Holidays and Days of Special Observance - As enacted, designates November 2nd of each year as "James K. Polk Day." - Amends TCA Title 15, Chapter 2. HB1479 has been assigned Public Chapter Number 623 by the Secretary of , the official text

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$tate of \[ennessee

PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 623

                                                  HOUSE BILL NO. 1479

             By Representatives Bulso, Reeves, Slater, Capley, Russell, Davis, Todd

                                       Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 1718

                                            By Senators Hensley, Powers

          AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code .Annotated, Title 15, Chapter 2, relative to days of
special observance.

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on
November 2, 1795, the eldest of ten children; and

          WHEREAS, when he was eleven years of age, James K. Polk and his family moved to
Tennessee, settled in what would become Maury County, and founded James K. Polk's lifetime
hometown, Columbia, Tennessee; and

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk overcame a significant illness as a child, later attended and
was graduated from the University of North Carolina with first honors in both mathematics and
classics, and later studied law under the guidance of Felix Grundy; and

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk joined the bar of Tennessee and embarked upon a
successful law practice, led a productive life as a lawyer in Columbia, Tennessee, was elected
to serve in the Tennessee General Assembly in 1823, and became a close friend and political
protege of General Andrew Jackson; and

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk was elected to the United States House of Representatives
from Tennessee in August 1825, and rose to be Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives in December of 1835; and

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk was elected as the 11th Governor of the State of Tennessee
August 1, 1839, and in November of 1844 he was elected as the 11th President of the United
States; and

          WHEREAS, James K. Polk served as President of the United States from March 4,
1845, until March 6, 1849, and during his time as President; expanded the territory of the United
States westward to include Texas, California, New Mexico, and the Oregon Territory, thus
fulfilling the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States to be a beacon of liberty and freedom from
the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean; and

          WHEREAS, because of the noble and indispensable service of James K. Polk to
Tennessee and the United States, it is appropriate that Tennessee observe November 2nd of
each year as "James K. Polk Day"; now, therefore,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15, Chapter 2, is amended by adding the
following as a new section:

                    November 2 of each year is to be observed as "James K. Polk Day," to honor the
          service of President James K. Polk to the State of Tennessee and the United States of
          America.

          SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
                     HOUSE BILL NO. 1479

PASSED:  March 9, 2026

                             C .,,,, I

                        CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                                      RANDY ~CNALLY
                                         SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

ac;.t APPROVED this  day of fV1<lK< P-o   2026

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BILL LEE, GOVERNOR