Bill Text: CA SCR47 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 47

Bill Title: Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird Justice For All Plaza.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 70-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-24 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 141, Statutes of 2023. [SCR47 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SCR47-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 47

CHAPTER 141

Relative to state government.

[ Filed with Secretary of State August 24, 2023. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 47, Glazer. Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird Justice For All Plaza.

This measure would designate the plaza at the center of the California State Capitol World Peace Rose Garden in the City of Sacramento as the Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird Justice For All Plaza. The measure would also request the Department of General Services to determine the cost of erecting appropriate plaques and markers showing the designation and, upon receiving donations, to cover the cost to erect signage.

Fiscal Committee: YES

WHEREAS, In 1977, Rose Elizabeth Bird was appointed as the first female Chief Justice of California by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. During her tenure, she was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Judicial Council; and

WHEREAS, Rose Bird was known among colleagues and the public as a dedicated protector of justice on the Supreme Court. She was an active writer, penning numerous opinions that upheld California’s environmental laws and consumer protections; and

WHEREAS, Rose Bird was a strong advocate against the unlawful implementation of the death penalty and joined a court majority in 61 cases to return death penalty convictions to the trial court for additional review; and

WHEREAS, Rose Bird brought many improvements to the California Supreme Court itself. She oversaw major advancements in court technology, including the first purchase of computers for the justices and staff. She also expanded the court’s hiring processes to reach people who had not historically been able to seek employment with the court; and

WHEREAS, Rose Bird was the first woman to serve as a cabinet member for a California governor when she was appointed in 1975 as the Secretary of the Agriculture and Services Agency; and

WHEREAS, During her tenure as Secretary of the Agriculture and Services Agency, Rose Bird prioritized the health and safety of farmworkers by banning the short-handled hoe that forced workers to stoop over for hours. She also helped write the Agricultural Labor Relations Act that gives farmworkers the right to select and join unions for the purpose of collective bargaining; and

WHEREAS, In 1966, Rose Bird was the first female deputy public defender in Santa Clara County and, in 1965, the first female law clerk on the Supreme Court of Nevada; and

WHEREAS, Rose Bird was a trailblazer for women in law and has no state recognition for her contributions to the State of California. Few state buildings and parks are named after female contributors to California law; and

WHEREAS, It is the intent of the Legislature to commemorate Rose Bird’s many accomplishments in California’s legal and justice systems; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the plaza at the center of the California State Capitol World Peace Rose Garden, located at 1317 15th Street in the City of Sacramento, be designated as the Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird Justice for All Plaza; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of General Services is requested to determine the cost of erecting appropriate plaques and markers, consistent with the signage requirements for state buildings, showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources, to cover that cost to erect signage; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.