BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 67|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 67
Author: Walters (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : The American flag
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution honors the 50th anniversary of
the flying of the current American flag and encourages all
Californians to celebrate the occasion with appropriate
activities.
ANALYSIS :
This resolution makes the following Legislative findings:
1. For more than two centuries, the American flag has been
a banner of hope for generation after generation of
Americans.
2. The flag is a symbol of a country that has grown from 13
colonies to a united nation of 50 sovereign states.
3. Continental Congress member Francis Hopkinson designed
the first Stars and Stripes. The first flag of the
United States was authorized by Congressional Resolution
CONTINUED
SCR 67
Page
2
on June 14, 1777, resolving that it be made of 13
stripes, alternating red and white, and that the union
be 13 white stars in a blue field, representing a new
constellation.
4. Since the first American flag, several congressional
acts and Presidential Executive orders have altered the
shape, design, and arrangement of the flag, and allowed
for additional stars and stripes to be added to reflect
the admission of each new state.
5. In 1794, Congress passed an act changing the American
flag so that it contained 15 stripes and 15 stars.
6. In 1818, President Monroe signed legislation requiring
that the American flag have 13 stripes and a star for
each state in the union. Stars for newly added states
would be applied to the flag on July 4 of the following
year.
7. Flag makers were able to use imaginative designs to
accommodate new stars on the flag until 1912, when
President Taft issued an Executive order that
established rows of stars as the standard design.
8. The 48-star American flag, represented by the
traditional 13 stripes and six rows of eight stars, was
the official flag from 1912 until 1959.
9. On January 3, 1959, Alaska was formally granted
statehood and the 49-star American flag, represented by
the traditional 13 stripes and seven rows of seven
stars, became the official flag when it was raised over
Independence Hall on July 4, 1959.
10.Hawaii became this country's 50th state on August 21,
1959, requiring that a new 50-star flag be designed as
the official American flag.
11.President Eisenhower unveiled the new 50-star flag on
August 21, 1959, at a ceremony commemorating Hawaii's
statehood.
12.The 50-star flag, the current Stars and Stripes, became
CONTINUED
SCR 67
Page
3
the official American flag on July 4, 1960, with a
design of 13 stripes and 50 stars, represented by five
rows of six stars alternating with four rows of five
stars.
13.Despite the numerous designs of the American flag, they
have all stood for the United States Constitution, the
American way of life, our collective past achievements,
and our dreams for the future.
14.On July 4, 2010, the 50-star American flag will
celebrate its 50th anniversary as the official Stars and
Stripes, representing the longest period that any fixed
flag design has been used.
15.The Legislature honors the 50th anniversary of the
flying of the current American flag and encourages all
Californians to celebrate the occasion with appropriate
activities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RJG:do 6/10/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
**** END ****
CONTINUED