Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/14/2023 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB26 | |
| SB22 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 26 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 22-PROCLAIM JUNETEENTH DAY A HOLIDAY
3:38:35 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 22 "An Act establishing
Juneteenth Day as a legal holiday."
3:40:39 PM
ELVI GRAY-JACKSON, District G, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, sponsor of SB 22, stated that this legislation will
elevate Juneteenth to the level of other legal holidays. The
hope is that this will create a better environment for a more
thorough understanding of the history of African Americans in
Alaska and the US.
She said thoughts about America elicit feelings of freedom and
justice, but studying Juneteenth will make it clear that these
ideas have not been equally applied. After President Abraham
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it took nearly
three years for many enslaved African Americans to realize this
new freedom.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON continued to present SB 22 paraphrasing the
sponsor statement that read as follows:
In 1865, union soldiers landed at Galveston, TX with
news that the war had ended. This news meant that
enslaved people were now free. Since 1865, people
across the world have joined together to celebrate an
important day. Juneteenth- also known as Freedom Day
or Emancipation Day- is a holiday celebrating the
emancipation of previously enslaved peoples in
America. Each year on June 19th, people of all races
join one another in fellowship to honor those who gave
so much for America and educate themselves about the
struggles toward liberation for Black Americans.
Juneteenth has been recognized and celebrated
throughout Alaska. There have been events ranging from
parades to street fairs.
Senate Bill 22 would make Juneteenth an observed legal
state holiday alongside July 4th and Memorial Day.
This bill would make Juneteenth a paid state holiday.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON shared that June 19 was the anniversary of
her arrival in Anchorage 40 years ago.
3:43:24 PM
SENATOR MERRICK asked where it was outlined in the bill that
Juneteenth would be a paid state holiday.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON replied the bill adds this holiday in the
same section of statute that designates other holidays. She
directed attention to paragraph (6) on page 1, line [11] and
conveyed that Legislative Legal said the bill correctly makes
Juneteenth a paid state holiday.
CHAIR KAWASAKI noted the individuals who were available to opine
on the question.
SENATOR MERRICK said she was comfortable with the answer.
CHAIR KAWASAKI asked Ms. Odom to walk through the sectional
analysis.
3:45:13 PM
BESSE ODOM, Staff, Senator Gray-Jackson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis
for SB 22 on behalf of the sponsor. It read as follows:
Section 1. This section amends AS 44.12.010(a), the
Statute regarding legal holidays. Specifically, it
requires that June 19th, known as Juneteenth Day, be
considered a legal holiday.
Section 2. This section amends AS 44.12.020, the
statute regarding holidays that fall on a Sunday, with
conforming language that reflects section 1 of this
bill.
Section 3. This section repeals AS 44.12.090
3:46:12 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked whether the holiday would apply to local
municipalities.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON replied it's already a paid holiday for
federal employees and were the bill to pass, it would be a paid
holiday for state employees.
SENATOR BJORKMAN said some federal holidays must be paid and he
wondered whether this would be the same for political subunits
of the state.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON restated that SB 22 would make Juneteenth a
paid state holiday.
3:47:35 PM
At ease
3:48:04 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI reconvened the meeting and asked Ms. Odom to
proceed with the PowerPoint.
3:48:20 PM
MS. ODOM presented a PowerPoint to further explain SB 22. She
paraphrased the following:
WHAT IS JUNETEENTH
• Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation
Day or Liberation Day. The word 'Juneteenth' resulted
from the words 'June Nineteenth' being combined
together in speech.
• Juneteenth is a holiday that celebrates the end of
slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union
soldiers arrived to take control of Texas and enforce
the emancipation of slaves in the state. In Galveston,
Texas, the newly freed slaves held large public
celebrations and so laid the base for future
Juneteenth activities.
• Juneteenth became a federal holiday last year. It is
now one of 11 official federal holidays or 12 for
federal workers in the District of Columbia and
surrounding areas during presidential inauguration
years meaning that federal workers get a paid day
off and there's no mail delivery.
FOLLOWING THE TREND
• Texas was the first state to pass legislation
that would require that Juneteenth be observed as
a state holiday in 1980. Followed by:
• Florida (1991)
• Oklahoma (1994)
• Minnesota (1996)
• Delaware (2000)
• Idaho (2001)
• Various companies observe the holiday:
• Tesla
• Nike
• Target
• NFL
• Lyft
• Juneteenth celebrations are also held in other
countries around the world, including South
Korea, Israel, France, Guam, Honduras, Japan,
Taiwan, and Trinidad and Tobago.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR JUNETEENTH TO BECOME A STATE
HOLIDAY
• In some states, people employed by the state may
have a day off work. Stores, post offices, and
other organizations and businesses are likely to
be open as usual, but some may be closed or have
restricted opening hours in some areas. Many
public transit services operate on their usual
schedule, but there may be some changes.
3:51:03 PM
SENATOR MERRICK noted that the PowerPoint says that Juneteenth
would be a federal holiday and no mail would be delivered, then
on the last slide it says post offices are likely to be open as
usual.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON replied it's a federal holiday and mail is
not delivered.
3:51:49 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN said he always found it interesting that the
Union soldiers went to Galveston because it is a small town but
at the time it was the major port city for the Gulf Coast.
Houston didn't exist. He opined that it was well worth the
journey to visit Galveston for anybody who's in that part of
Texas.
3:52:45 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI thanked him for the geographic history of Texas.
CHAIR KAWASAKI opened public testimony on SB 22.
3:53:03 PM
CELESTE HODGE GROWDEN, President and CEO, Alaska Black Caucus,
Anchorage, Alaska, thanked the sponsor for bringing the bill
forward. She stated that the Alaska Black Caucus is a nonprofit
formed in the '70s to champion the lives of Black people and
other people of color in the areas of health, economics,
education, and justice. She voiced support for SB 22 to
establish Juneteenth as a state holiday in Alaska. It
commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves
following the end of the American Civil War in 1865. In years
after that, Juneteenth celebrations of Black culture spread from
Texas across the South. Texas again led the way in 1938 with
cultural festivals and a formal proclamation of Juneteenth.
Texas passed legislation to that effect in 1979. Both former
President Trump and President Biden supported making Juneteenth
a federal holiday and President Biden signed the bill into law
on June 19, 2021. This federal holiday is recognized in all 50
states and the District of Columbia and 21 states recognize it
as a paid state holiday. The Alaska Black Caucus urges Alaska to
join these states by passing SB 22. It will push the needle
toward equity.
3:59:01 PM
EDWARD WESLEY, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that
he was a former president of the Anchorage branch of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), and he was speaking in support of SB 22. He stated that
at the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin Hitler sought to
demonstrate the greatness of his nation with a team of superior
athletes. However, Ralph Metcalf and Jessie Owens, both African
Americans, stepped forward and lifted this nation. Jesse Owens
won four gold medals.
SB 22 acknowledges the sacrifices of African Americans. Two
hundred years of free labor denied their ancestors generational
wealth. African Americans nevertheless made major contributions
to this nation that all citizens enjoy every day. George
Washington Carver's work in the area of agriculture is one such
example. Despite contributing to more than 80 percent of the
field work done in agriculture, African Americans were not
allowed to participate when Social Security was established.
African Americans helped build the ALCAN Highway, have been a
major population in the military, calculated the trajectory to
the moon by hand, and made major contributions in sports and
entertainment.
MR. WESLEY opined that support for SB 22 acknowledges the past
and embraces a bright future of unlimited possibility. An added
benefit is that it will bring more tourists to this state and
stimulate economic activity.
4:02:59 PM
VIKKI JO KENNEDY, representing self, Juneau, Alaska, stated that
she supports SB 22 but doesn't think public transportation
should be closed, because it is already closed on enough
holidays. She pointed out that in Alaska, it is primarily people
of color who use public transportation.
4:04:42 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI stated that he would hold public testimony open
until the bill is heard a second time.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON corrected the record, stating that Congress
made Juneteenth a federal holiday with a bill. It wasn't through
executive order as she stated earlier.
4:05:59 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI held SB 26 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 22 Sectional Analysis version A.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB 22 Sponsor Statement version A.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB 22 Supporting Document - What is Juneteenth.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| Draft SC SB 26 B.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 26 |
| Summary of Changes SCSB 26 version B .pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 26 |
| SB 22 ver A Presentation 1.19.2023.pptx |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB 22 Letter of Support - Dawn Bundick.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB 22 Letter of Support - Ashleigh Gaines.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB 22 Fiscal Note.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |
| SB0022A.pdf |
SSTA 2/14/2023 3:30:00 PM |
SB 22 |