The Assembly Appropriations Committee this afternoon moved A-4315 to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved people of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and of their freedom.  The announcement from General Granger led to celebration and jubilation, which has continued each year in various forms throughout the United States for over 150 years.

The bill designates the third Friday in June in each year as Juneteenth Day and establishes it as a State holiday.

"I'm concerned that making it a state holiday costs the state upwards of $3 million or more," said Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26), who abstained.

Everyone else voted "yes" to move it out of committee.