This concurrent resolution rescinds an earlier legislative designation that named a segment of State Highway 198 for Colonel Charles Young and redesignates the same stretch as the Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Highway. It identifies the segment by postmile—starting at Salt Creek Road (41.226) and ending at the Sequoia National Park boundary in Tulare County—and asks the Department of Transportation to update the signs consistent with state signing requirements.
The measure is procedural and commemorative: it changes the legislative name associated with a specific SR‑198 segment and places responsibility for physical signage and related updates with Caltrans. For agencies that manage route signage, mapping systems, or heritage markers, the resolution triggers administrative work (sign replacement, database updates) without specifying funding or a implementation timeline.
At a Glance
What It Does
Rescinds the Colonel Charles Young designation created by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 142 (2018) and redesignates the defined portion of State Highway 198 as the Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Highway. It requests the Department of Transportation to update highway signs to reflect the new name in accordance with state signing rules.
Who It Affects
Caltrans (Department of Transportation) for sign manufacture, installation, and recordkeeping; Tulare County and Sequoia National Park for local wayfinding and promotional materials; state agencies and data vendors that maintain official highway name records and GIS layers.
Why It Matters
It formalizes a name change tied to a posthumous rank promotion and creates immediate administrative obligations for signage and databases. Although ceremonial, the resolution has concrete operational implications for transportation agencies, emergency dispatch systems, and organizations that publish route information.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The resolution takes two legal steps: first, it cancels the earlier legislative highway-name declaration that referred to Charles Young as "Colonel Charles Young Memorial Highway." Second, it replaces that designation with the "Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Highway" for a precise stretch of State Highway 198 in Tulare County—defined from postmile 41.226 at Salt Creek Road to the road's end at Sequoia National Park.
The text collects historical justifications for the rename—Young's life, military service, role as the first black superintendent of a national park, and a posthumous promotion to Brigadier General effective November 1, 2021—but the operative provisions are limited and technical: rescission of the earlier designation, the new designation tied to exact postmiles, and a formal request that the Department of Transportation update signs consistent with the state's signing standards.Practically, the resolution does not appropriate money or set a deadline. It asks Caltrans to make signage changes under existing signing requirements, which means the agency will have to absorb or allocate funding and scheduling within its normal sign program.
The resolution also directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies to the Director of Transportation and the author for distribution, which is the usual administrative step to notify the implementing agency and interested parties.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The resolution explicitly rescinds Assembly Concurrent Resolution 142 (Resolution Chapter 143 of 2018), which previously named the same SR‑198 segment after Colonel Charles Young.
It redesignates the portion of State Highway 198 from postmile 41.226 (Salt Creek Road) to the end at Sequoia National Park in Tulare County as the Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Highway.
The measure requests (not mandates) that the Department of Transportation update highway signing consistent with state signing requirements; it contains no appropriation or deadline for doing so.
The bill text records that Charles Young was posthumously promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General effective November 1, 2021—this underpins the change in the memorial name.
The Secretary of the Senate is directed to transmit copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for distribution, establishing the normal administrative notification chain.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Biographical and historical rationale for the renaming
The opening clauses summarize Charles Young's life: born into slavery, West Point graduate, long service with the Ninth Cavalry, first black national park superintendent, and his posthumous promotion to Brigadier General. These facts establish the symbolic and commemorative purpose of the resolution and justify the Legislature's decision to alter a prior designation. Practically, the preamble sets the narrative record lawmakers intend to attach to the highway name.
Rescission of prior legislative designation
This paragraph expressly cancels the earlier designation made by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 142 (2018) that labeled the same SR‑198 segment the Colonel Charles Young Memorial Highway. Legally the rescission removes the prior legislative naming language from the current session’s enacted resolutions; administratively it signals to state agencies and recordkeepers that the prior designation should no longer be treated as current.
Redesignation of the SR‑198 segment
Here the Legislature assigns the new memorial name—Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Highway—to a precisely defined segment of SR‑198, using postmile markers to avoid ambiguity. The use of postmiles provides Caltrans with the coordinates needed to locate which physical signs and records require updating, reducing interpretive overhead for implementation.
Request to the Department of Transportation to update signs
The resolution asks (not orders) Caltrans to change existing highway signs consistent with the state's signage requirements for the state highway system. Because it is phrased as a request and contains no funding or timeline, implementation depends on Caltrans’ prioritization, available sign program funds, and existing maintenance cycles.
Administrative transmittal
This short provision directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies of the resolution to the Director of Transportation and the author. It's a standard clause that creates the paperwork trail needed for Caltrans to receive formal notice and for the author to distribute the resolution to interested parties.
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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
- Historians and community advocates for Charles Young — The new designation formally acknowledges Young’s rank and legacy, strengthening public recognition and interpretive opportunities at the Sequoia area.
- Tulare County tourism and Sequoia National Park outreach — A named memorial highway provides a marketing hook and may increase visibility for local heritage tourism initiatives.
- Descendants and African American organizations — The legislative record and physical signage act as public commemoration, validating the posthumous rank change in the public landscape.
Who Bears the Cost
- Department of Transportation (Caltrans) — Must plan, manufacture, install, and document sign changes within existing budgets or reallocate funds; the resolution contains no appropriation.
- State mapping and data vendors, 911/emergency dispatch databases, and GIS administrators — Required to update official records and routing information to reflect the new legislative name to avoid confusion.
- Local governments and visitor centers — May need to revise brochures, web pages, and wayfinding materials to match the new designation, incurring modest design and printing costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central tension is between symbolic recognition and practical administration: the Legislature can and did change the highway name to reflect historical record and honor a posthumous promotion, but the executive branch (Caltrans) must absorb the operational and fiscal burden of making the change on the ground without any new funding or timetable—so a clear honor is simultaneously an unfunded administrative request.
The resolution is commemorative and directional: it changes the Legislature’s own naming language and asks the Department of Transportation to update signs, but it does not create an enforceable mandate, provide funding, or set a schedule. That combination leaves the practical outcome uncertain—Caltrans will decide if and when to replace signs within its routine sign program and available appropriations.
The bill identifies the affected roadway with postmile markers, which gives Caltrans precise implementation coordinates but does not resolve who bears the cost.
Another implementation puzzle is administrative synchronization. State and local databases (official route names, GIS layers, 911 databases, tourist materials) will need coordinated updates to avoid temporary inconsistencies that could affect wayfinding or emergency response.
The resolution also replaces a prior legislative naming act rather than amending a maintenance statute; that creates a clean legislative record but does not directly modify executive agency authority or funding lines. Finally, the change emphasizes a posthumous rank—while symbolically meaningful, it introduces potential confusion where older signs or third‑party maps still reflect the prior "Colonel" designation, requiring an information‑management effort beyond simple sign swaps.
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