This concurrent resolution assigns an honorary name—the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputies Floyd and Michael Coleman Memorial Highway—to a portion of State Route 120 in San Joaquin County and asks the Department of Transportation to erect signs marking the designation if nonstate donations cover the cost. The measure is ceremonial: it memorializes two law enforcement officers and directs administrative action rather than creating new regulatory duties or appropriating state funds.
The resolution matters to Caltrans (which must follow state signing rules and determine sign costs), local officials and community members who drive or live along SR‑120, and private donors or organizations that may fund the signage. The Fiscal Committee recorded a fiscal referral, so there is at least a nominal state cost consideration, even though the text ties sign erection to outside donations rather than a state appropriation.
At a Glance
What It Does
The resolution identifies a specific portion of SR‑120 for the honorary designation and requests that the Department of Transportation calculate the cost of appropriate signs and erect them only after receiving sufficient nonstate donations. It also asks the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies to the Director of Transportation and the author.
Who It Affects
Directly affected parties include Caltrans (Department of Transportation) for sign planning and placement, local San Joaquin County officials and law enforcement for memorial recognition, and private donors or community groups that would supply funds for sign production and installation. Motorists on the designated SR‑120 segment will see the new signage once installed.
Why It Matters
The measure creates a visible, place‑based memorial and sets a donor‑funded model for erecting honorary highway signs consistent with state signing standards. For compliance officers and local government counsel, the resolution signals small administrative and potential maintenance implications for a state agency without creating a statutory funding obligation.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The text opens with a sequence of recitals recounting the lives and service of Floyd Coleman and his son Michael. Floyd served in the sheriff’s auxiliary beginning in 1954 and later as Rangemaster; Michael started as a cadet and rose to deputy and undercover detective with the Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force.
On March 25, 1982, Michael was shot during the service of a search warrant; Floyd, rushing to the hospital, suffered a fatal heart attack. Both were pronounced dead and were laid to rest side by side in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Escalon.
The recitals form the factual basis the Legislature uses to justify the honorary naming.
Substantively, the resolution designates an honorary name for a defined stretch of State Route 120 in San Joaquin County. It asks the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of 'appropriate signs, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system' and to erect the signs only when it has received donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover those costs.
The resolution does not appropriate state money or mandate that Caltrans use state funds to produce or install the signs.Because this is a concurrent resolution, it carries no regulatory changes to highway operations, maintenance responsibilities, or land use; it functions as a formal legislative naming act and an administrative request to the Department of Transportation. The resolution also instructs the Assembly Chief Clerk to transmit copies to the Director of Transportation and to the author so the department and interested parties can take whatever administrative steps are next—typically a cost estimate and coordination with local stakeholders on sign design and placement.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The resolution is honorary: it designates a named memorial for a defined portion of State Route 120 but does not create new regulatory obligations for drivers or change highway jurisdiction.
It conditions sign installation on receipt of 'donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost,' meaning no state appropriation is required or authorized for sign production.
Signs must comply with existing state highway signing requirements—Caltrans controls design, placement, and whether the proposed signage meets safety and consistency standards.
The resolution specifies the segment by reference to postmiles (S Van Allen Road at postmile 13.83 to N Ripon Road at postmile 9.82) in San Joaquin County.
The Assembly directs the Chief Clerk to transmit copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and the author to trigger administrative follow‑up.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Biographical and factual findings supporting the memorial
This opening section collects the bill’s factual recitals: Floyd Coleman’s long association with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office (auxiliary member and Rangemaster), Michael Coleman’s career as a cadet, deputy and undercover detective, and the events of March 25, 1982, when Michael was shot during a drug‑warrant service and Floyd suffered a fatal heart attack en route to the hospital. The recitals establish the Legislature’s rationale for granting an honorary highway name and identify burial location and community ties that anchor the memorial locally.
Creates the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputies Floyd and Michael Coleman Memorial Highway
This operative clause names a specific stretch of State Route 120 in San Joaquin County as the memorial highway. It references the segment by road and postmiles rather than by a municipal boundary, which gives Caltrans a precise technical description for sign placement and mapping. Because this is a concurrent resolution, the naming is ceremonial and does not alter statutory highway classifications or maintenance duties.
Requests Caltrans determine sign cost and install signs upon donor funding
The resolution instructs the Department of Transportation to calculate the cost of appropriate signs and to erect them only if nonstate donations cover those costs. It explicitly ties sign design and installation to the state’s signing requirements, leaving Caltrans discretion over compliance with safety, size, and placement rules. The clause avoids authorizing state funds, which shifts the immediate fiscal burden to external donors but leaves open Caltrans’ administrative role in coordination and installation.
Administrative transmission to trigger action
The final clause orders the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to send copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author. That transmission is the practical trigger for Caltrans to prepare a cost estimate, review sign conformity, and engage with local authorities and potential donors—standard administrative steps after an honorary naming resolution is adopted.
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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
- Family and descendants of Floyd and Michael Coleman — receives public, place‑based recognition of their service and sacrifice.
- San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement community — gains a permanent public acknowledgment that contributes to institutional memory and honors fallen officers.
- Local community and municipalities along SR‑120 (Manteca, Escalon, Stockton area) — benefit from a community landmark that can support remembrance events and local identity.
- Private donors, veterans’ groups, and memorial organizations — receive a clear pathway to fund visible, localized recognition via donor‑funded signage.
Who Bears the Cost
- Nonstate donors or community groups — must provide funds sufficient to cover sign production and installation before Caltrans erects the signs.
- Department of Transportation (Caltrans) — must expend staff time to estimate costs, approve sign design and placement under state signing rules, and manage installation logistics; Caltrans may bear incremental maintenance or administrative costs over time.
- Local governments and sheriff’s office — may incur planning, ceremony, or coordination costs related to unveiling or ongoing memorial events, even if sign production is donor‑funded.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between honoring public servants in a visible, place‑based way and preserving a consistent, safety‑driven public highway system without shifting ongoing costs or administrative burdens onto the state: memorialization asks for public recognition, but the donor‑funded, administratively managed approach risks creating uneven signage, maintenance obligations, and a precedent that prioritizes memorials backed by private resources.
The resolution ties sign erection to outside donations but leaves several practical and fiscal questions open. It does not specify whether donor funds cover ongoing maintenance, replacement, or liability for signs, so Caltrans could face future unfunded maintenance obligations.
The 'consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system' language preserves safety and uniformity standards but gives Caltrans broad discretion over placement, size, and aesthetics; that discretion can delay or alter the community’s expectations for the memorial.
There is also a precedent question: by conditioning erection on nonstate donations, the measure creates a pathway for private funding of signage on state highways. Repeated use of that pathway may increase the administrative burden on Caltrans and raise equity concerns about which memorials secure donor support.
Finally, because the resolution is ceremonial, it does not change legal responsibilities for the highway itself; the practical effect depends entirely on Caltrans’ implementation decisions and the availability of private funds.
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