 800 people attended; he was
convinced that construction of the California Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was the will of California Vietnam veterans.
   (f) Assembly Member Richard Floyd introduced Assembly Bill 650,
which created the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol
Park, and was signed into law by Governor Deukmejian in September
1983.
   (g) The newly formed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission was
comprised of nine veterans, eight of whom served in Vietnam,
including Linda J. McClenahan, Chairperson, Leo K. Thorsness, Medal
of Honor recipient and Vice Chairperson, and members Gregory C.
Green, Treasurer, Abel A. Cota, Secretary, B.T. Collins, Don A.
Drumheller, Jesse G. Ugalde, Senator Jim Ellis, Assembly Member
Richard E. Floyd, member and author of Assembly Bill 650, and Jerri
L. Dale, Executive Officer, which led to the creation of the
California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
   (h) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located in the
northeast section of the Capitol Park grounds of the State Capitol
and is a standing tribute to the 5,822 servicemen and servicewomen
killed and missing in action.
   (i) The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on
December 10, 1988, in Capitol Park; there were thousands in
attendance at the dedication ceremonies where Brigadier General
George B. Price was the keynote speaker at the dedication; and the
dedication events were spread out over a two-day period, commencing
with "Buddy Search" registrations, unit reunions, open houses, and
concluding with the dedication ceremony in Capitol Park.
   (j) The theme of the memorial reflects the overwhelming majority
of those who were killed in Vietnam, including 19-year-old infantry
soldiers, their youth, camaraderie, the fatigue of the war, and the
American women who served, with the winning entry in the opening
design competition awarded to Michael Larson, a Marine Corps Vietnam
veteran, and Thomas Chytrowski.
   (k) B.T. Collins and Stan Atkinson, who had traveled to Vietnam
together after the war, undertook the mission of raising the
necessary funds to complete the memorial.
  SEC. 2.  Section 429.9 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   429.9.  The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the official
state Vietnam veterans war memorial.