Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
02/06/2024 10:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB126 | |
| HB155 | |
| SB22 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 155 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SENATE BILL NO. 22
"An Act establishing Juneteenth Day as a legal
holiday."
11:15:54 AM
SENATOR ELVI GRAY-JACKSON, SPONSOR, introduced SB 22 and
offered a brief history of Juneteenth. She shared that
although the United States proclaimed itself as the "land
of the free," the statement was not true until 1865. Before
1865, many Americans were still living under slavery and
not living as the U.S. Declaration of Independence had
promised. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation that freed enslaved people in
Texas and all rebellious parts of southern secessionist
states of the Confederacy. However, it was only through the
Thirteenth Amendment that emancipation ended slavery
throughout America. Two years later, Union troops arrived
in Galveston, Texas to announce that enslaved people were
free by executive decree, marking the end of over 200 years
of the enslavement of Black Americans. Enslaved people in
Texas would not find out that they were freed for an
additional three years. In 2001, former Alaska Senator
Lesil McGuire introduced HB 100 which established the third
Saturday of each June as Juneteenth Day to commemorate the
abolishment of slavery throughout the U.S. in 1865. The
bill was signed into law on April 10, 2001, and she thanked
past bipartisan members of both the House and Senate for
supporting the bill.
Senator Gray-Jackson continued that Juneteenth was often
seen as a "Black American holiday," but it was a
celebration for everyone. She shared that Anchorage held
the largest Juneteenth festival in the state, which was an
event that embraced everyone in attendance regardless of
color or ethnicity. The event included local, state, and
federal politicians in addition to community members. There
were also other countries that celebrated Juneteenth and
the celebration extended well beyond color and ethnicity.
Senator Gray-Jackson concluded that SB 22 would create an
awareness and appreciation for American history and help to
continue the sometimes difficult conversation about what it
meant to truly be free. She encouraged the community to
keep festivities alive and continue to secure freedom for
generations to come. She added that Juneteenth was also the
day she moved to Anchorage and in the coming June, she will
have lived in Alaska for 41 years.
11:19:39 AM
BESSE ODOM, STAFF, SENATOR ELVI GRAY-JACKSON, introduced
the PowerPoint presentation "Senate Bill 22 'An act
establishing Juneteenth Day as a legal holiday'" dated
February 6, 2024 (copy on file). She indicated that she
would be giving a high level overview of the bill and of
Juneteenth itself. She continued on slide 2 of the
presentation. The celebration of Juneteenth had several
names: Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, and
Liberation Day. She reiterated that the holiday was first
celebrated in Galveston, Texas when enslaved individuals
were made aware three years after the Emancipation
Proclamation that they had been freed.
Ms. Odom continued on slide 3 and relayed that recognition
of the day was broad. Every state including Washington D.C.
celebrated Juneteenth in some capacity. The first state to
honor the holiday was Texas, followed by Florida, Oklahoma,
Minnesota, Delaware, and Idaho. In addition to the states
celebrating the holiday, there were several corporations
that celebrated the holiday. Juneteenth celebrations were
also held in other countries around the world, including
South Korea, Israel, France, Guam, Honduras, Japan, Taiwan,
and Trinidad and Tobago.
Ms. Odom continued on slide 4 and relayed that in 2021,
President Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal
holiday. The holiday was now one of 11 official federal
holidays. Most recently, the Anchorage Assembly voted
unanimously to make Juneteenth a municipal holiday.
Ms. Odom advanced to slide 5 and explained what it would
mean for Juneteenth to become a state holiday. In other
states, people employed by the state might have a day off
work. Stores and other organizations and businesses were
likely to be open as usual, but some stores might close or
have restricted hours. Many public transit services
operated on their usual schedule, but there could be some
changes. She concluded the presentation.
11:23:09 AM
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.
11:24:06 AM
CELESTE GRODEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ALASKA BLACK CAUCUS,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), relayed that the Alaska
Black Caucus was a non-profit organization formed in the
1970s to champion the lives of Black people and other
marginalized groups. She urged support for SB 22 and
thought it was time that Alaska joined other states and
recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday. Racism was
widespread and deeply rooted and would not be eradicated in
a single generation; however, declaring Juneteenth as a
holiday would be a symbol to honor Black Americans who had
suffered the impacts of slavery and racism. She noted that
Juneteenth marked a date of major significance in American
history and represented the way in which freedom for Black
people had been delayed. She stressed that the purpose of
Juneteenth becoming a state holiday was not to give
employees a day off, but to give individuals a day to think
about the desired future while remembering the inequities
of the past. She urged passage of the bill. She thanked
Representative Galvin for hearing the bill and Senator
Gray-Jackson for sponsoring the bill.
Representative Galvin clarified that she was a strong
supporter of the bill but she was not a sponsor. She
stressed that the bill was the result of extensive work
done by Senator Gray-Jackson and her staff.
11:27:49 AM
EDWARD WESLEY, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), had
been a resident of Alaska for 50 years. He was excited
about the direction the state was going in the recognition
of Juneteenth. He thought that making Juneteenth a holiday
would acknowledge history as well as contribute to a
healing process. Over 200,000 African Americans fought in
the Civil War and out of that effort, the Buffalo Soldiers
group was established. The Buffalo Soldiers provided
security for the expansion of the West and were the primary
force behind winning the Spanish American War in 1898. The
soldiers were sent to Alaska in 1889 and remained in the
state until 1903. He explained that he was speaking about
the soldiers because he wanted to stress that the
contributions of African Americans throughout the history
of the state and the nation were vast. Despite the
contributions, African Americans had suffered from 200
years of free labor and from being denied the opportunity
to build generational wealth.
Mr. Wesley continued that the hearing process of SB 22 had
acknowledged a number of injustices committed against
African Americans. For example, in the late 1940s, two
African Americans were hung in Juneau and the injustice had
never been resolved. When the Voters Rights Act was
enacted, Alaska was one of 13 states that had to receive
clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before it
could make major changes to voting processes. He stressed
that the bill would send a message that Alaska was no
longer living in the past and that the state wanted to
acknowledge the atrocities that had been committed against
African Americans. He asked for support for the
legislation.
11:32:27 AM
MICHAEL PATTERSON, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference),
testified in support of the bill. He shared that Juneteenth
was his favorite holiday and a way to celebrate his
ancestors' struggles for liberation. His last name was a
"slave name" and did not originate from his ancestors. He
believed that proclaiming the day as a holiday would act as
a reminder of the progress the country had made as well as
the progress yet to come. Proclaiming Juneteenth a holiday
was one of the steps towards reconciliation in the
aftermath of slavery. He thought there were two revolutions
for independence in the country: the Revolutionary War and
the Civil War. He argued that Juneteenth would recognize
independence in the same way the Fourth of July recognized
independence.
11:35:01 AM
EMILY KLOC, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified
in support of the bill. She thought it was important for
Juneteenth to be recognized as a holiday. She thanked
Senator Gray-Jackson and Ms. Odom for their hard work on
the legislation.
11:35:58 AM
BRENDA TYLER, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference),
testified in support of the bill. The state must recognize
and reflect on the history and the cost of freedom.
Recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday would encourage
Alaskans to never forget the events and horrors of slavery
as well as the systemic setbacks still faced by African
Americans in the present day. She shared that she was an
African American and had lived in Alaska since 1981. She
thanked Senator Gray-Jackson for her work on the bill.
11:36:55 AM
Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony.
Representative Hannan noted that Senator Gray-Jackson had
mentioned legislation that had passed in 2001 [the
aforementioned HB 100]. She asked for confirmation that the
2001 legislation would be repealed in SB 22 and how the
legislation from 2001 intersected with SB 22.
Senator Gray-Jackson replied that the 2001 legislation
simply recognized Juneteenth as a holiday.
Representative Hannan asked what the "repealer" in Section
3 of SB 22 would accomplish.
Senator Gray-Jackson responded that she could not answer
the question but would follow up with Representative
Hannan.
Representative Ortiz shared his appreciation for the bill
and hoped it would be moved expeditiously.
Representative Stapp asked how many other states had
adopted Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
Senator Gray-Jackson deferred the question to her staff.
Ms. Odom responded that 27 states had adopted Juneteenth as
a paid holiday.
11:40:22 AM
Representative Josephson was grateful for the senator's
efforts on the bill and remarked that it was the easiest
"yes" vote he would cast in his life. He asked if employees
would get the proceeding Friday off if Juneteenth fell on a
Saturday.
Senator Gray-Jackson replied in the affirmative.
Co-Chair Foster noted that the committee had not planned to
discuss the fiscal note, but indicated that Senator Gray-
Jackson was welcome to discuss the fiscal note if she was
ready.
Senator Gray-Jackson replied that she was ready to address
the fiscal note. She was ready to move the bill forward as
quickly as possible. The bill came close to passing in 2023
and she hoped it could pass in the current year.
Co-Chair Foster noted that the bill had been scheduled in
the House Finance Committee in 2023 but extended budget
debates prevented the committee from holding a meeting.
Co-Chair Johnson asked about slide 3 of the presentation.
She noted that some states indicated that there would be an
observance of Juneteenth and others referred to Juneteenth
as a holiday. She asked if there were different ways in
which other states recognized the holiday. She wondered how
Juneteenth was "added to the calendar" in various states.
11:43:18 AM
Senator Gray-Jackson was not certain what Co-Chair Johnson
meant by adding the holiday to a calendar.
Co-Chair Johnson replied that she was wondering if there
were different ways in which the holiday was added to state
workers' calendars. She understood that the holiday would
be added to the Alaska calendar as a paid day off. She read
through the various ways other states referred to the
holiday on slide 3. She asked if the senator could explain
the different strategies because there had been discussion
in other committees on the variety of ways to observe the
holiday.
Senator Gray-Jackson replied that Juneteenth was a paid
holiday just like Christmas or the Fourth of July. She
explained that it would be observed in the same manner as
every other paid holiday that the state offered to its
employees.
Ms. Odom added that the purpose of the bill was to allow
for Juneteenth to become a paid state holiday. She
explained that the holiday would be handled similarly in
Alaska as it was in New Mexico, which was detailed on slide
3 of the presentation. If Juneteenth became a state
holiday, most workers would get the day off and most banks
and state offices would be closed as well. She hoped that
Co-Chair Johnson's question had been answered.
Co-Chair Johnson responded that the response was sufficient
and suggested that she could discuss with the sponsor the
meaning of "observance" outside of the committee meeting.
Her biggest concern about the bill was with the fiscal note
and not with the terminology.
Senator Gray-Jackson commented that "you cannot put a price
on celebrating freedom." She noted that she had met with
Representative Stapp many times outside of the committee
meeting and had made the same comment to him.
Representative Galvin understood that the federal
government treated Juneteenth as a paid holiday already and
the bill would allow Alaska to adhere to the observance of
the holiday. She asked if she was correct in her
understanding that it was already a day off for federal
employees, but the bill would expand the paid day off to
all employees.
Senator Gray-Jackson replied that Juneteenth was already a
federal holiday. The Municipality of Anchorage made it a
paid holiday in 2023. She reiterated that if the bill were
to pass, Juneteenth would become a paid state holiday.
Representative Galvin commented that she completely
supported the bill.
11:48:20 AM
Co-Chair Foster noted that there were eight fiscal notes
(copies on file) but a summary sheet of all of the fiscal
notes had been distributed to committee members (copy on
file) to streamline the process. He invited the senator to
summarize the fiscal notes.
Senator Gray-Jackson asked if she should go over each
fiscal note. She would be happy to do so if it was the will
of the committee.
Co-Chair Foster suggested that the senator highlight any
elements of the fiscal notes she found particularly
important.
Senator Gray-Jackson responded that she could offer the
total fiscal cost of the bill as a starting point for the
discussion. The fiscal impact of all eight fiscal notes
combined would be $957,000.
Representative Coulombe understood that eight departments
would be impacted by the bill. She asked for clarification
that the $957,000 was the cost of overtime pay that would
be incurred for departments that would need employees to
work on the holiday.
Senator Gray-Jackson responded that Representative Coulombe
was correct in her understanding.
Representative Coulombe commented that she did not see any
mention of the fiscal impact of managing the holiday. She
asked if the fiscal notes were only covering the overtime
pay.
Senator Gray-Jackson responded in the affirmative.
11:51:46 AM
Co-Chair Johnson asked for clarification that $957,000
reflected the total cost of the paid day off. She had
previously understood that the cost was different than
$957,000.
Senator Gray-Jackson asked to what number Co-Chair Johnson
was referring. The previous fiscal note was $1.2 million.
Representative Stapp agreed that one could not put a price
on freedom.
Senator Gray-Jackson appreciated the comment.
Co-Chair Foster asked if the senator had any closing
comments.
Senator Gray-Jackson responded that she did have closing
comments, but first she would like her staff to respond to
Representative Hannan's earlier question about the
repealer.
Ms. Odom relayed that the bill repealed AS 44.12.090, which
was the existing statute around Juneteenth which said that
the governor would issue a proclamation. She explained that
if SB 22 became law, there would be no need for a
proclamation because similar language would already be in
statute.
Representative Hannan shared that Juneteenth was one of 50
days that were acknowledged in state statute, but not
considered a holiday. She thought it was time that
Juneteenth was elevated to a state holiday.
11:54:11 AM
Co-Chair Foster set an amendment deadline for Tuesday,
February 13, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
SB 22 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the agenda for the afternoon
meeting.