Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday signed HB165 into law, declaring Juneteenth a state holiday.
“Since President Trump observed Juneteenth in June of 2020, we have proclaimed it each year, and I am pleased the Legislature has made it an official state holiday,” Ivey said in a release.
Juneteenth, or June 19, commemorates the day upon which Black slaves learned of their emancipation in 1865.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, has said that he was largely been driven by his constituents to file this legislation in his first term.
“To me this is a very important holiday that’s recognized,” he said.
Efforts to reach Rehm for comment on his bill becoming law were not immediately successful.
Democratic lawmakers have attempted to pass similar bills in the Alabama legislature but have been unsuccessful.
Under the initial version of HB165 state employees would have also been given the option to observe either Jefferson Davis’ birthday or Juneteenth.
But it was amended early on to delete this provision.
Jefferson Davis was the former president of the Confederate States which fought to preserve slavery during the Civil War.
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