Whitmer signs bill making Juneteenth a public holiday in Michigan
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Juneteenth was officially added to the list of public holidays in Michigan on Wednesday.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 50 designating June 19 as a public holiday in the state. Juneteenth will become the 12th public holiday in Michigan.
Recognized as the second independence day in the U.S., Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 after the country's Civil War when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced to enslaved Black people in the state that they were free.
"On Juneteenth, we come together to celebrate fundamental American values of freedom and equality, embodied by the stories and legacies of the Black community," Whitmer said in a statement. "Juneteenth is a moment of celebration and reflection, but it is also an opportunity to recommit ourselves to action."
President Joe Biden signed legislation in June 2021 making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Every year she has served as governor, Whitmer has signed proclamations declaring Juneteenth in Michigan as a day of celebration marking the end of slavery. The Michigan Civil Service Commission made Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees starting in 2022 as did the Michigan Supreme Court, which amended court rules to add Juneteenth to its official list of court holidays.
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State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, was the lone senator to vote against the legislation designating Juneteenth as a public holiday in Michigan while four Republicans in the state House voted against the bill: state Reps. Steve Carra of Three Rivers, Neil Friske of Charlevoix, Matt Maddock of Milford and Josh Schriver of Oxford.
This year, at least 28 states and Washington, D.C., recognized Juneteenth as a public holiday, closing state government offices and paying state employees for the day off, according to the Pew Research Center.
On Wednesday, Whitmer also signed Senate Bill 35 eliminating the asset test for those receiving Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance.
Currently, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services must exclude those with over $15,000 in assets from qualifying for the program, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis. The change is expected to have a small impact. Less than 1% of applications for the program are denied due to assets, according to legislative testimony from Lewis Roubal, chief deputy director for opportunity with MDHHS.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Juneteenth officially a public holiday in Michigan
