Bill Text: CA SCR94 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Day of Inclusion.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-8)
Status: (Passed) 2016-07-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 77, Statutes of 2016. [SCR94 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SCR94-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 94 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 77
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 7, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 13, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pan
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Bates, Block, Fuller, Glazer, Hall,
Hertzberg, Leno, and Wieckowski)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Chang, Chávez, Chiu, Chu,
Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Gonzalez, Kim, Lackey, Low, Ting, Wagner, and
Williams)
JANUARY 7, 2016
Relative to Day of Inclusion.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 94, Pan. Day of Inclusion.
This measure would acknowledge December 17 each year as an annual
"Day of Inclusion" in recognition and appreciation of the priceless
contributions of all immigrants to the greatness of the United States
and California.
WHEREAS, In 1886, the United States Supreme Court, in Yick Wo v.
Hopkins (1886) 118 U.S. 356, 369, stated that "the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution . . . says: 'Nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process
of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.' These provisions are universal in their
application to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction,
without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of
nationality"; and
WHEREAS, The Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which encouraged the flow
of Chinese immigration, was signed into law with the intent to
protect Chinese in the United States against discrimination,
exploitation, and violence in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Chinese immigrants arrived in large numbers and greatly
contributed to the advancement and progress of the United States to
its position as one of the world's greatest superpowers, through
contributions including assisting in building the first
transcontinental railway connecting the country from east to west by
laying down tracks throughout the dangerous Sierra Nevada mountain
terrain, parting the waters to build the vital levees of the
California Delta, and establishing California's world-class
agriculture and fishing industries; and
WHEREAS, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first major law
to single out and forbid a specific ethnic group, the Chinese, from
immigrating to and becoming naturalized citizens of the United
States, and was followed by the Geary Act of 1892, which extended the
prohibitions of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and imposed new
and onerous requirements on Chinese immigrants; and
WHEREAS, In the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the
Geary Act of 1892, additional laws were enacted to perpetuate
discrimination and unequal treatment of Chinese and other minority
groups, including numerous antimiscegenation laws that prohibited
marriage between white women and men of minority background or
ancestry; the Alien Land Law of 1913 that prohibited "aliens
ineligible for citizenship" from owning land or property; the Cable
Act of 1922 that terminated the United States citizenship of any
woman who married an alien ineligible for United States citizenship;
and the Immigration Act of 1924 that limited the number of immigrants
who could be admitted from any country and prohibited the
immigration of all Asians; and
WHEREAS, The Chinese fought against unequal treatment and filed
hundreds of appeals, resulting in 17 cases being brought before the
United States Supreme Court, ultimately invoking the protections of
the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
and
WHEREAS, The Chinese Exclusion Act, passed on May 6, 1882, was
finally repealed on December 17, 1943, by way of the Magnuson Act,
marking a turning point in societal reaction toward immigrants and
their common struggles for fairness and equality; and
WHEREAS, An abundant list of Chinese Americans have contributed
their time, energy, and talents toward the betterment and progress of
this nation and all peoples: Jerry Yang (cofounder of Yahoo! Inc.),
Charles Wang (founder of Computer Associates International, Inc.),
and others have founded and led some of this nation's great
companies; John Liu Fugh (first Chinese American officer to attain
the rank of General in the United States Army), Francis B. Wai (first
Chinese American to receive the Medal of Honor), and others have
contributed their lives in service to our nation; Tsung-Dao Lee
(Nobel Prize recipient in Physics), Roger Y. Tsien (Nobel Prize
recipient in Chemistry), and others have contributed their great
skills and talents to the fields of science and mathematics; Hiram
Leong Fong (first Chinese American to be elected as a United States
Senator), Thomas Tang (first Chinese American appointed to the
federal judiciary), and others have led and continue to lead at all
levels of government; and
WHEREAS, According to the Partnership for a New American Economy,
immigrants started 28 percent of all new businesses in 2011, despite
accounting for just 13 percent of the United States population--an
increase from 15 percent of all new United States businesses as
measured in 1996; and in California, immigrants account for 27.2
percent of the population but own 36.6 percent of all businesses, and
start 44.6 percent of all new businesses in the state; and
WHEREAS, According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, in 2007 small
businesses owned by immigrants employed an estimated 4.7 million
people nationwide, and generated more than $776 billion in revenue
annually; and according to a 2012 report by the Partnership for a New
American Economy, immigrant-owned businesses produce more than $34
billion per year in California alone, constituting 28.1 percent of
all business income produced in the state and 4.2 percent of all
business income in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Chinese Americans share many commonalities with other
minority groups within the United States: all reside in the United
States in search of opportunities to better their lives and the lives
of their families, hope to fulfill their dreams through diligence
and hard work, experience prejudice and discrimination from both
society and government, and nevertheless succeed in many respects
despite much adversity and many stresses and pressures; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, allowed for the incarceration of
120,000 Japanese Americans without due process of the law as well as
the discharge of Japanese Americans serving in the Armed Forces, and
was followed by the establishment of the War Relocation Authority to
administer the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps;
and
WHEREAS, On August 10, 1988, President Ronald W. Reagan signed the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which found that Executive Order 9066
was caused by racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of
political leadership, apologized on behalf of the people of the
United States for the evacuation, internment, and relocation of
Japanese Americans during World War II, and provided for restitution
to those Japanese Americans who were interned; and
WHEREAS, The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 on
December 17, 1943, 61 years after its enactment, marks the date on
which the United States expressed a commitment to break down cultural
barriers, appreciate differences, enrich cultural diversity, and
further racial, religious, and cultural tolerance; and
WHEREAS, According to the data from the United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation, in concurrence with the ongoing immigration
reform debate, hate crimes targeting Hispanic Americans rose 40
percent from 2003 to 2007, inclusive, marking four consecutive years
of increases; and
WHEREAS, The amount of anti-Semitic extremist rhetoric and
activity has increased, causing Jewish Americans and institutions to
fall victim to bias-motivated violence; and
WHEREAS, Despite the commitment of the United States to further
racial, religious, and cultural tolerance, embodied by the repeal of
the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, intolerance and discrimination
against immigrants and minority groups persists, and the 73rd
anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, on
December 17, 2016, represents a timely and excellent opportunity for
our nation to rededicate itself to the eradication of intolerance and
discrimination against immigrants and minority groups; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature joins all Californians
throughout the state in acknowledging December 17 each year as an
annual "Day of Inclusion" in recognition and appreciation of the
priceless contributions of all immigrants to the greatness of the
United States and especially to our great state, California; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
