Florida Senate - 2021 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 490
Ì4178064Î417806
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
.
.
.
Floor: NC/2R .
04/21/2021 01:01 PM .
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Senator Bracy moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Present paragraphs (k) through (m), (n) through
6 (p), and (q) through (u) of subsection (1) of section 683.01,
7 Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (l) through
8 (n), (p) through (r), and (t) through (x), respectively, and new
9 paragraphs (k), (o), and (s) are added to that subsection, to
10 read:
11 683.01 Legal holidays.—
12 (1) The legal holidays, which are also public holidays, are
13 the following:
14 (k) Emancipation Day, May 20.
15 (o) Juneteenth Day, June 19.
16 (s) Victims of Communism Day, November 7.
17 Section 2. Section 683.21, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
18 Section 3. On the final day of each regular legislative
19 session, the Legislature shall observe a moment of silence in
20 remembrance of the victims of communism.
21 Section 4. Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, high
22 school students enrolled in the United States Government class
23 required by s. 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, must receive at
24 least 45 minutes of instruction explaining the significance of
25 Victims of Communism Day through the discussion of topics such
26 as Mao Zedong in China, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System,
27 Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the
28 Russian Revolution, Hồ Chí Minh in Vietnam, and Nicolas Maduro
29 in Venezuela and how the victims suffered under these regimes
30 through suppression of poverty, starvation, migration, speech,
31 and systemic lethal violence against civilians.
32 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
33
34 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
35 And the title is amended as follows:
36 Delete everything before the enacting clause
37 and insert:
38 A bill to be entitled
39 An act relating to legal holidays; amending s. 683.01,
40 F.S.; designating Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Day,
41 and Victims of Communism Day as legal holidays;
42 repealing s. 683.21, F.S., relating to Juneteenth Day;
43 deleting provisions designating Juneteenth Day as a
44 special observance, to conform to changes made by the
45 act; requiring the Legislature to annually observe a
46 moment of silence in observance of the victims of
47 communism; requiring high school students in a
48 required United States Government course to receive
49 certain instruction on Victims of Communism Day;
50 providing an effective date.
51
52 WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln
53 issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which afforded free status
54 under federal law to the millions of enslaved African Americans
55 who resided in states that had seceded from the Union, including
56 Florida, and
57 WHEREAS, despite the issuance of the Emancipation
58 Proclamation, it was not fully enforced in certain regions of
59 the United States for more than 2 years afterward, and
60 WHEREAS, on or about June 19, 1865, federal authorities
61 arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation
62 Proclamation and further inform slaves that the Civil War had
63 ended and that the enslaved were now free, and
64 WHEREAS, thereafter, former slaves and their descendants
65 continued to commemorate each June 19 to celebrate freedom and
66 the emancipation of all slaves in the United States, and
67 WHEREAS, emancipation in Florida was proclaimed in
68 Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, and for this reason Floridians
69 traditionally celebrate Emancipation Day on May 20 of each year,
70 and
71 WHEREAS, in 1991, the Florida Legislature officially
72 designated June 19 of each year as “Juneteenth Day” to
73 commemorate the freeing of slaves, but did not designate the day
74 as an official legal holiday, and
75 WHEREAS, this act designates Emancipation Day and
76 Juneteenth Day as legal holidays in this state to commemorate
77 the announcement of the abolition of slavery and to recognize
78 the significant contributions of African Americans to this state
79 and our nation, and
80 WHEREAS, over 100 years have passed since the Bolshevik
81 Revolution in Russia and the formation of the first communist
82 government under Vladimir Lenin, leading to decades of
83 oppression and violence under communist regimes throughout the
84 world, and
85 WHEREAS, based on the economic philosophies of Karl Marx,
86 communism has proven incompatible with the ideals of liberty,
87 prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such
88 infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Hồ
89 Chí Minh, and Pol Pot, and
90 WHEREAS, communist regimes worldwide have killed more than
91 100 million people and subjected countless others to
92 exploitation and unspeakable atrocities, with victims
93 representing many ethnicities, creeds, and backgrounds, and
94 WHEREAS, many victims of communism were persecuted as
95 political prisoners for speaking out against these regimes, and
96 others were killed in genocidal state-sponsored purges of
97 undesirable groups, and
98 WHEREAS, in addition to violating basic human rights,
99 communist regimes have suppressed intellectual freedom, cultural
100 life, and self-determination movements in more than 40 nations,
101 and
102 WHEREAS, slavery robbed individuals of their most basic
103 human rights, just as communism continues to deprive hundreds of
104 millions of people worldwide of the rights of freedom of
105 worship, freedom of speech, and freedom of association, through
106 coercion, brutality, and fear, NOW THEREFORE,