S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    112
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, SANDERS, ADDABBO, BRISPORT, BROUK, COMRIE,
   COONEY, GOUNARDES, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KENNEDY,  LIU,
   MANNION,  MAY,  MAYER,  PERSAUD,  RAMOS,  RIVERA,  SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA,
   SKOUFIS, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the executive law, in relation to designating January
   sixth as "Democracy Day"
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.   Legislative findings. The Legislature finds and declares
 the following:
   1. On Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, the President of the United States
 at the time, Donald J. Trump, members of his administration  and  presi-
 dential  campaign,  and several Republican Members of Congress, directly
 incited and encouraged an armed and  violent  insurrection  against  the
 government  of the United States, with the express purpose of preventing
 the peaceful transfer of power and overturning the results of a free and
 fair election.
   2. In the months leading up to  January  6th,  the  former  President,
 members  of  his  administration,  and  numerous  elected members of his
 party, intentionally spread false and inflammatory claims regarding  the
 legitimacy  of the election, and both implicitly and explicitly promised
 violent or armed opposition to prevent the election from being certified
 and the President-Elect from taking office.
   3. In the course of their attack, the insurrectionists  trespassed  on
 and  destroyed  Federal property, including flagrantly looting the Capi-
 tol, and openly bragged  about  their  exploits  on  social  media.  The
 attackers  carried white supremacist symbols including the flag known as
 the "Confederate battle flag," as well  as  anti-Semitic,  fascist,  and
 neo-nazi  ideology. At the same time as many were carrying these symbols

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01087-01-3
 S. 112                              2
 
 of the enemies of the United States, some of the attackers were observed
 removing the flag of the United States, throwing it to the  ground,  and
 replacing it with a flag bearing the name of President Donald J. Trump.
   4. One hundred thirty-eight police officers were injured defending the
 Capitol, and four insurrectionists and a Capitol Police officer died. In
 the  months  that  followed  the  attack, four additional Capitol Police
 officers died by suicide. More  than  seven  hundred  people  have  been
 arrested  in  connection with the attack, however those most responsible
 have avoided accountability.
   5. It is the intent of the legislature to establish an annual  day  of
 commemoration  to  be  known  as  Democracy Day, to honor those who were
 wounded or died as a result of defending the Capitol, reiterate the need
 to protect and strengthen our democratic institutions, and recognize the
 ongoing threat of anti-democratic, white nationalist, and  authoritarian
 movements in the United States.
   §  2.  Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law, as amended
 by chapter 237 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   3. The following days shall be days of  commemoration  in  each  year:
 January  sixth,  to be known as "Haym Salomon Day", AND ALSO TO BE KNOWN
 AS "DEMOCRACY DAY", January twenty-seventh, to be  known  as  "Holocaust
 Remembrance  Day",  February  fourth,  to  be known as "Rosa Parks Day",
 February fifteenth, to be known as  "Susan  B.  Anthony  Day",  February
 sixteenth,  to be known as "Lithuanian Independence Day", February twen-
 ty-eighth, to be known as "Gulf War Veterans' Day", March fourth, to  be
 known  as  "Pulaski  Day",  March  tenth, to be known as "Harriet Tubman
 Day", March twenty-ninth, to be known as "Vietnam Veterans' Day",  April
 ninth, to be known as "POW Recognition Day", April twenty-seventh, to be
 known  as  "Coretta Scott King Day", April twenty-eighth, to be known as
 "Workers' Memorial Day", the first Tuesday in May to be  known  as  "New
 York State Teacher Day", May seventeenth, to be known as "Thurgood Mars-
 hall  Day",  the  first Sunday in June, to be known as "Children's Day",
 June second, to be known as "Italian Independence Day", June twelfth, to
 be known as "Women Veterans Recognition Day",  June  nineteenth,  to  be
 known  as  "Juneteenth  Freedom  Day", June twenty-fifth, to be known as
 "Korean War Veterans' Day", the second Monday in July, to  be  known  as
 "Abolition  Commemoration  Day",  August  twenty-fourth,  to be known as
 "Ukrainian Independence  Day",  August  twenty-sixth,  to  be  known  as
 "Women's  Equality  Day",  September eleventh, to be known as "Battle of
 Plattsburgh Day" and also to be known  as  "September  11th  Remembrance
 Day",  September thirteenth, to be known as "John Barry Day" and also to
 be known as "Uncle Sam Day in the State of New York",  September  seven-
 teenth, to be known as "Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Memorial Day", the
 third  Friday in September to be known as "New York State POW/MIA Recog-
 nition Day" except if such date of commemoration cannot be observed  due
 to  a religious holiday, such observances shall then be conducted on the
 second Friday of September, the last Saturday in September, to be  known
 as  "War  of  1812  Day",  the  fourth  Saturday  of September, known as
 "Native-American Day", the last Sunday in  September,  to  be  known  as
 "Gold  Star  Mothers' Day", October fifth, to be known as "Raoul Wallen-
 berg Day", October eleventh, to be known as "New Netherland Day  in  the
 State  of  New  York",  October eighteenth, to be known as "Disabilities
 History Day", October twenty-seventh, to be known as "Theodore Roosevelt
 Day", November ninth, to be known as "Witness for Tolerance Day", Novem-
 ber twelfth, to be known as "Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  Day",  the  third
 Tuesday  in  November  to  be  known  as  "New York State School-Related
 Professionals Recognition Day",  November  thirtieth,  to  be  known  as
 S. 112                              3

 "Shirley  Chisholm  Day",  December third, to be known as "International
 Day of Persons with Disabilities", December  seventh,  to  be  known  as
 "Pearl  Harbor  Day",  December sixteenth, to be known as "Bastogne Day"
 and  that  day  of the Asian lunar calendar designated as new year to be
 known as "Asian New Year".
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.