Senate to Vote on Naming Freeway for Reagan

SACRAMENTO — While the Assembly convenes Monday to the high drama of a partisan power struggle, one of the first orders of business in the Senate is expected to be uncontested: the renaming of the Simi Valley Freeway for former President Ronald Reagan.

A Senate resolution to post the ailing ex-president’s name on the 118 Freeway from San Fernando to Ventura County is expected to win easy approval, said Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), the measure’s main author.

“I think it’s appropriate to acknowledge Ronald Reagan’s contribution as a private citizen, as governor and as president,” the Senate leader said Friday. “And naming a freeway after him is one of the ways that those honors get bestowed.”

The action follows a brief skirmish between the California Department of Transportation and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), who as chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee said he opposes naming freeways for living people.

“I’d prefer the policy of naming freeways in honor of people who have died,” he said. “I have nothing against Ronald Reagan, but where do you draw the line?”

Suggesting that Caltrans was trying to rush the freeway renaming, Katz sent a letter to the department Sept. 12 warning it against moving forward without first obtaining Senate approval.

Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago said the assemblyman’s request for assurances amounted to “much ado about nothing.”

“He voiced the concern,” Drago said. “But the fact of the matter is this is going through the normal process anyway.”

Caltrans estimates the cost of installing signs to designate the 118 as the Ronald Reagan Freeway at about $4,000.