H-3831              _______________________________________________

                                      HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24

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State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representative van Dyke

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on State Government.

WHEREAS, Nearly two-thirds of the world's one hundred sixty national constitutions have been adopted or revised since 1970, and only fourteen predate World War II; and

          WHEREAS, The average nation has had two constitutions since 1945; and

          WHEREAS, Our Constitution has been properly amended only sixteen times since the Bill of Rights was ratified; and

          WHEREAS, This Constitution was signed by its authors on September 17, 1787, making it the oldest constitution in use today; and

          WHEREAS, It was ratified in 1788, giving birth to our present government in 1789; and

          WHEREAS, In 1791 the Bill of Rights was adopted and is considered by many to be a part of the original Constitution; and

          WHEREAS, Congress has established a national bicentennial commission to celebrate these events; and

          WHEREAS, Over twenty states have organized their own bicentennial commissions for the same purpose; and

          WHEREAS, This state was named after George Washington, who was unanimously elected president of the constitutional convention, where this Constitution was written, and was later elected the first president of the United States under this Constitution; and

          WHEREAS, Americans no longer possess the understanding of the great principles described in the Constitution, that was reported by Alexis de Tocqueville's @beDemocracy in America@ee; and

          WHEREAS, Constitutionalism, or the rule of law, can only persist as long as our citizens retain an intimate knowledge of these great principles;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, the Senate concurring, That in order to focus the attention of our citizens on the principles of this Constitution and in order to apply these principles at all levels of government, the State of Washington establish a bicentennial commission and declare September 17, 1987, Constitution Day, a state holiday in recognition of:

          (1) The bicentennial of the signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1987;

          (2) The bicentennial year of ratification in 1988;

          (3) The bicentennial of the birth of the federal government in 1989; and

          (4) The bicentennial of the Bill of Rights in 1991; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the purpose of this state's bicentennial commission shall be to generate widespread publicity with both the media and the general public to make this celebration a most memorable and worthwhile event with emphasis on:

          (1) Making Constitution Day a state holiday with appropriate festivities throughout the state to memorialize the signing of the Constitution;

          (2) Highlighting the Constitution in the schools by encouraging high schools, colleges, and universities to begin offering one semester of constitutional studies available to all students;

          (3) Sponsoring courses on the Constitution for public officials; and

          (4) Providing access to the commission by having the director of the bicentennial commission and the director's staff provide liaison channels through which private or public organizations could receive advice and assistance.