Inventory of the James R. Mills Papers, No online items

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1 No online items Processed by the California State Archives staff. California State Archives 1020 "O" Street Sacramento, California Phone: (916) Fax: (916) URL: California Secretary of State. All rights reserved. See series description. 1

2 Identification Number: See series description. California State Archives Office of the Secretary of State Sacramento, California Contact Information: California State Archives 1020 "O" Street Sacramento, California Phone: (916) Fax: (916) URL: Processed by: The California State Archives staff Date Completed: 2001 Encoded by: Lucy G. Barber 2001 California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: James R. Mills Papers, Date (inclusive): Inventory: See series description. Creator: Mills, James R. Extent: 3.25 cubic feet Repository: California State Archives Sacramento, California Abstract: James R. Mills, Democrat, was a member of the Assembly from 1961 to 1966 and a member of the Senate from 1967 to The John J. Mills papers consist of Assembly Bill files from and photographs, Physical location: California State Archives Language: English. Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult California State Archives staff. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], James R. Mills Papers, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California. Acquisition Information The California State Archives received a deed of gift from James R. Mills. Processing History See series description. 2

3 This collection was processed by staff of the California State Archives over a period of time and described in a finding aid in Biography James R. Mills, Democrat, was a member of the Assembly from 1961 to 1966 and a member of the Senate from 1967 to As an Assembly Member, he represented the 79th District, which included downtown San Diego, North Park, and East San Diego. As a Senator, he represented the 40th District, which included from 1967 to 1975, parts of Imperial and San Diego counties. After redistricting took effect in 1975, his district was only in San Diego County. He was born in San Diego on June 6, He attended public schools in San Diego. He received a B.A. in Social Studies and an M.A. in History from San Diego State College. He served with United States Army from On January 9, 1959, he married Joanna Rohrbough. They had three children: Beatrice, William, and Eleanor. He was a teacher and historian. Before his election to the Assembly, he served as the Curator at the Serra Museum. He was a member of the San Diego Historical Society, the American Legion, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Southeast San Diego Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Maritime Research Society and F. & A.M.. He also served as a contributing editor for San Diego Magazine. He wrote two books on the history of San Diego: San Diego: Where California Began and Historical Landmarks of San Diego County. He also published The Gospel According to Pontius Pilate and Poems of Inspiration from the Masters. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amtrak from After working as a volunteer for the California Democratic Council, Assembly Member Mills was elected to the State Assembly of California in After reapportionment opened up new seats in the Senate, he was elected to that chamber in He served as the Democratic Caucus Chairman, He was elected President pro Tempore on the Senate in January 1971 and served until January According to the California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), he served on the following committees: Assembly, Standing Committees Constitutional Amendments, Engrossment and Enrollment, Chair, Finance and Insurance, Chair, Fish and Game, Industrial Relations, Interstate Cooperation, Legislative Representation, Chair, Rules, Chair, Social Welfare, Transportation and Commerce, Ways and Means, 1963 Joint Committee Budget, Senate, Standing Committees Agriculture, Elections and Reapportionment, , Chair, Energy and Public Utilities, Governmental Organization, Industrial Relations, Institutions, 1969 See series description. 3

4 Insurance and Financial Institutions, 1970 Natural Resources, Public Employment and Retirement, , Public Utilities and Corporations, Public Utilities, Transit, and Energy, Revenue and Taxation, 1969 Rules, Chair, Transportation, , , Water Resources, Vice Chair, Joint Committee Legislative Audit, After Senator Mills left office, he continued to update his history of San Diego on a regular basis. He also published an account of his first five years in Sacramento, The Disorderly House: The Brown-Unruh Years in Sacramento (Berkeley: Heyday Books, 1987). Scope and Content The John J. Mills papers consist of Assembly Bill files from and photographs, The bill files illustrate the range of interests that Assembly Member and Senator Mills brought to the Legislature. One interest was the method of governing the Legislature. He was the author of a constitutional amendment approved in 1966 that raised the salaries of members of the Legislature and provided for annual general sessions. He also supported the efforts to create an independent research service for the Legislature. In the same year, he supported ACA 13, calling for major revision of the California Constitution. His interest in effective and efficient government continued through his career. In 1977, for example, his SCR 13 required the Senate to investigate the use of sunset clauses on state agencies to determine whether such forced closures did help stem the growth of California state government. He was also concerned with equal opportunities for all Californians, including such measures as the Rumford Fair Housing Act in He also focused on effective urban transportation; in 1971, his SB 325 was enacted. The Act lowered the state sales tax, included gasoline as a taxable item, and provided for the revenue from this new tax to be set aside for county transportation project. Some of his later efforts to increase the sales tax on gasoline failed (for example SB 100, session). In the following session, his SB 76 appropriated money for bike paths to be built by state and local governments. As a member of the Senate, in 1974, he was an active supportive of Proposition 5, a Mass Transit Ballot Measure. To demonstrate the need for such measures, he rode his bicycle around the state. He is also credited with providing the needed political measures to create the San Diego Trolley, which began construction in The series of photographs relate to his unsuccessful SB 732 ( ) that would have allowed Amtrak to conduct a pilot program permitting passengers to bring their cars on the Coast Starlight Route between San Diego and Seattle. Selected Publications by James R. Mills James R. Mills, A Disorderly House: The Brown-Unruh Years in Sacramento (Berkeley: Heyday Books, 1987). James R. Mills, "Light Rail Transit in San Diego," New Electric Railway Journal 6:3 (Spring 1994), James R. Mills, "The San Diego Light Rail Transit Program," Transit Australia 43:3 (March 1988), Oral History An oral history of then Senator Mills was done in 1981 as part of Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Era Oral History project: James R. Mills, A Philosophical Approach to Legislative and Election Realities, in The Assembly, the State Senate, and the Governor's Office, Oral History Interviews conducted by Gabrielle Morris and Sarah Sharp, Regional Oral History Office, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California. This volume is available at the California State Archives (OH R-3) and other repositories. Other Repositories A box of materials and photographs related to the oral history of James R. Mills are on deposit at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California. The San Diego Historical Society also has three oral histories with James R. Mills: James R. Mills interviewed by Robert G. Wright, 28 December 1983, San Diego Historical Society, Research Archives, Oral History Program. Tape transcribed (23 pp.). Subjects include: San Diego Historical Society, Maritime Museum Association, See series description. 4

5 Jerry McMullen, and city of La Jolla. James R. Mills interviewed by Barbara Held, 23 July 1993, San Diego Historical Society, Research Archives, Oral History Program. Tape transcribed (33 pp.). Subjects include: California State Assembly, Campaigns, State Capital building restoration, San Diego Old Town, California State Legislature, and California State Senate. A conversation between James R. Mills and Joe Jessop, recorded by F. Bruce Kimball, 1993 July 21, San Diego Historical Society, Research Archives. Tape transcribed (47 pp.). Subjects include: Maritime Museum, San Diego water front, Dutch Flats, Shelter Island, San Diego harbor, early aeronautics in San Diego, and Star of India. Indexing Terms The following terms have been associated with these materials in the Archives' automated public access system (currently in development, November 2003). Mills, James R., Urban transportation - California California. Legislature - Salaries Bicycle trails - California See series description. 5

6 Series 1. Bill Files, Folder LP191: , LP203:25-47, LP206:29-38 Series 1. Bill Files, Physical Description: 108 file folders Scope and Content Note Arrangement Arranged chronologically by session and numerically by bill number. The bill files created by James R. Mills concern legislation he authored. They may include bill analyses, amendments, resolutions, his statements, testimony, press releases, editorials and newspaper clippings, correspondence, committee statements, and other information. Microfilm copies of bill files are available for the years as indicated by (mf) following the LP number. State Assembly, AB1964, HR63X (1ff) LP191: AB7-AB3105, ACA20 (3ff) LP191: Miscellaneous, includes Fair Employment Practices Commission in San Diego(1ff) LP191: ACR12X (1ff) LP191: AB7X (1ff) LP191: AB437-AB4302, ACR40-ACR157, HR399 (5ff) LP191: Legislature, General, includes Redistricting, Democratic Caucus Report (1ff) LP191: Consolidation of San Diego Municipal Courts (1ff) LP191: AB78X-AB170X, ACA13X, ACR26X, ACR71X (3 ff) LP191: State Senate, SB130-SB1582, SCR31, SCR87 and SR198 (1ff) LP191:157 (mf) 1967 Legislature, General (1ff) LP191: SB64-SB969, co-authored bills (3ff) LP191: (mf) 1969 SB59-SB1035, SJR19 (2ff) LP191: (mf) 1970 SB85-SB1176, SCA18, SCA20, SCR30 (4ff) LP191: (mf) 1971 SB90-SB803, SCA26, SR221 (5ff) LP191: (mf) 1972 SB9-SB1483, SJR7, SJR17 (7ff) LP191: (mf) SB78-SB2443, SCA15-SCA51, SCR34-SCR110, SJR26-SJR70, SR47-SR91 (14ff) LP191: (mf) SB100-SB2074, SCR10-SCR106, SR28 (11ff) LP191: (mf) 1975 SB8XX (1ff) LP191:205 (mf) SB17-SB1293, SCA45, SCR3, SCR35, SJR15-SJR16, SR25 (10ff) LP191: (mf) SB1439-SB2242, SCA65, SCA67, SCR70-SCR94, SR42 (7ff) LP203:25-31 (mf) SB55-SB1933, SCA31, SJR43, SR11-SR20 (17ff) LP203:32-47 (mf) SB408-SB1913, SCA14, SCA30, SJR16 (10ff) LP206:29-38 (mf) Folder LP191:183a Series 2. Photographs, Physical Description: 11 photographs Scope and Content Note Photographs relating to SB732 ( ), an act that would have permitted the transportation of cars on passenger trains. See series description. 6