Florida Senate - 2021 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 490 Ì132172|Î132172 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . Floor: NC/2R . 04/21/2021 01:01 PM . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senator Bracy moved the following: 1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (417806) (with title 2 amendment) 3 4 Delete everything after the enacting clause 5 and insert: 6 Section 1. Present paragraphs (k) through (m), (n) through 7 (p), and (q) through (u) of subsection (1) of section 683.01, 8 Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (l) through 9 (n), (p) through (r), and (t) through (x), respectively, and new 10 paragraphs (k), (o), and (s) are added to that subsection, to 11 read: 12 683.01 Legal holidays.— 13 (1) The legal holidays, which are also public holidays, are 14 the following: 15 (k) Emancipation Day, May 20. 16 (o) Juneteenth Day, June 19. 17 (s) Victims of Communism Day, November 7. 18 Section 2. Section 683.21, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 19 Section 3. On the final day of each regular legislative 20 session, the Legislature shall, in recognition of “Victims of 21 Communism Day,” engage in a moment of silence. 22 Section 4. Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, high 23 school students enrolled in the United States Government class 24 required by s. 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, must receive at 25 least 45 minutes of instruction on “Victims of Communism Day” on 26 topics such as Mao Zedong in China, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet 27 System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin 28 and the Russian Revolution, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and Nicolas 29 Maduro in Venezuela and how the victims suffered under these 30 regimes through suppression of speech, poverty, starvation, 31 migration, and systemic lethal violence against civilians. High 32 school students enrolled in the United States Government class 33 required by s. 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, must receive at 34 least 45 minutes of instruction on the significance of 35 “Emancipation Day” as it relates to the State of Florida. 36 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021. 37 38 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 39 And the title is amended as follows: 40 Delete everything before the enacting clause 41 and insert: 42 A bill to be entitled 43 An act relating to legal holidays; amending s. 683.01, 44 F.S.; designating Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Day, 45 and Victims of Communism Day as legal holidays; 46 repealing s. 683.21, F.S., relating to Juneteenth Day; 47 deleting provisions designating Juneteenth Day as a 48 special observance, to conform to changes made by the 49 act; requiring the Legislature to annually observe a 50 moment of silence in recognition of the victims of 51 communism; requiring high school students in a 52 required United States Government course to receive 53 certain instruction regarding Victims of Communism 54 Day; requiring high school students to receive certain 55 instruction on the significance of Emancipation Day; 56 providing an effective date. 57 58 WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln 59 issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which afforded free status 60 under federal law to the millions of enslaved African Americans 61 who resided in states that had seceded from the Union, including 62 Florida, and 63 WHEREAS, despite the issuance of the Emancipation 64 Proclamation, it was not fully enforced in certain regions of 65 the United States for more than 2 years afterward, and 66 WHEREAS, on or about June 19, 1865, federal authorities 67 arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation 68 Proclamation and further inform slaves that the Civil War had 69 ended and that the enslaved were now free, and 70 WHEREAS, thereafter, former slaves and their descendants 71 continued to commemorate each June 19 to celebrate freedom and 72 the emancipation of all slaves in the United States, and 73 WHEREAS, emancipation in Florida was proclaimed in 74 Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, and for this reason Floridians 75 traditionally celebrate Emancipation Day on May 20 of each year, 76 and 77 WHEREAS, in 1991, the Florida Legislature officially 78 designated June 19 of each year as “Juneteenth Day” to 79 commemorate the freeing of slaves, but did not designate the day 80 as an official legal holiday, and 81 WHEREAS, this act designates Emancipation Day and 82 Juneteenth Day as legal holidays in this state to commemorate 83 the announcement of the abolition of slavery and to recognize 84 the significant contributions of African Americans to this state 85 and our nation, and 86 WHEREAS, over 100 years have passed since the Bolshevik 87 Revolution in Russia and the formation of the first communist 88 government under Vladimir Lenin, leading to decades of 89 oppression and violence under communist regimes throughout the 90 world, and 91 WHEREAS, based on the economic philosophies of Karl Marx, 92 communism has proven incompatible with the ideals of liberty, 93 prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such 94 infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Hồ 95 Chí Minh, and Pol Pot, and 96 WHEREAS, communist regimes worldwide have killed more than 97 100 million people and subjected countless others to 98 exploitation and unspeakable atrocities, with victims 99 representing many ethnicities, creeds, and backgrounds, and 100 WHEREAS, many victims of communism were persecuted as 101 political prisoners for speaking out against these regimes, and 102 others were killed in genocidal state-sponsored purges of 103 undesirable groups, and 104 WHEREAS, in addition to violating basic human rights, 105 communist regimes have suppressed intellectual freedom, cultural 106 life, and self-determination movements in more than 40 nations, 107 and 108 WHEREAS, slavery robbed individuals of their most basic 109 human rights, just as communism continues to deprive hundreds of 110 millions of people worldwide of the rights of freedom of 111 worship, freedom of speech, and freedom of association, through 112 coercion, brutality, and fear, NOW, THEREFORE,