Bill Text: NY S07680 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Designates January 6th as Democracy Day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 29-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-22 - PRINT NUMBER 7680A [S07680 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S07680-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7680--A IN SENATE January 7, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, SANDERS, ADDABBO, BIAGGI, BRISPORT, BROOKS, BROUK, COMRIE, COONEY, GOUNARDES, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAPLAN, KAVANAGH, KENNEDY, LIU, MANNION, MAY, MAYER, PERSAUD, RAMOS, REICH- LIN-MELNICK, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SKOUFIS, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to designating January sixth as "Democracy Day" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The Legislature finds and declares 2 the following: 3 1. On Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, the President of the United States 4 at the time, Donald J. Trump, members of his administration and presi- 5 dential campaign, and several Republican Members of Congress, directly 6 incited and encouraged an armed and violent insurrection against the 7 government of the United States, with the express purpose of preventing 8 the peaceful transfer of power and overturning the results of a free and 9 fair election. 10 2. In the months leading up to January 6th, the former President, 11 members of his administration, and numerous elected members of his 12 party, intentionally spread false and inflammatory claims regarding the 13 legitimacy of the election, and both implicitly and explicitly promised 14 violent or armed opposition to prevent the election from being certified 15 and the President-Elect from taking office. 16 3. In the course of their attack, the insurrectionists trespassed on 17 and destroyed Federal property, including flagrantly looting the Capi- 18 tol, and openly bragged about their exploits on social media. The 19 attackers carried white supremacist symbols including the flag known as 20 the "Confederate battle flag," as well as anti-Semitic, fascist, and 21 neo-nazi ideology. At the same time as many were carrying these symbols 22 of the enemies of the United States, some of the attackers were observed EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14184-06-2S. 7680--A 2 1 removing the flag of the United States, throwing it to the ground, and 2 replacing it with a flag bearing the name of President Donald J. Trump. 3 4. One hundred thirty-eight police officers were injured defending the 4 Capitol, and four insurrectionists and a Capitol Police officer died. In 5 the months that followed the attack, four additional Capitol Police 6 officers died by suicide. More than seven hundred people have been 7 arrested in connection with the attack, however those most responsible 8 have avoided accountability. 9 5. It is the intent of the legislature to establish an annual day of 10 commemoration to be known as Democracy Day, to honor those who were 11 wounded or died as a result of defending the Capitol, reiterate the need 12 to protect and strengthen our democratic institutions, and recognize the 13 ongoing threat of anti-democratic, white nationalist, and authoritarian 14 movements in the United States. 15 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law, as amended 16 by chapter 237 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows: 17 3. The following days shall be days of commemoration in each year: 18 January sixth, to be known as "Haym Salomon Day", and also to be known 19 as "Democracy Day", January twenty-seventh, to be known as "Holocaust 20 Remembrance Day", February fourth, to be known as "Rosa Parks Day", 21 February fifteenth, to be known as "Susan B. Anthony Day", February 22 sixteenth, to be known as "Lithuanian Independence Day", February twen- 23 ty-eighth, to be known as "Gulf War Veterans' Day", March fourth, to be 24 known as "Pulaski Day", March tenth, to be known as "Harriet Tubman 25 Day", March twenty-ninth, to be known as "Vietnam Veterans' Day", April 26 ninth, to be known as "POW Recognition Day", April twenty-seventh, to be 27 known as "Coretta Scott King Day", April twenty-eighth, to be known as 28 "Workers' Memorial Day", the first Tuesday in May to be known as "New 29 York State Teacher Day", May seventeenth, to be known as "Thurgood Mars- 30 hall Day", the first Sunday in June, to be known as "Children's Day", 31 June second, to be known as "Italian Independence Day", June twelfth, to 32 be known as "Women Veterans Recognition Day", June nineteenth, to be 33 known as "Juneteenth Freedom Day", June twenty-fifth, to be known as 34 "Korean War Veterans' Day", the second Monday in July, to be known as 35 "Abolition Commemoration Day", August twenty-fourth, to be known as 36 "Ukrainian Independence Day", August twenty-sixth, to be known as 37 "Women's Equality Day", September eleventh, to be known as "Battle of 38 Plattsburgh Day" and also to be known as "September 11th Remembrance 39 Day", September thirteenth, to be known as "John Barry Day" and also to 40 be known as "Uncle Sam Day in the State of New York", September seven- 41 teenth, to be known as "Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Memorial Day", the 42 third Friday in September to be known as "New York State POW/MIA Recog- 43 nition Day" except if such date of commemoration cannot be observed due 44 to a religious holiday, such observances shall then be conducted on the 45 second Friday of September, the last Saturday in September, to be known 46 as "War of 1812 Day", the fourth Saturday of September, known as 47 "Native-American Day", the last Sunday in September, to be known as 48 "Gold Star Mothers' Day", October fifth, to be known as "Raoul Wallen- 49 berg Day", October eleventh, to be known as "New Netherland Day in the 50 State of New York", October eighteenth, to be known as "Disabilities 51 History Day", October twenty-seventh, to be known as "Theodore Roosevelt 52 Day", November ninth, to be known as "Witness for Tolerance Day", Novem- 53 ber twelfth, to be known as "Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day", the third 54 Tuesday in November to be known as "New York State School-Related 55 Professionals Recognition Day", November thirtieth, to be known as 56 "Shirley Chisholm Day", December third, to be known as "InternationalS. 7680--A 3 1 Day of Persons with Disabilities", December seventh, to be known as 2 "Pearl Harbor Day", December sixteenth, to be known as "Bastogne Day" 3 and that day of the Asian lunar calendar designated as new year to be 4 known as "Asian New Year". 5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
