Bill Text: CA AB2598 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2598 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Lunar New Year's Day.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB2598 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB2598-Introduced.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 2598	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Ting, Bonta, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Low,
and Williams
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Pan)

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Section 37222.19 to the Education Code, and to add
Section 6726 to the Government Code, relating to public schools.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2598, as introduced, Ting. Lunar New Year's Day.
   Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each
year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular
days each year as having special significance in public schools and
educational institutions and encourages those entities to conduct
suitable commemorative exercises on those dates.
   This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim the date
corresponding with the start of the lunar calendar as Lunar New Year'
s Day, would designate that date each year as having special
significance in public schools and educational institutions, and
would encourage those entities to observe that date by conducting
culturally appropriate activities and exercises observing the Lunar
New Year.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian communities
around the world, including in the United States, and especially in
California.
   (b) San Francisco's Chinese New Year celebration originated in the
1860s as a way for the Chinese, who flocked to San Francisco to work
in the gold mines and on the railroad, to share their culture with
others who perceived them as different. The San Francisco festival
and parade have evolved into the largest celebration of its kind in
North America and outside of China.
   (c) California is now home to nearly six million Asian and Pacific
Islander Americans of Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino,
Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Iu-Mien, Japanese, Korean, Laotian,
Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese descent.
   (d) The Asian and Pacific Islander American community has
contributed to the social, cultural, civic, economic, and academic
success of the state.
   (e) The Lunar New Year is predominantly observed by over 2.5
million Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese residents of California.
   (f) The Lunar New Year is universally celebrated by these
communities as a time to renew family ties and to start the new year
with a clean slate.
   (g) The spirit of the Lunar New Year is especially significant for
communities whose families have been forcibly kept separated, both
historically through discriminatory and xenophobic laws such as the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1917 that
barred Asian and Pacific Islander immigration into the United States,
and currently in light of continued deportations and challenges to
programs such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and
Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent
Residents (DAPA) that aim to keep families unified. It is estimated
that 1.5 million California immigrants could be eligible for relief
under DACA and DAPA.
   (h) The Lunar New Year is also a celebration of prosperity,
strength, good health, and long life. Policies like the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) and
extensions of the Medi-Cal program to all children, including those
who are undocumented, ensure access to comprehensive health
insurance, instead of reliance on emergency care, so all members of
the community can benefit from positive health outcomes.
   (i) The celebration of the Lunar New Year in communities and
schools throughout California illustrates the state's rich cultural
history and commitment to racial, religious, and cultural diversity.
  SEC. 2.  Section 37222.19 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   37222.19.  (a) The date corresponding with the start of the lunar
calendar of each year is designated and set apart as Lunar New Year's
Day, a day having special significance pursuant to Section 37222.
   (b) On Lunar New Year's Day, all public schools and educational
institutions are encouraged to conduct culturally appropriate
activities and exercises observing the Lunar New Year.
  SEC. 3.  Section 6726 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   6726.  The Governor annually shall proclaim the date corresponding
with the start of the lunar calendar as Lunar New Year's Day.