HB 1634 — An Act designating the bridge, identified as Bridge Key 28737, carrying 13th Street over Bushkill Creek in the City of Easton, Northampton County, as the Honorable James F. Prendergast Memorial Bridge.

PRINTER'S NO.     1984

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1634
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY FREEMAN, BRENNAN, SAMUELSON, PIELLI, HILL-EVANS,
        HEFFLEY, VITALI, STAATS, HADDOCK, O'MARA, BOROWSKI AND
        GILLEN, JUNE 23, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, JUNE 23, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Designating the bridge, identified as Bridge Key 28737, carrying
 2      13th Street over Bushkill Creek in the City of Easton,
 3      Northampton County, as the Honorable James F. Prendergast
 4      Memorial Bridge.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7   Section 1.     Honorable James F. Prendergast Memorial Bridge.
 8      (a)     Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
 9   follows:
10            (1)   The Honorable James F. Prendergast was born February
11      5, 1917, in Easton, Northampton County.
12            (2)   Mr. Prendergast graduated from Easton High School in
13      1934 and received a bachelor of arts degree from Lafayette
14      College in 1938.
15            (3)   Mr. Prendergast served as a second lieutenant in the
16      United States Marine Corps during World War II.
17            (4)   Mr. Prendergast was awarded the Navy Cross for his
18      valor during the Battle of Saipan in the South Pacific and
 1      was a double Purple Heart recipient.
 2            (5)   Following the war, Mr. Prendergast received a
 3      bachelor of laws degree from George Washington University Law
 4      School in 1951, was admitted to the bar in Washington, DC, in
 5      1952, and opened his law practice in Easton in 1953.
 6            (6)   Mr. Prendergast was elected to represent the 136th
 7      Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of
 8      Representatives in 1958 and was reelected for nine
 9      consecutive terms thereafter, serving a total of 20 years as
10      a State Representative.
11            (7)   During his tenure in the Pennsylvania House of
12      Representatives, Mr. Prendergast's peers elected him to serve
13      as the Majority Caucus Secretary from 1965 to 1966, the
14      Minority Caucus Chairman from 1967 to 1968 and 1973 to 1974,
15      the Majority Whip from 1968 to 1972 and the Majority Caucus
16      Administrator from 1975 to 1978.
17            (8)   Mr. Prendergast also served appointments to the
18      Legislative Budget and Finance Committee from 1963 to 1964
19      and the Joint State Government Commission from 1967 to 1974
20      and served as a delegate to Pennsylvania's Constitutional
21      Convention in 1968.
22            (9)   Mr. Prendergast passed away April 29, 1985, in
23      Easton, Northampton County.
24      (b)   Designation.--The bridge, identified as Bridge Key
25   28737, carrying 13th Street over Bushkill Creek in the City of
26   Easton, Northampton County, is designated the Honorable James F.
27   Prendergast Memorial Bridge.
28      (c)   Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
29   maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the bridge to
30   traffic in both directions on the bridge.

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1   Section 2.   Effective date.
2      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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