Pennsylvania legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
Pennsylvania HR499: A Resolution recognizing June 19, 2026, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the United States.
Status: Passed both chambers, June 17, 2026
What the bill says
A resolution Recognizing June 19, 2026, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the United States.
From the introduced text, April 29, 2026:
A RESOLUTION Recognizing June 19, 2026, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the United States. WHEREAS, For 160 years, Americans of African descent have celebrated June 19 as "Juneteenth Independence Day" or "Juneteenth National Freedom Day" in recognition of the human struggles of their enslaved descendants; and WHEREAS, According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, between 1525 and 1866, the duration of the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas, an estimated 12.5 million men, women and children were captured and forcibly transported in bondage from their African homelands to the Americas; and WHEREAS, An estimated 10.7 million Africans, mostly from the Congo, Nigeria, Angola and Senegambia, survived the hazardous Middle Passage and disembarked in North America, the Caribbean and South America; and WHEREAS, History characterizes the transatlantic slave trade as a brutal and horrific commercial and economic enterprise and the enslavement of Africans as cruel, exploitative and dehumanizing; and WHEREAS, Lasting for nearly four centuries, the transatlantic slave trade represents one of the longest and most sustained assaults on the life, integrity and dignity of human beings in history and one of the greatest tragedies in the history of humanity; and WHEREAS, With the enactment of the Act to Prohibit the Importation …
Sponsors
- Carol Hill-Evans (D, 95) · primary sponsor
- Tarah Probst (D, 189)
- Anthony Bellmon (D, 203)
- Jeanne McNeill (D, 133)
- Manuel Guzman (D, 127)
- Benjamin Waxman (D, 182)
- La'Tasha Mayes (D, 24)
- Christopher Pielli (D, 156)
- Arvind Venkat (D, 30)
- Benjamin Sanchez (D, 153)
- Nancy Guenst (D, 152)
- Kristine Howard (D, 167)
Latest actions
- : Adopted, June 17, 2026 (196-6)
- : Reported as committed, June 10, 2026
- : Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT, April 29, 2026
Votes
- House Floor: HR0499, RC 1206 (June 17, 2026): 196 yea, 6 nay, passed
- House State Government: Report Bill As Committed (June 10, 2026): 22 yea, 4 nay, passed
Subjects: STATE GOVERNMENT
Common questions
- What is HR499?
- HR499 is a bill in the Pennsylvania Legislature (2025-2026 Regular Session): A Resolution recognizing June 19, 2026, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the United States.
- What does HR499 do?
- In its own words: A resolution Recognizing June 19, 2026, as "Juneteenth Independence Day" in Pennsylvania in commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery was abolished finally in all regions of the United States.
- What is the status of HR499?
- Passed both chambers as of June 17, 2026. Latest action: Adopted, June 17, 2026 (196-6) (June 17, 2026).
- Who sponsored HR499?
- Carol Hill-Evans (D, 95), with 11 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for HR499?
- On the Pennsylvania Legislature website: https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/2025/hr499
Source: official Pennsylvania record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.