Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
DESIGNATE JUNETEENTH A PUBLIC HOLIDAY
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 50 (S-1) as passed by the Senate Analysis available at
Sponsor: Sen. Sylvia A. Santana http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Committee: Government Operations
Senate Committee: Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection
Revised 9-1-23
(Enacted as Public Act 54 of 2023)
SUMMARY:
Senate Bill 50 would amend 1865 PA 124 to designate Juneteenth a public holiday. Juneteenth
would be June 19. However, if that date fell on a Sunday, then Monday, June 20, would be a
public holiday instead.
The act designates a list of days as public holidays and provides that they are to be treated as a
Sunday for purposes of banking and the courts. The act also designates Saturday as a half-
holiday starting at noon, with exceptions allowed. The act provides for date-specific holidays
(such as July 4) to be observed the next day if they fall on a Sunday.
MCL 435.101 and 435.102
BACKGROUND:
Juneteenth is an annual holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. In a
broader sense, it celebrates freedom and encourages reflection on our freedoms and the need
to protect them. Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day,
Juneteenth Independence Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Celebration Day, and
informally as America’s second Independence Day. Annette Gordon-Reed summarizes the
origin of the holiday as follows:
June 19, 1865, shortened to “Juneteenth,” was the day that enslaved African Americans
in Texas were told that slavery has ended, two years after the Emancipation
Proclamation had been signed, and just over two months after Confederal General
Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Despite the formal
surrender, the Confederate army had continued to fight on in Texas until mid-May. It
was only after they finally surrendered that Major General Gordon Granger, while at
his headquarters in Galveston, prepared General Order Number 3, announcing the end
of legalized slavery in the state. 1
General Order Number 3, the announcement of the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery,
read in part as follows:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the
Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality
of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves and the
1
Annette Gordon-Reed, On Juneteenth (New York: Liveright, 2021), 11.
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 connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and
hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes and work for
wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and
they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 2 “Even after the general order, some
enslavers withheld the information from enslaved people, holding them enslaved through one
more harvest season” The CRS continues:
Texans celebrated Juneteenth beginning in 1866 with community-centric events, such
as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical
performances. Over time, communities have developed their own traditions. Some
communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations, such as Emancipation Park in
Houston, Texas. As families emigrated from Texas to other parts of the United States,
they carried Juneteenth celebrations with them.
On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth officially became a Texas state holiday... Since then,
the federal government, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia have also
commemorated or recognized the day.
In 2021, legislation was passed and signed establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day
as a federal holiday. In addition, according to the CRS, as of May 30, 2023, “At least 22 states
along with the District of Columbia have designated Juneteenth as a permanent paid and/or
legal holiday through legislation or executive action. Some states have made Juneteenth a paid
holiday through a state statute that observes federal holidays or other days designated by the
President as state holidays or by specifically directing the governor to make an annual
proclamation.” 3
In Michigan, Juneteenth has been a holiday for state employees, and a court holiday, since
2022. The bill would provide for Juneteenth to be a state legal holiday which would be
observed in the same manner and accorded the same recognition as all other legal holidays
observed and accorded by the state.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bill would have no direct impact on the state government and could result in indeterminate
increases in costs to local units of government.
The bill would have no direct fiscal impact on state government because Juneteenth has been
a holiday for state employees beginning in 2022 and the bill would not result in changes either
in the way the holiday is observed or in employee compensation costs.
However, providing an additional work holiday with paid time off, as the bill would do for
many local units of government that have not previously offered a paid work holiday for
2
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44865.pdf
3
Those states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
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 Juneteenth, could result in additional costs related to providing premium wage compensation
for certain public employees who must work on the holiday. Any increase in costs from
premium pay could be partially or wholly offset from a reduction in compensation costs for
public hourly-wage employees who would have otherwise been paid. An analysis and data on
hourly wage and premium pay cost factors were not available from the Civil Service
Commission at the time of this statement.
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analyst: Michael Cnossen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
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Statutes affected:
Substitute (S-1): 435.101, 435.102
Senate Introduced Bill: 435.101, 435.102
As Passed by the Senate: 435.101, 435.102
As Passed by the House: 435.101, 435.102
Public Act: 435.101, 435.102
Senate Enrolled Bill: 435.101, 435.102