BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: June 4, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard Gordon, Chair
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(Jones) - As Introduced May 19, 2015
SUBJECT: Magna Carta: 800th anniversary.
SUMMARY: Commemorates the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
Specifically, this bill: makes the following legislative
findings:
1)In response to the accumulation of grievances, heavy taxation,
and unsuccessful wars, a group of rebellious barons forced
King John of England to agree to limitations on royal power
and submit to the rule of law by affixing his seal to a
charter of liberties known to posterity as Magna Carta, Latin
for the Great Charter, on June 15, 1215, at a meadow beside
the river Thames called Runnymede, near Windsor.
2)Magna Carta is an early milestone along the path toward
freedom and constitutional government, followed by the
development of Parliament in the 1260s, the 1606 First Charter
of Virginia, the 1620 Mayflower Compact and other colonial
charters, the 1628 Petition of Rights, the 1679 Habeas Corpus
Act, and 1689 English Bill of Rights, the 1776 American
Declaration of Independence, the 1787 United States
Constitution, the 1789 United States Bill of Rights, and the
1948 United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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3)In too many parts of the world, the right to jury trial,
habeas corpus, the rule of law, fair legal procedures,
reasonable taxation, and the proposition that no government is
above the law, principles either enshrined or foreshadowed by
Magna Carta, remain goals yet to be attained.
4)For as long as people celebrate freedom under law, Magna Carta
will remain an inspiring example of a people's ability to
resist tyranny and arbitrary government and will remain "the
Great Charter" of liberties.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by:Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800