Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 154
CHAPTER 131
Relative to California Aerospace Day.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
June 26, 2024.
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LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 154, Ashby.
California Aerospace Day.
This measure would recognize the contributions of the aerospace, aviation, and defense industries to the history, economy, security, and educational system of California, its communities, and its citizens by proclaiming the day of June 5, 2024, as California Aerospace Day.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, The California aerospace and defense industry supports $100 billion in annual economic activity and provides California considerable economic and employment impacts of 511,000 high-paying jobs, which make up 39 percent of all state manufacturing jobs; and
WHEREAS, The California aerospace and defense industry pays $11 billion in wages and benefits, $2.9 billion in payroll taxes, and $7 billion in state and local taxes; and
WHEREAS, The aerospace industry supply chain consists of thousands of other small businesses—many of which are minority owned—that are located throughout all 58 counties; and
WHEREAS, The California aerospace industry leads the United States in aerospace and defense services, including the design and manufacture of aircraft, spacecraft, and commercial satellites, as well as a myriad of systems and instruments for search, detection, navigation, guidance, and radio and television broadcast and wireless communication systems; and
WHEREAS, California is home to many superb sites of air and space activity, including Vandenberg Space Force Base, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Base Ventura County, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the Mojave Air and Space Port, more than 20 astronomical observatories, multiple international airports, many important defense aerospace bases, and hundreds of business and general aviation airfields; and
WHEREAS, California is also home to three National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research and engineering centers, which are recognized as the Ames Research Center; the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, formerly known as the Dryden Flight Research Center; and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); and
WHEREAS, California is renowned for its aerospace workforce, suppliers, and services, with particular acclaim for its Mars landings, the Space Shuttle, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, development of the Global Positioning System (GPS), the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Artemis mission, and achievements made in the state by various aerospace entrepreneurs; and
WHEREAS, California will continue to lead in aerospace and aviation education through its superb science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs and world-class research universities. Thus, California will continue to lead the world with the innovations that enable advanced meteorological forecasting, the Global Positioning System (GPS), Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) tools for air traffic management, green aviation, sophisticated wind tunnels and test facilities, and advanced supercomputing and robotics; and
WHEREAS, California’s aerospace and defense industry is committed to continuing to lead the way on environmental stewardship, capitalizing on the innovation at the core of the aerospace and defense industry towards identifying and achieving ambitious sustainability goals; and
WHEREAS, California can continue being on the forefront of advancements in aviation through transformative aviation solutions using electric, hydrogen, and hybrid propulsion systems for urban and regional air mobility expected to be in commercial operation by 2025; and
WHEREAS, Urban air mobility and regional air mobility will provide another transportation option for California residents through quieter, zero-emissions aircraft; and
WHEREAS, California is home to several electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft manufacturers working in the urban air mobility and regional air mobility sector, which is a new sector of the aviation industry that will democratize airspace and provide a wide range of jobs for California residents; and
WHEREAS, The California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA) and the Aerospace and Defense Alliance of California (ADAC) are sponsoring an event to highlight the contributions of the aerospace and defense community in California; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the contributions of the aerospace, aviation, and defense industries to the history, economy, security, and educational system of California, its communities, and its citizens by proclaiming the day of June 5, 2024, as California Aerospace Day; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.