BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 95|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: ACR 95
Author: Mathis (R), et al.
Amended: 7/13/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 3/10/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: American Flag
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution declares that the American flag is an
inseparable part of California's rich history, tradition, and
culture and that the American flag represents the values of
freedom and liberty. This resolution also calls upon the state
and local governments to prohibit any government entity in the
state from banning the American flag from public property,
including, but not limited to, public schools, public colleges,
public universities, state beaches, public parks, public
monuments, museums, and government offices.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Provides as a matter of federal law that the flag should be
displayed daily on or near the main administration building of
every public institution and also provides that the flag
should be displayed during school days in or near every
schoolhouse. (4 U.S.C. Sec. 6(e), (g).)
2)Requires, as a matter of state law, that the American and
California State flags be prominently displayed during
business hours upon or in front of the buildings or grounds
of, or at specified places, including: at the entrance or upon
the grounds of each campus of the University of California
(UC) and at the entrance or upon the grounds or upon the
administration building of every university, college, high
school, and elementary school, both public and private, within
the State.
3)Provides that no person, private entity, or governmental
agency shall adopt any rule, regulation, or ordinance, or
enter into any agreement or covenant, that prevents any person
or private entity that would otherwise have the legal right to
display a U.S. flag on private property from exercising that
right, unless it is used as, or in conjunction with, an
advertising display. Existing law further provides, however,
that this shall not be construed to prevent a city, county, or
city and county from imposing reasonable restrictions as to
the time, place, and manner of placement or display of a Flag
of the United States when necessary for the preservation of
the public's health, safety, or order.
4)Prohibits a local government agency from adopting any policy
or regulation that prohibits or restricts an employee of that
agency from displaying a U.S. flag, or a pin of that flag, on
his or her person, in his or her workplace, or on a local
government agency vehicle operated by that employee. Existing
law further provides, however, that this shall not be
construed to prevent a local government agency from imposing
reasonable restrictions as to the time, place, and manner of
placement or display of a U.S. flag when necessary for the
preservation of the order or discipline of the workplace.
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This resolution:
1)States, among other things:
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 American and Allied
troops carrying the "Stars and Stripes" landed along a
50-mile stretch of heavily fortified French coastline in
Normandy to liberate Europe from the forces of Nazi
Germany. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or
wounded on D-Day to free Europe from fascist occupation;
On February 23, 1945, five Marines and a Navy Corpsman
raised the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the
Battle of Iwo Jima. It was a hard-fought victory over
imperialism at the cost of 5,900 U.S. service members
killed and 17,400 wounded against 23,000 Japanese army and
naval forces fighting from an entrenched network of caves,
dugouts, tunnels and underground installations; and
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin became the first human beings to set foot on the
surface of the moon, where they placed the American flag.
There, the flag has stood a decades-long vigil upon the Sea
of Tranquility as a gesture of peace for all mankind;
On September 11, 2001, in the aftermath of the terrorist
attack which destroyed the World Trade Center, three New
York City firefighters, George Johnson of Rockaway Beach,
Ladder 157, Dan McWilliams of Long Island, Ladder 157, and
Billy Eisengrein of Staten Island, Rescue 2, raised the
American flag over the smoldering ruins of Ground Zero
where the Twin Towers once stood. It was an act of defiance
against those who sought to break the unconquerable values
of freedom and liberty which the American flag represents;
and
In 2015, the U.S. will provide $35.4 billion in foreign
assistance programs to more than 100 countries around the
world through the efforts of over 20 different government
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agencies. These investments will further America's foreign
policy interests on issues ranging from expanding free
markets, combating extremism, and ensuring stable
democracies, to addressing the root causes of poverty,
while simultaneously establishing the American flag as the
undisputed image of global good will.
1)Declares that the American flag is an inseparable part of
California's rich history, tradition, and culture and
represents the values of freedom and liberty, and calls upon
the state and local governments to prohibit any government
entity in the state from banning the American flag from public
property, including, but not limited to, public schools,
public colleges, public universities, state beaches, public
parks, public monuments, museums, and government offices.
Background
Earlier this year, a UC campus student group narrowly passed a
resolution that resolved to make the Associated Students main
lobby space as inclusive as possible and, as a result, to ban
the flags of any nation from the lobby area of student
government offices. (See Associated Students of UC Irvine
(ASUCI) R50-70
Page 5
Flags function specifically for a nation and people are
assimilated into national ideologies by deployment of this
cultural artifact;
Flags construct paradigms of conformity and sets homogenized
standards for others to obtain which in this country typically
are idolized as freedom, equality, and democracy;
Symbolism is interpreted differently by different groups or
persons based on individual unique experiences;
A common ideological understanding of the United [S]tates
includes American exceptionalism and superiority;
The American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism
and imperialism;
Symbolism has negative and positive aspects that are
interpreted differently by individuals;
Displaying a flag does not express only selective aspects of
its symbolism but the entire spectrum of its interpretation;
Designing a culturally inclusive space is taken seriously by
ASUCI;
Designing a culturally inclusive space aims to remove barriers
that create undue effort and separation by planning and
designing spaces that enable everyone to participate equally
and confidently;
Designers should be careful about using cultural symbols as
the symbols will inherently remain open for interpretation;
A high-quality culturally inclusive space is essential in any
society that embodies a dynamic and multifaceted culture;
Freedom of speech is a valued right that ASUCI supports; and
Freedom of speech, in a space that aims to be as inclusive as
possible can be interpreted as hate speech. (Id.)
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The ASUCI resolution triggered enormous controversy and
widespread news coverage, and even resulted in security concerns
for the students involved, prompting the cancellation of the
school's legislative council meeting in the immediate aftermath.
According to reports, by the next day, it had formed a trending
topic on Twitter and many students and faculty members across
the campus denounced the idea. Notably, the resolution has
never taken effect as the Executive Cabinet of the student
government promptly vetoed the ban on the display of flags
within two days of its passage. (See Shine and McGreevy, Does
UC Irvine Hate the American Flag? Not Exactly, Los Angeles Times
(Mar. 10, 2015)
Page 7
As stated by the author:
In March 2015, the Legislative Council of the Associated
Students of the University of California, Irvine (ASUCI)
passed a resolution aimed at removing the American flag from
the lobby of a building housing the offices of student
government by banning all flags from the lobby. The vote
caused a public uproar, and the executive cabinet of ASUCI
vetoed the action days later. [ACR 95:]
Resolves that the American Flag is an inseparable
part of California's rich history, tradition, and
culture; additionally, it declares that the American Flag
represents the values of freedom and liberty.
Resolves that the Legislature calls upon the State
and local governments to prohibit any government entity
in the state from banning the American Flag from public
property, to include but not limited to: public schools,
public colleges, public universities, state beaches,
public parks, public monuments, museums, and government
offices.
In support, a coalition of veterans groups writes that their
members "put their lives on the line serving this country under
the Red, White & Blue and do not believe that governmental
entities should disrespect or ban our nation's colors! Too many
lives have been lost fighting for this nation, for our freedom
and liberty under that flag."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/1/16)
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American G.I. Forum of California
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/1/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 3/10/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow,
Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos,
Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chiu, Gallagher, Roger Hernández, O'Donnell
Prepared by:Ronak Daylami / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
7/29/16 10:50:10
**** END ****
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