This concurrent resolution designates a portion of State Route 10 in Riverside County as the Assistant Chief Josh Bischof, Captain Timothy “Tim” Rodriguez, and Pilot Tony Sousa Memorial Highway. It asks the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with state highway signing rules and to erect those signs only after receiving nonstate donations sufficient to cover the expense.
The measure memorializes three men who died responding to the Broadway Wildland Fire and creates a procedural template for future donor-funded memorial signage: a legislative naming plus an administrative request to Caltrans to price and install signs without authorizing state expenditures.
At a Glance
What It Does
Designates the SR‑10 segment between post mile R16.544 (Malki Road undercrossing) and post mile R19.398 (East Cabazon Ramp overcrossing) as the Assistant Chief Josh Bischof, Captain Timothy Rodriguez, and Pilot Tony Sousa Memorial Highway. It directs the Department of Transportation to calculate the cost of compliant signage and to install signs only after receiving nonstate donations that cover those costs.
Who It Affects
The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for sign procurement and installation; private donors or organizations that may provide funds for signage; Riverside County and local communities adjacent to the designated SR‑10 segment; and CAL FIRE and first‑responder communities memorializing deceased members.
Why It Matters
The resolution sets a practical pathway for memorializing individuals on state highways while explicitly shifting immediate sign costs off the state treasury. For compliance officers and public works planners, it clarifies an administrative process for donor‑funded signs and ties sign content and placement to existing state signing standards.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The resolution names a precise portion of State Route 10 in Riverside County in memory of three individuals who died while fighting a wildfire. It is a naming resolution: it does not appropriate funds or create new regulatory powers, but it does instruct the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to take two discrete administrative steps — determine the cost of appropriate signs and erect them if private donations cover that cost.
Practically, Caltrans must estimate expenses consistent with the “signing requirements for the state highway system,” which controls sign size, placement, and materials. The resolution conditions installation on the receipt of nonstate funds sufficient to cover those calculated costs; it therefore contemplates donor payment for fabrication and installation rather than drawing on the State Highway Account or other appropriations.The bill also contains legislative recitals that memorialize the August 6, 2023 helicopter collision during the Broadway Wildland Fire and records the careers and surviving family members of the three honored individuals.
Finally, it instructs the Assembly Chief Clerk to send copies to the Director of Transportation and the author for distribution — a standard administrative closing that prompts Caltrans to act on the request.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The resolution identifies the exact segment: SR‑10 from post mile R16.544 (Malki Road undercrossing) to post mile R19.398 (East Cabazon Ramp overcrossing).
Caltrans must ensure any erected signs comply with existing state highway signing requirements (size, placement, materials, and reflectivity standards).
Signs will be installed only after nonstate donations sufficient to cover the calculated cost are received — the resolution does not appropriate state funds for this purpose.
The naming memorializes three people killed in a helicopter collision on August 6, 2023, during the Broadway Wildland Fire: CAL FIRE Assistant Chief Josh Bischof, CAL FIRE Captain Timothy Rodriguez, and contract pilot Tony Sousa.
The Chief Clerk is directed to transmit copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author, effectively initiating the request to Caltrans to price and install the signs.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Creates the memorial highway designation for a defined SR‑10 segment
This provision names the stretch of SR‑10 in Riverside County after the three individuals and supplies the precise endpoints by post mile. For practical purposes that establishes the legal description Caltrans will use for locating signs, permits, and any public information. It does not change road ownership, maintenance responsibility, or traffic control on SR‑10 — it is a ceremonial naming.
Directs Caltrans to price signs and erect them contingent on private donations
The resolution requires the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of 'appropriate signs' consistent with state signing rules and then to erect those signs only upon receipt of nonstate donations sufficient to cover the cost. That creates a two‑step administrative task for Caltrans: a cost estimate (which must follow sign standards) and a funding acceptance/installation trigger, but it does not authorize Caltrans to expend state funds absent an appropriation.
Memorial recitals and administrative transmittal requirements
The recitals document the August 6, 2023 incident, summarize the careers and survivors of the three honorees, and state the Legislature's intent to honor their service. The final clause asks the Assembly Chief Clerk to transmit copies to the Director of Transportation and the author, a procedural step that signals Caltrans to respond to the request and provides the author and agency documentation for follow‑up.
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Who Benefits
- Families and survivors of the deceased — they receive a permanent, on‑highway public memorial recognizing the service and sacrifice of their loved ones.
- CAL FIRE and first‑responder communities — the naming provides a public recognition that supports morale and institutional memory.
- Local community and motorists in Cabazon/Riverside County — residents gain a formal, place‑based commemoration that anchors local remembrance and public ceremonies.
Who Bears the Cost
- Department of Transportation (Caltrans) — must perform cost estimates, administrate donation acceptance, manage contracting for sign fabrication/installation, and assume long‑term maintenance responsibilities unless otherwise arranged.
- Private donors or organizations — the resolution requires nonstate donations sufficient to cover sign costs before installation, shifting immediate financial burden to private parties.
- State taxpayers (potentially) — if donated funds are insufficient and political pressure arises for replacement or repairs, future maintenance or replacement could fall to Caltrans and thus to public budgets absent a specific appropriation.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between honoring fallen public servants through visible, place‑based memorials and the state's reluctance to commit public funds — the resolution solves the budget problem by requiring private donations, but that shifts cost and creates unequal outcomes, administrative complexity for Caltrans, and unanswered questions about long‑term maintenance.
The resolution relies on a common California mechanism — legislative naming combined with a request to Caltrans — but it leaves several implementation details open. It asks Caltrans to calculate costs and erect signs consistent with signing rules, yet it does not specify whether donated funds must be placed in a dedicated account, how long Caltrans will hold donations before installation, or who is responsible for long‑term upkeep and replacement of the signs.
Those operational questions matter because the agency will need procedures for accepting private funds and for reconciling donor intent with state procurement and installation processes.
Shifting initial costs to private donors avoids a direct appropriation but creates equity and administrative issues. Communities with active donors can obtain signage quickly; communities without donors will not.
Caltrans also faces a modest administrative burden — cost estimations, sign design reviews for compliance, contracting, and ongoing maintenance — and the resolution does not provide funds or a timeline for those tasks. Finally, the naming is ceremonial and does not alter highway control, yet the practical presence of new signs can require engineering review for sight lines, reflectivity, and driver distraction, which the bill does not address explicitly.
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