BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 109|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 109
Author: Cooper (D), et al.
Amended: 1/15/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Read and adopted, 1/15/16
SUBJECT: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution proclaims that Monday, January 18,
2016, be observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, on
August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others
organized hundreds of thousands of blacks and whites, Jews and
gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, in a march to the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, DC where Dr. King made his famous "I
Have a Dream" speech announcing that the days of segregation
in the United States were numbered.
2)Monday, January 18, 2016, marks the 30th national celebration
of the national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
his fight for civil and human rights.
3)On April 10, 1970, California became the first state to pass
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legislation making Dr. King's birthday a school holiday and,
subsequently, a statewide holiday.
4)January 20, 1986, marked the first observance of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day.
5)Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement helped change public
policy from segregation to integration, resulting in the
repeal of the post-Reconstruction era state laws mandating
racial segregation in the South known as the "Jim Crow Laws,"
thereby leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other
antidiscrimination laws aimed at ending economic, legal, and
social segregation in America.
6)These public policy changes at the national level influenced
many changes in California that culminated in the passage of
the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Rumford Fair Housing Act,
in open enrollment and access to higher education specifically
with respect to the California State University and the
University of California, and in employment and labor laws,
transportation policy, election laws, and other aspects of
public policy.
7)Dr. King, in the last months of his life, began organizing a
Poor People's Campaign to, among other things, assemble "a
multiracial army of the poor that would descend on
Washington-engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the
Capitol, if need be-until Congress enacted a poor people's
bill of rights."
This resolution:
1)Concurs that Monday, January 18, 2016, be observed as the
official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and
his work in the Civil Rights Movement; and that this day, Dr.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement be
commemorated for their help in changing public policy from
segregation to integration, for the betterment of this, the
great State of California and these United States of America.
2)Encourages all Americans to pay tribute to the life and works
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through participation in
community service projects on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
3)Recognizes the inherent value of community service and
volunteerism in the creation of a civil society and as a means
of nonviolent community progress consistent with the works of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
4)Recognizes the benefits of the collaborative work by many
organizations that promote, facilitate, and carry out needed
service projects nationwide.
5)Encourages the members and colleagues of the Legislature to
urge their constituents to participate in community service
projects.
6)Acknowledges that, by serving one's country, one's community,
and one's neighbor, our nation makes progress in civility,
equality, and unity consistent with the values and life's work
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Related/Prior Legislation
SR 53 (Hall, 2016) designated that Monday, January 18, 2016, be
observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement. The
resolution was adopted by the Senate.
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SR 9 (Mitchell, 2015) proclaimed that January 19, 2015, be
observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement. The
resolution was adopted by the Senate.
ACR 5 (Jones-Sawyer, Resolution Chapter 10, Statutes of 2015)
designated that January 19, 2015, be observed as the official
memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and
commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. King
and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in
California and in the United States of America.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified1/25/16)
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
OPPOSITION: (Verified1/25/16)
None received
Prepared by: Karen Chow / SFA / (916) 651-1520
1/29/16 11:24:17
**** END ****
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