Juneteenth holiday declaration sparks scramble in U.S. states

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Congress and U.S. President Joe Biden acted with unusual swiftness this week in approving Juneteenth as a national holiday, a move that sent many states scrambling to clarify their policies on the observance with less than a business day’s notice.

Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, in some fashion, at least on paper. But most have been slow to move beyond proclamations issued by governors or resolutions passed by lawmakers. At least seven states have designated it in law as an official paid state holiday — Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

This year alone, legislation to formally recognize Juneteenth died in Florida and South Dakota and is stalled in Ohio, all states controlled by Republicans. But even in Maryland, where Democrats control the legislature, a Juneteenth bill passed one chamber only to die in the other.

Only a handful of states headed into Thursday’s signing of the federal Juneteenth law with the paid holiday on the books to be celebrated in 2021. The governors of Washington, Illinois and Louisiana, by contrast, all signed more recent laws that were set to kick in for 2022, adding to the muddled rollout.

In another twist, many states have laws with provisions that automatically recognize all federal holidays — even those not named in state statute.

Such was the case in Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike Dewine issued his Juneteenth statement on Thursday evening. In the manner of a hastily called school snow day, he noted the state’s automatic observance of all federal holidays and declared that most government offices would be closed Friday.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice held a last-minute virtual press conference to declare Juneteenth an official state holiday. New Jersey passed a Juneteenth holiday in September.