BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center H.B. 67
79R407 MFC-D By: McClendon (Van de Putte)
AUTHOR'S/SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The women's suffrage movement lasted at least 70 years, from the first formal women's convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls , New York, to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920. Changing social conditions for women during the early 1800s, combined with the idea of equality, led to the birth of the women's suffrage movement. This included women receiving more education and taking part in reform movements, which allowed women to have a voice in the political arena.
The drive for women's suffrage gained strength after the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave the vote to black men, but not to any women. Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, among others, dedicated much of their lives and worked tirelessly to gain the right to vote for women. Currently, there is not a Texas law that commemorates the women's suffrage movement.
H.B. 67 designates August 26th as Women's Independence Day to commemorate the ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote. H.B. 67 provides that Women's Independence Day shall be regularly observed by appropriate programs in the public schools and other places to inspire a greater appreciation of the importance of women's suffrage.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 662, Government Code, by adding Section 662.051, as follows:
Sec. 662.051. WOMEN'S INDEPENDENCE DAY. Provides that August 26 is Women's Independence Day to commemorate the ratification in 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote. Requires Women's Independence Day to be regularly observed by appropriate programs in the public schools and other places to inspire a greater appreciation of the importance of women's suffrage.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2005.