This concurrent resolution names a defined portion of State Route 99 in San Joaquin County as the San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff Dighton Little Memorial Highway to honor a county deputy who died in the line of duty. It is a ceremonial designation that recognizes local service and sacrifice.
The measure asks the California Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs for the designation and to erect those signs only after receiving sufficient donations from nonstate sources to cover the cost. It also directs clerical transmission of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and the author for distribution.
At a Glance
What It Does
The resolution designates a named memorial highway and requests the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to calculate the cost of signs and install them, provided private (nonstate) donations fully cover the expense. Signs must conform to existing state highway signing requirements.
Who It Affects
Caltrans (for cost estimation, permitting and placement), potential private donors who would finance signage, San Joaquin County officials and the sheriff’s office (as stakeholders in the memorial), and motorists who will see the signs along SR‑99.
Why It Matters
Although ceremonial, the resolution creates a small administrative duty for Caltrans and establishes a donation‑funded pathway for roadside memorial signage—an approach that reduces state capital outlay but shifts cost and some decision points to private parties and the agency.
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What This Bill Actually Does
Dighton Little joined the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office in 1979 and served in custody, patrol, and detective assignments; he was also an original member of the county SWAT team. On October 20, 1989, while the SWAT team was serving a drug search warrant in Ripon, an exchange of gunfire resulted in Deputy Little being fatally shot.
He is survived by immediate family members and is being honored by this legislative naming.
Rather than creating a new program or spending state funds directly, the resolution takes the familiar route of naming a stretch of highway for an individual and asking the state transportation agency to handle signage only if private donations cover the cost. The resolution specifies administrative follow‑through: the agency should determine sign cost consistent with state highway signing rules, and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly must transmit copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and the author so the agency and local contacts receive the designation request.The memorial designation is limited in scope: it applies to a defined segment of an existing state highway and does not create an entitlement to ongoing state maintenance beyond normal highway upkeep.
Placement and design of any signs must comply with Caltrans’ existing standards for the state highway system, which govern size, location, and reflectivity to maintain safety and uniformity along the route.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The resolution names the stretch of State Route 99 between the East Hammer Lane overpass (postmile 22.922) and the Armstrong Road overpass (postmile 27.505) in San Joaquin County as the San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff Dighton Little Memorial Highway.
The Department of Transportation is asked to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing the special designation, subject to the department’s signing requirements for the state highway system.
Caltrans will erect the signs only after it receives donations from nonstate sources that are sufficient to cover the entire cost of the signs.
The measure is a concurrent resolution (ceremonial), not a statute creating new regulatory powers or penalties; it requests action rather than mandating state expenditure.
The Chief Clerk of the Assembly is directed to transmit copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution and follow‑up.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Names the specified SR‑99 segment for Deputy Dighton Little
This provision sets the memorial name and the precise endpoints of the designated segment on State Route 99. That precision (including postmile references) fixes where any signage would be placed and creates the formal record the agency uses to approve and locate signs.
Requests Caltrans to determine sign costs consistent with state standards
This clause asks the Department of Transportation to calculate what 'appropriate signs' will cost and requires those signs to be consistent with signing requirements for the state highway system. Practically, that means Caltrans will apply its existing size, placement, materials, and safety standards rather than creating a bespoke sign program for this memorial.
Conditions installation on receipt of nonstate donations
Rather than authorizing state funds, the resolution conditions sign installation on receiving sufficient donations from nonstate sources. That shifts initial capital cost away from the state but requires either community fundraising or private sponsorship; Caltrans must verify receipt of funds before installation.
Directs clerical transmission to agency and author
This short administrative provision directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to send copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author. That creates the formal communication channel so Caltrans is informed of the request and the author can handle local outreach or donor coordination.
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Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Dighton Little’s family and local community — gains a permanent, public recognition of his service and sacrifice that can serve as a place of remembrance.
- San Joaquin County law enforcement and local officials — receive symbolic recognition that can support morale and community relations.
- Local historical and veterans/law‑enforcement groups — obtain an official, named landmark that they can reference in commemorations, grants, or educational materials.
- Motorists and the traveling public — gain a named reference point on SR‑99 that can aid local wayfinding and serve as a public memorial.
Who Bears the Cost
- Private donors or local organizations — bear the direct cost of purchasing and funding the signs because installation is conditioned on receipt of nonstate funds.
- Caltrans — incurs administrative costs for cost estimation, processing, permitting, and installing signs (though the capital cost is donor‑funded), and must absorb any incidental staff time within existing workloads.
- Local elected officials and the author’s office — likely responsible for coordinating fundraising, donor outreach, and follow‑through, which requires staff time and local political capital.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between honoring an individual through an official, visible public marker and preserving the state highway system’s uniformity and limited resources: the bill solves the funding problem by shifting costs to private donors, but that approach can produce uneven outcomes, administrative friction, and pressure on Caltrans to reconcile donor preferences with safety and design standards.
The resolution delegates most of the hard choices to Caltrans and to private donors: the agency must decide what 'appropriate signs' mean under its existing standards, while donors must supply funds before installation. That arrangement reduces direct state spending but raises questions about pace, design variation, and who organizes funding.
If donations lag or donors demand particular design features, Caltrans may face pressure to balance donor wishes against uniformity and safety standards.
There is also a crowding issue: the state highway system already has many commemorative names, and each new memorial requires discrete sign placement. Multiple memorials along the same corridor or in nearby locations can create clutter, distract drivers, and complicate maintenance.
Relying on nonstate funds eases near‑term fiscal pressure but may shift long‑term maintenance obligations or expectations onto the agency if donors later request replacements or upgrades without providing follow‑up funds.
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