00 SENATE BILL NO. 77                                                                                                      
01 "An Act relating to the Alaska Day of Prayer."                                                                          
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that                                                                  
04   (1)  the National Day of Prayer is a tradition first proclaimed by President                                          
05 George Washington in 1775 during the First Continental Congress;                                                        
06   (2)  legislation setting aside the first Thursday in May each year as a National                                      
07 Day of Prayer was unanimously passed by the United States Congress in 1988 and signed by                                
08 the President; and                                                                                                      
09   (3)  it is appropriate for the state also to observe an official day of prayer on                                     
10 the first Thursday in May each year.                                                                                    
11    * Sec. 2.  AS 44.12 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                      
12  Sec. 44.12.072.  Alaska Day of Prayer.  The Alaska Day of Prayer is                                                   
13 established on the first Thursday in May each year as an opportunity for residents of                                   
14 all faiths to join in united prayer to give thanks for blessings received, to request                                   
01 healing for wounds endured, to ask divine guidance for our leaders, and to bring                                        
02 wholeness to the citizens of our state and our nation.