Day of the 12s

AN ACT Relating to designating the twelfth day of December as the 1
day of the 12s; amending RCW 1.16.050; and creating a new section.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 1.16.050 and 2024 c 76 s 3 are each amended to read 4
as follows: 5
(1) The following are state legal holidays: 6
(a) Sunday; 7
(b) The first day of January, commonly called New Year's Day;8
(c) The third Monday of January, celebrated as the anniversary of 9
the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.; 10
(d) The third Monday of February, to be known as Presidents' Day 11
and celebrated as the anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln 12
and George Washington; 13
(e) The last Monday of May, commonly known as Memorial Day;14
(f) The nineteenth day of June, recognized as Juneteenth, a day 15
of remembrance for the day the African slaves learned of their 16
freedom; 17
(g) The fourth day of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of 18
Independence; 19
(h) The first Monday in September, to be known as Labor Day;20
(i) The eleventh day of November, to be known as Veterans Day;21
H-0908.1
HOUSE BILL 1759
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Mena, Cortes, Farivar, Street, Ybarra, Obras,
Waters, Barnard, Stuebe, Stearns, Berg, Taylor, Zahn, Simmons, Scott,
Paul, Salahuddin, Fosse, Ormsby, Nance, and Reed
Read first time 01/31/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
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(j) The fourth Thursday in November, to be known as Thanksgiving 1
Day; 2
(k) The Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in 3
November, to be known as Native American Heritage Day; and4
(l) The twenty-fifth day of December, commonly called Christmas 5
Day. 6
(2) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, except 7
employees of school districts and except those nonclassified 8
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 9
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 10
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to one paid holiday 11
per calendar year in addition to those specified in this section. 12
Each employee of the state or its political subdivisions may select 13
the day on which the employee desires to take the additional holiday 14
provided for in this section after consultation with the employer 15
pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the appropriate 16
personnel authority, or in the case of local government by ordinance 17
or resolution of the legislative authority. 18
(3) Employees of the state and its political subdivisions, 19
including employees of school districts and those nonclassified 20
employees of institutions of higher education who hold appointments 21
or are employed under contracts to perform services for periods of 22
less than twelve consecutive months, are entitled to two unpaid 23
holidays per calendar year for a reason of faith or conscience or an 24
organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious 25
denomination, church, or religious organization. This includes 26
employees of public institutions of higher education, including 27
community colleges, technical colleges, and workforce training 28
programs. The employee may select the days on which the employee 29
desires to take the two unpaid holidays after consultation with the 30
employer pursuant to guidelines to be promulgated by rule of the 31
appropriate personnel authority, or in the case of local government 32
by ordinance or resolution of the legislative authority. If an 33
employee prefers to take the two unpaid holidays on specific days for 34
a reason of faith or conscience, or an organized activity conducted 35
under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious 36
organization, the employer must allow the employee to do so unless 37
the employee's absence would impose an undue hardship on the employer 38
or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety. Undue 39
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hardship shall have the meaning established in rule by the office of 1
financial management under RCW 43.41.109. 2
(4) If any of the state legal holidays specified in this section 3
are also federal legal holidays but observed on different dates, only 4
the state legal holidays are recognized as a paid legal holiday for 5
employees of the state and its political subdivisions. However, for 6
port districts and the law enforcement and public transit employees 7
of municipal corporations, either the federal or the state legal 8
holiday is recognized as a paid legal holiday, but in no case may 9
both holidays be recognized as a paid legal holiday for employees.10
(5) Whenever any state legal holiday: 11
(a) Other than Sunday, falls upon a Sunday, the following Monday 12
is the legal holiday; or 13
(b) Falls upon a Saturday, the preceding Friday is the legal 14
holiday. 15
(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to have the effect 16
of adding or deleting the number of paid holidays provided for in an 17
agreement between employees and employers of political subdivisions 18
of the state or as established by ordinance or resolution of the 19
local government legislative authority. 20
(7) The legislature declares that the following days are 21
recognized as provided in this subsection, but may not be considered 22
legal holidays for any purpose: 23
(a) The thirteenth day of January, recognized as Korean-American 24
day; 25
(b) The twelfth day of October, recognized as Columbus day;26
(c) The ninth day of April, recognized as former prisoner of war 27
recognition day; 28
(d) The twenty-sixth day of January, recognized as Washington 29
army and air national guard day; 30
(e) The seventh day of August, recognized as purple heart 31
recipient recognition day; 32
(f) The second Sunday in October, recognized as Washington state 33
children's day; 34
(g) The sixteenth day of April, recognized as Mother Joseph day;35
(h) The fourth day of September, recognized as Marcus Whitman 36
day; 37
(i) The seventh day of December, recognized as Pearl Harbor 38
remembrance day; 39
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(j) The twenty-seventh day of July, recognized as national Korean 1
war veterans armistice day; 2
(k) The nineteenth day of February, recognized as civil liberties 3
day of remembrance; 4
(l) The thirtieth day of March, recognized as welcome home 5
Vietnam veterans day; 6
(m) The eleventh day of January, recognized as human trafficking 7
awareness day; 8
(n) The thirty-first day of March, recognized as Cesar Chavez 9
day; 10
(o) The tenth day of April, recognized as Dolores Huerta day;11
(p) The fourth Saturday of September, recognized as public lands 12
day; 13
(q) The eighteenth day of December, recognized as blood donor 14
day; 15
(r) The fifteenth day of May, recognized as water safety day;16
(s) The ninth day of March, recognized as Billy Frank Jr. day; 17
((and))18
(t) The date corresponding with the second new moon following the 19
winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice 20
should an intercalary month intervene, recognized as the lunar new 21
year; and22
(u) The twelfth day of December, recognized as the day of the 23
12s. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature finds that Washington is 25
home to the loudest, most passionate, and greatest sports fans on 26
earth. Known as the 12s, Seattle seahawks fans are so loud and so 27
present, that they feel like an extra player on the field. Since 28
1976, the 12s have packed out, first the kingdome and now lumen 29
field, to support the hawks. Fiercely proud of their team and their 30
city, the 12s set the tone and give the seahawks the determination 31
and grit which they are known for around the league. On December 15, 32
1984, the seahawks became the first team in the league to retire a 33
jersey number in honor of their fans. The number 12 now reserved 34
forever for the fans.35
The 12s have become a legend in their own right, twice setting 36
the guinness world record for loudest crowd noise at a sporting 37
event. Following Marshawn Lynch's legendary run in the 2011 playoffs, 38
the crowd noise registered on seismographs, going down in national 39
p. 4 HB 1759
football league lore as the beastquake. Opposing teams routinely 1
practice with jet engine noise to prepare to play in Seattle, and the 2
12s even caused the national football league to try and institute an 3
unsuccessful rule against excessive crowd noise. 4
More than the thunder that they provide on the field, the 12s 5
have helped build the bonds that bind the Washington community. Loyal 6
to their team and community, for many 12s seahawks games simply mean 7
home and their fellow 12s family. When fans wear the signature blue 8
and green, they belong to the same team no matter where they live, 9
what language they speak, or where they were born. The vibrant 10
coalition of 12s demonstrates that people can make a big impact as a 11
collective. The legislature intends the day of the 12s to be a 12
celebration of the dedicated community that gathers across the globe 13
each Sunday during football season to cheer on the Seattle seahawks. 14
Go hawks. 15
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