BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1775|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1775
Author: Furutani (D) and Block (D) et al
Amended: 6/21/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/30/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Emmerson, Hancock, Liu,
Price, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-0, 5/20/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public schools: Fred Korematsu Day of Civil
Liberties and
the Constitution
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Governor to annually
proclaim January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil
Liberties and the Constitution and designates that day as a
day having special significance in which public schools and
educational institutions are encouraged to conduct
exercises remembering the life of Fred Korematsu.
ANALYSIS : Existing law designates a number of days as
days having special significance, when public schools are
encouraged to conduct suitable commemorative exercises
integrated into regular school programs. Current law
establishes the following days having special significance:
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1.March 30 of each year as Welcome Home Vietnam Veteran's
Day
2.April 6 of each year as California Poppy Day
3.April 21 of each year as John Muir Day
4.The second Wednesday in May as the "Day of the Teacher"
5.May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day
Existing law also requires the Governor to proclaim various
days to remember specific individuals. These days include
September 28 as Cabrillo Day; January 15 as Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Day; and March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.
This bill:
1. Designates January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu
Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution as a day
having special significance; encourages public schools
and educational institutions to observe that day and
conduct exercises remembering the life of Fred
Korematsu and recognizing the importance of preserving
civil liberties, even in times of real or perceived
crisis.
2. Requires the Governor to annually proclaim January 30
as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the
Constitution.
3. Restructures the section of the Education Code related
to days of special significance so as to avoid current
and future technical conflicts.
4. Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
the life, career, contributions, and death of Fred
Korematsu, as well as his life-long fight for the
constitutional rights and civil liberties of all.
Comments
Fred T. Korematsu (1919-2005) was one of approximately
120,000 Japanese Americans and permanent residents of
Japanese descent who were forced to leave their communities
and were incarcerated in internment camps in 1942. More
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than 60 percent of the people who were imprisoned were
citizens of the Untied States, and many were
third-generation Americans. Mr. Korematsu's refusal to
comply with Civilian Exclusion Order 34 of the U.S. Army,
which followed President Roosevelt's issuance of Executive
Order 9066, led to his arrest and subsequent conviction for
violating the military internment orders. In 1944, he
appealed his case to the Supreme Court, arguing that
Executive Order 9066 violated the Fourteenth Amendment to
the United States Constitution. Even though the Supreme
Court upheld the conviction, Mr. Korematsu continued to
challenge the constitutionality of the World War II
internment orders. It was not until 1984 that the U.S.
District Court in San Francisco formally vacated Mr.
Korematsu's conviction. The federal Civil Liberties Act of
1988 later recognized the grave injustice done by the
forced relocation and incarceration of civilians during
World War II. In 1998, Mr. Korematsu was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom for his life-long efforts to
speak out in favor of the protection of constitutional
rights and civil liberties.
Related and Prior Legislation
SB 1256 (Hancock), 2009-10 Session, designates January 23
of each year as Ed Roberts Day to be a day of special
significance in public schools and educational
institutions.
SB 944 (Runner), 2009-10 Session, designates February 6 of
each year as Ronald Reagan Day to be a day of special
significance in public schools and educational
institutions.
AB 2412 (Tran), 2009-10 Session, also designates February 6
of each year as Ronald Reagan Day to be a day of special
significance in public schools and educational
institutions.
SB 572 (Leno), Chapter 626, Statutes of 2009, designates
May 22 of each year as "Harvey Milk Day" as a day of
special significance in public schools and educational
institutions. This bill passed the Senate Floor (23-14) on
9/8/09.
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AB 264 (Cook), 2009-10 Session, encouraged schools to
conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the
contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict.
This bill passed the Senate Floor (76-0) on 8/23/09, and
subsequently, was vetoed by the Governor because the bill
did not address the need for comprehensive changes in state
policy on water, energy and corrections.
AB 717 (Cook), Chapter 158, Statutes of 2009, requires the
Governor to proclaim March 30 of each year as "Welcome Home
Vietnam Veterans' Day" and encouraged schools to conduct
exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the
contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict.
This bill passed the Senate Floor (40-0) on 9/11/09.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/28/10)
American Civil Liberties Union
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Anti-Defamation League, California
Asian American Bar Association
Asian American Justice Center
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento
Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley
Asian Pacific Law Student Association, Thomas Jefferson
School of Law
California State University
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Council on American Islamic Relations
Delores Huerta Foundation
Equal Justice Society
Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego
Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy, Oakland Unified School
District
Go for Broke National Education Center
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Japanese American Bar Association
Japanese American Citizens League
Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest
District
Japanese American Citizens League Watsonville-Santa Cruz
Chapter
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
Japanese American National Museum
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern
California
Korean American Bar Association
Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco
Bay Area
Muslim Pacific Public Affairs Council
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Orange County Asian American Bar Association
Organization of Chinese Americans
Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Los Angeles
Organization of Chinese Americans - Orange County
Organization of Chinese Americans - Silicon Valley Chapter
Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego
Philippine American Bar Association of Los Angeles
San Francisco Japanese American Citizens League
San Leandro Unified School District
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Sikh Coalition
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law
Ventura County Asian American Bar Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
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Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher, Fuller,
Harkey, Knight, Nava, Norby, Villines, John A. Perez
PQ:nl 7/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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