BILL REQ. #:  H-1145.1 

Read first time 01/30/2007.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to a Washington state day of remembrance for Juneteenth; amending RCW 1.16.050; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and the slaves were now free; that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863; that the end of slavery brought on new challenges and realities in establishing a previously nonexistent status for African-Americans in the United States; that racism and continued inequality is the legacy of slavery and acknowledging it is the first step in its eradication; and that since 1980 June 19th has been celebrated as Juneteenth across the United States as a day for people to come together in the spirit of reconciliation to commemorate the contributions of African-Americans to this country's history and culture.
     The legislature declares that an annual day of recognition be observed in remembrance of the day the slaves realized they were free as a reminder that individual rights and freedoms must never be denied.

Sec. 2   RCW 1.16.050 and 2003 c 68 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The following are legal holidays: Sunday; the first day of January, commonly called New Year's Day; the third Monday of January, being celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.; the third Monday of February to be known as Presidents' Day and to be celebrated as the anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington; the last Monday of May, commonly known as Memorial Day; the fourth day of July, being the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; the first Monday in September, to be known as Labor Day; the eleventh day of November, to be known as Veterans' Day; the fourth Thursday in November, to be known as Thanksgiving Day; the day immediately following Thanksgiving Day; and the twenty-fifth day of December, commonly called Christmas Day.
     Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, except employees of school districts and except those nonclassified employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of less than twelve consecutive months, shall be entitled to one paid holiday per calendar year in addition to those specified in this section. Each employee of the state or its political subdivisions may select the day on which the employee desires to take the additional holiday provided for herein after consultation with the employer pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the appropriate personnel authority, or in the case of local government by ordinance or resolution of the legislative authority.
     If any of the above specified state legal holidays are also federal legal holidays but observed on different dates, only the state legal holidays shall be recognized as a paid legal holiday for employees of the state and its political subdivisions except that for port districts and the law enforcement and public transit employees of municipal corporations, either the federal or the state legal holiday, but in no case both, may be recognized as a paid legal holiday for employees.
     Whenever any legal holiday, other than Sunday, falls upon a Sunday, the following Monday shall be the legal holiday.
     Whenever any legal holiday falls upon a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be the legal holiday.
     Nothing in this section shall be construed to have the effect of adding or deleting the number of paid holidays provided for in an agreement between employees and employers of political subdivisions of the state or as established by ordinance or resolution of the local government legislative authority.
     The legislature declares that the twelfth day of October shall be recognized as Columbus Day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purposes.
     The legislature declares that the ninth day of April shall be recognized as former prisoner of war recognition day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purposes.
     The legislature declares that the twenty-sixth day of January shall be recognized as Washington army and air national guard day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purposes.
     The legislature declares that the seventh day of August shall be recognized as purple heart recipient recognition day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purposes.
     The legislature declares that the second Sunday in October be recognized as Washington state children's day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purposes.
     The legislature declares that the sixteenth day of April shall be recognized as Mother Joseph day and the fourth day of September as Marcus Whitman day, but neither shall be considered legal holidays for any purpose.
     The legislature declares that the seventh day of December be recognized as Pearl Harbor remembrance day but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purpose.
     The legislature declares that the nineteenth day of February be recognized as civil liberties day of remembrance but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purpose.
     The legislature declares that the nineteenth day of June be recognized as Juneteenth, a day of remembrance for the day the slaves learned of their freedom, but shall not be considered a legal holiday for any purpose.