PUBLIC HOLIDAYS; JUNETEENTH S.B. 50:
SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 50 (as introduced 2-1-23)
Sponsor: Senator Sylvia Santana
Committee: Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection
CONTENT
The bill would amend Public Act 124 of 1865 to include June 19 (Juneteenth) in a list of days that must be considered and treated as the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, and as public holidays or half holidays.
Public Act 124 of 1865 lists days that, for all purposes regarding the presenting for payment or acceptance, and the protesting and giving notice of the dishonor of bills of exchange, bank checks, and promissory notes, and, generally, for the holding of courts, must be treated as the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, and as public holidays or half holidays. These days include, for example, January 1 (New Year's Day), the third Monday in January (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), November 11 (Veterans' Day), and Christmas Day. The bill would include June 19 (Juneteenth) in this list.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
(Please note: The information in this summary provides a cursory overview of previous legislation and its progress. It does not provide a comprehensive account of all previous legislative efforts on the relevant subject matter.)
The bill is substantially similar to Senate Bill 74 from the 2021-2022 Legislative Session. Testimony on this bill was taken in the Senate Committee on Regulatory Reform, but the bill received no further action.
BACKGROUND
Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day or Emancipation Day, is on June 19. Juneteenth commemorates the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas was the last of the Confederate States of America in which the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced.
Legislative Analyst: Jeff Mann
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a negligible, if not neutral, fiscal impact local governments. State employees already have been granted a Juneteenth holiday; thus, the bill would have no fiscal impact on the State.
Regarding revenue collections, the bill likely would not affect any State revenue collections, as the current practice for any collections slated for the date of a State holiday is to collect them on the following business day. For example, Secretary of State fees for driver and vehicle registrations would be collected on the next day of operations for branch offices. With respect to employee costs for local government, the fiscal impact likely would be neutral. Salaried
employees would not be affected by the addition of another State holiday, as they would receive the same salary. However, there are some employees who are entitled to additional pay for working holidays, such as local and county law enforcement officials. The bill could add additional wage costs for those employees. Conversely, local governments could see wage cost savings from wages paid to hourly employees, as these employees generally do not work full-time, nor do they receive paid holidays. Based on these factors, it is likely that the additional costs for holiday-pay eligible salaried employees could be negated by the savings from the decreased pay for hourly employees; these costs would vary across local governments.
Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.