Florida Senate - 2021 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for HB 1553
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/AD/2R .
04/21/2021 01:03 PM .
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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 Section 683.21, Florida Statutes, is repealed.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, in recognition of “Victims of
20 Communism Day,” engage in a moment of silence.
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 on “Victims of Communism Day” on
25 topics such as Mao Zedong in China, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet
26 System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin
27 and the Russian Revolution, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and Nicolas
28 Maduro in Venezuela and how the victims suffered under these
29 regimes through suppression of speech, poverty, starvation,
30 migration, and systemic lethal violence against civilians. High
31 school students enrolled in the United States Government class
32 required by s. 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, must receive at
33 least 45 minutes of instruction on the significance of
34 “Emancipation Day” as it relates to the State of Florida.
35 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
36
37 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
38 And the title is amended as follows:
39 Delete everything before the enacting clause
40 and insert:
41 A bill to be entitled
42 An act relating to legal holidays; amending s. 683.01,
43 F.S.; designating Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Day,
44 and Victims of Communism Day as legal holidays;
45 repealing s. 683.21, F.S., relating to Juneteenth Day;
46 deleting provisions designating Juneteenth Day as a
47 special observance, to conform to changes made by the
48 act; requiring the Legislature to annually observe a
49 moment of silence in recognition of the victims of
50 communism; requiring high school students in a
51 required United States Government course to receive
52 certain instruction regarding Victims of Communism
53 Day; requiring high school students to receive certain
54 instruction on the significance of Emancipation Day;
55 providing an effective date.
56
57 WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln
58 issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which afforded free status
59 under federal law to the millions of enslaved African Americans
60 who resided in states that had seceded from the Union, including
61 Florida, and
62 WHEREAS, despite the issuance of the Emancipation
63 Proclamation, it was not fully enforced in certain regions of
64 the United States for more than 2 years afterward, and
65 WHEREAS, on or about June 19, 1865, federal authorities
66 arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation
67 Proclamation and further inform slaves that the Civil War had
68 ended and that the enslaved were now free, and
69 WHEREAS, thereafter, former slaves and their descendants
70 continued to commemorate each June 19 to celebrate freedom and
71 the emancipation of all slaves in the United States, and
72 WHEREAS, emancipation in Florida was proclaimed in
73 Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, and for this reason Floridians
74 traditionally celebrate Emancipation Day on May 20 of each year,
75 and
76 WHEREAS, in 1991, the Florida Legislature officially
77 designated June 19 of each year as “Juneteenth Day” to
78 commemorate the freeing of slaves, but did not designate the day
79 as an official legal holiday, and
80 WHEREAS, this act designates Emancipation Day and
81 Juneteenth Day as legal holidays in this state to commemorate
82 the announcement of the abolition of slavery and to recognize
83 the significant contributions of African Americans to this state
84 and our nation, and
85 WHEREAS, over 100 years have passed since the Bolshevik
86 Revolution in Russia and the formation of the first communist
87 government under Vladimir Lenin, leading to decades of
88 oppression and violence under communist regimes throughout the
89 world, and
90 WHEREAS, based on the economic philosophies of Karl Marx,
91 communism has proven incompatible with the ideals of liberty,
92 prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such
93 infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Hồ
94 Chí Minh, and Pol Pot, and
95 WHEREAS, communist regimes worldwide have killed more than
96 100 million people and subjected countless others to
97 exploitation and unspeakable atrocities, with victims
98 representing many ethnicities, creeds, and backgrounds, and
99 WHEREAS, many victims of communism were persecuted as
100 political prisoners for speaking out against these regimes, and
101 others were killed in genocidal state-sponsored purges of
102 undesirable groups, and
103 WHEREAS, in addition to violating basic human rights,
104 communist regimes have suppressed intellectual freedom, cultural
105 life, and self-determination movements in more than 40 nations,
106 and
107 WHEREAS, slavery robbed individuals of their most basic
108 human rights, just as communism continues to deprive hundreds of
109 millions of people worldwide of the rights of freedom of
110 worship, freedom of speech, and freedom of association, through
111 coercion, brutality, and fear, NOW, THEREFORE,