Ronald Reagan Day April 8, 2010, by a 34–0 vote. After its approval in the Senate, SB 944 was sent to the Legislature's lower house, where the bill passed the Assembly Education Committee on June 16, 2010, by a 5–1 vote. The bill was approved by the full Assembly on June 28, 2010, by a 66–0 vote. On July 19, 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 944 into law, making Ronald Reagan Day a permanent day of special significance in California. The bill declared the first Ronald Reagan Day to be February 6, 2011—Reagan's 100th birthday. The day is not a state holiday
USS Ronald Reagan did not attend either the launch or the commissioning due to Alzheimer's disease, died 11 months later. At the end of the graveside services, the ship's commanding officer at that time, Captain James Symonds, presented the flag that draped the former president's casket to Mrs. Reagan at her request. This was also the flag that had flown over Capitol Hill on 20 January 1981, when the president was inaugurated. At a later date, Captain Symonds also presented Mrs. Reagan the flag that had been flying over "Ronald Reagan" when the former president died. "Ronald Reagan" was the first nuclear-powered warship