BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ACR 19 (Pan)
As Introduced February 19, 2013
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, | | |
| |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, | | |
| |Garcia, Gorell, | | |
| |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, | | |
| |Stone | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Issues an official public apology to Americans of
Japanese ancestry who were dismissed from their state civil
service positions in 1942 as a result of Senate Concurrent
Resolution 15 of 1942. Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes a number of legislative findings, including, but not
limited to, the following:
a) States that on January 19, 1942, the California State
Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 15 (SCR
15), authored by Senator John Swan, which authorized the
State Personnel Board (SPB) to "make such rules as may be
necessary to provide for the dismissal from the service of
such persons as may be proved to be disloyal to the United
States of America in this present war."
b) States that Earl Warren, Attorney General for the State
of California, wrote on February 7, 1942, "It is my
conclusion that said order [SCR 15], discriminating as it
does against naturalized citizens and against American born
citizens of the first generation, violates the civil
liberties of citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution of
the United States and of this State and is in conflict with
our Civil Service Act."
c) States that on February 27, 1942, the California Board
of Equalization dismissed all employees of Japanese
ancestry; and over the following weeks, every employee of
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Japanese ancestry- totaling over 300 individuals- was
terminated from state employment.
d) Finds that while Assembly Bill 2710 (1982) provided
$5,000 as a symbolic compensation for the unfair dismissal
of Japanese American employees during World War II (WWII),
it did not provide an apology for the unjust actions of the
State of California, the California State Legislature, or
the California State Personnel Board.
2)Resolves by the Assembly of the State of California, the
Senate thereof concurring, that the State of California made a
grievous mistake that injured loyal employees who were
dedicated to serving the people of California.
3)Resolves that the Legislature issue a public apology to the
state civil service employees who were dismissed as a result
of SCR 15.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This resolution, sponsored by the Japanese American
Citizens League (JACL), seeks to acknowledge that the State of
California was wrong when it dismissed over 300 loyal employees
who were Americans of Japanese ancestry in 1942, and resolves to
issue a public apology to those civil service employees who were
unjustly dismissed. According to the author, "Those affected
have been living with this injustice for decades and have never
received an official apology from the State of California.
While an apology doesn't make up for the discrimination, it is
important in the healing process."
According to information provided by the author, sponsor, and as
reflected in the text of this measure, an official public
apology is warranted for the unjust actions taken by the State
in California against over 300 American citizens of Japanese
ancestry who were dismissed from their state civil service jobs
in 1942. On January 19 of that year, the California State
Legislature adopted SCR 15 authored by Senator John Swan, which
authorized the State Personnel Board to "take every proper means
to prevent anyone securing a position on the eligible list of
the state civil service or from being certified to a civil
service position in the state service who is not loyal to the
United States and to further make such rules as may be necessary
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to provide for the dismissal from the service of such persons as
may be proved to be disloyal to the United States of America in
this present war."
On January 30, 1942, the SPB commenced an investigation into the
loyalty of persons applying to take an exam, on eligibility
lists for state jobs, and employed by the State of California.
According to the author, Japanese Americans were the sole focus
of these investigations, as evidenced by the fact that the SPB
prepared lists of identified employees that contained only
Japanese surnames and no other group of employees was
investigated.
On February 7, 1942, Earl Warren, then-State Attorney General,
wrote, "It is my conclusion that said order [SCR 15],
discriminating as it does against naturalized citizens and
against American born citizens of the first generation, violates
the civil liberties of citizens as guaranteed by the
Constitution of the United States and of this State and is in
conflict with our Civil Service Act."
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued
Executive Order 9066 authorizing the internment of
Japanese-American citizens at various camps for the duration of
the war. In response to Executive Order 9066, the SPB adopted a
resolution suspending all state civil service employees of
Japanese ancestry, ultimately leading to their resignation or
dismissal.
According to the author, on February 27, 1942, the California
Board of Equalization dismissed all employees of Japanese
ancestry, and according to the author, every employee of
Japanese ancestry was terminated from state employment- a total
of over 300 employees with Japanese surnames. The author states
that all of the employees were dismissed on the same charges
without regard to individual job performance, and as a result,
many charges were not applicable to individual employees.
On September 4, 1946, a hearing was held before the referee of
the State Personnel Board regarding the charges. The Attorney
General's office indicated at the hearing that nothing had been
disclosed to substantiate the charges in any way, and the state
could not produce any proof, so the case was submitted as to the
charges without any evidence. On September 28, 1946, the SPB
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found for the employees, but they were sent telegrams indicating
that they needed to report to work within 10 days if they wanted
to be reinstated to their jobs. Unfortunately, according to the
author, it was not possible for employees, who were scattered
across the country as a result of forced internment by the
federal government, to return within the 10-day window, and only
a handful of employees were re-employed. In addition, these
employees were not compensated by the state or federal
government for the lost income they suffered for the period
between 1942 and 1946 that they were unjustly denied their jobs.
In observance of the 70th anniversary of the events of 1942, the
SPB issued a new resolution on January 10, 2013, recognizing the
unjust displacement of thousands of Japanese Americans from
their homes, work, and community, and seeking to express the
SPB's sincere regret for the events surrounding the internment
of Japanese American citizens and displacement of Japanese
American civil servants during WWII. This resolution also
offered the SPB's sincere apology for the displacement of those
Japanese-American individuals affected by the SPB's 1942
resolutions, which it notes were issued in response to both
federal and state mandates at the time.
In 1982, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB
2710 (Johnson), which provided $5,000 as a symbolic compensation
for each Japanese American employee unjustly dismissed from
civil service employment during the events of 1942. As the
author notes, AB 2710 did not, however, provide an apology for
the unjust actions of the State of California, the California
State Legislature or the California State Personnel Board, as
this measure is intended to accomplish.
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0000675