Women's Veterans' Day; designate as a legal holiday in the State of Mississippi.

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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Massengill

HOUSE BILL NO. 324

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 3-3-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
DESIGNATE JUNE 12, WOMEN'S VETERANS' DAY, AS A LEGAL HOLIDAY IN 2
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
WHEREAS, women have honorably and courageously served in all 4
of America's wars and conflicts since the American Revolution, but 5
their service went unrecognized; and 6
WHEREAS, the first Women's Veterans' Day was held June 12, 7
2018, marking the 70th anniversary of the Women's Armed Services 8
Integration Act, which was signed into law by President Harry S. 9
Truman on June 12, 1948, enabling women to serve as permanent, 10
regular members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and the recently 11
formed Air Force; and 12
WHEREAS, during World War II, approximately 400,000 women 13
served in support positions with the military, and nearly 500 were 14
killed in enemy fire; and 15
WHEREAS, though women were officially recognized as military 16
members or veterans in 1948, they had been serving in the American 17
military since before the United States became a nation, often 18
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serving in the civilian fields in positions such as nursing and 19
cooking; and 20
WHEREAS, women now make up about 20% of new recruits, 16% of 21
personnel serving on active duty, and 19% of the National Guard 22
and Reserve Forces; and 23
WHEREAS, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 24
Mississippi State Veterans Affairs Board remain committed to 25
providing over 200,000 Mississippi women veterans with exceptional 26
healthcare and services; and 27
WHEREAS, as members of the Legislature, we salute and 28
remember the women who courageously served our state and nation, 29
and we honor our female veterans and their families for their 30
outstanding service, sacrifice and remarkable dedication to our 31
nation; NOW, THEREFORE, 32
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 33
SECTION 1. Section 3-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 34
amended as follows: 35
3-3-7. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) 36
of this section, the following are declared to be legal holidays, 37
viz: the first day of January (New Year's Day); the third Monday 38
of January (Robert E. Lee's birthday and Dr. Martin Luther King, 39
Jr.'s birthday); the third Monday of February (Washington's 40
birthday); the last Monday of April (Confederate Memorial Day); 41
the last Monday of May (National Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis' 42
birthday); the twelfth day of June (Women's Veterans' Day); the 43
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fourth day of July (Independence Day); the first Monday of 44
September (Labor Day); the eleventh day of November (Armistice or 45
Veterans' Day); the day fixed by proclamation by the Governor of 46
Mississippi as a day of Thanksgiving, which shall be fixed to 47
correspond to the date proclaimed by the President of the United 48
States (Thanksgiving Day); and the twenty-fifth day of December 49
(Christmas Day). In the event any holiday hereinbefore declared 50
legal shall fall on Sunday, then the next following day shall be a 51
legal holiday. 52
(2) In lieu of any one (1) legal holiday provided for in 53
subsection (1) of this section, with the exception of the third 54
Monday in January (Robert E. Lee's birthday and Martin Luther 55
King, Jr.'s birthday) and the eleventh day of November (Armistice 56
or Veterans' Day), the governing authorities of any municipality 57
or county may declare, by order spread upon its minutes, Mardi 58
Gras Day or any one (1) other day during the year, to be a legal 59
holiday. 60
(3) August 16 is declared to be Elvis Aaron Presley Day in 61
recognition and appreciation of Elvis Aaron Presley's many 62
contributions, international recognition and the rich legacy left 63
to us by Elvis Aaron Presley. This day shall be a day of 64
recognition and observation and shall not be recognized as a legal 65
holiday. 66
(4) May 8 is declared to be Hernando de Soto Day in 67
recognition, observation and commemoration of Hernando de Soto, 68
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who led the first and most imposing expedition ever made by 69
Europeans into the wilds of North America and the State of 70
Mississippi, and in further recognition of the Spanish explorer's 71
187-day journey from the Tombigbee River basin on our state's 72
eastern boundary, westward to the place of discovery of the 73
Mississippi River on May 8, 1541. This day shall be a day of 74
commemoration, recognition and observation of Hernando de Soto and 75
European exploration and shall not be recognized as a legal 76
holiday. 77
(5) Armistice Day (Veterans' Day) shall be observed by 78
appropriate exercises in all the public schools in the State of 79
Mississippi. The superintendent of schools of each public school 80
district is authorized to provide for the appearance of uniformed 81
military personnel, uniformed veterans or the families of fallen 82
military personnel/veterans at such public school exercises in 83
honor of Armistice (Veterans') Day. The superintendent of schools 84
is also authorized to permit the school band and its director(s) 85
at any public school in the district to perform at Armistice 86
(Veterans') Day exercises in the school district upon the request 87
of public officials or veterans associations without loss of any 88
program credit by participating students and without loss of leave 89
by participating school personnel. 90
(6) The month of March is declared to be "Mississippi 91
Musicians Month" to recognize and celebrate the state's rich 92
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ST: Women's Veterans' Day; designate as a legal
holiday in the State of Mississippi.
musical heritage and to encourage the world to join Mississippi in 93
honoring our musicians and their contributions. 94
(7) In recognition of the service, courage and sacrifice of 95
the valiant service members of the Tuskegee Airmen who served 96
during World War II, the fourth Thursday of March is designated as 97
Tuskegee Airmen Day in Mississippi. This should be a day of 98
recognition and observation and shall not be recognized as a legal 99
holiday. 100
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 101
and after its passage. 102