Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Long title	A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday.
Enacted by	the 98th United States Congress
Effective	January 1, 1986
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 98–144
Statutes at Large	97 Stat. 917
Codification
U.S.C. sections amended	5 U.S.C. § 6103
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 3706 by Katie Hall (D–IN) on July 29, 1983 Committee consideration by Post Office and Civil Service Passed the House on August 2, 1983 (338–90) Passed the Senate on October 19, 1983 (78–22) Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983

This article is part of a series about Martin Luther King Jr.
Biography Sermons and speeches Campaigns Montgomery bus boycott Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom Youth March for Integrated Schools Albany Movement Birmingham campaign Walk to Freedom March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom St. Augustine movement Selma to Montgomery marches Chicago Open Housing Movement March Against Fear Memphis sanitation strike Poor People's Campaign Death and memorial Assassination Funeral American federal holiday passage National memorial National Historical Park
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A United States federal statute honoring the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and his work in the civil rights movement with a federal holiday was enacted by the 98th United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983, creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The final vote in the House of Representatives on August 2, 1983, was 338–90 (242–4 in the House Democratic Caucus and 89–77 in the House Republican Conference) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,^[1] while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983, was 78–22 (41–4 in the Senate Democratic Caucus and 37–18 in the Senate Republican Conference),^[2][3] both veto-proof margins.

Prior to 1983 there had been multiple attempts following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to have a holiday created in his honor with Representative John Conyers introducing legislation in every legislative session from 1968 to 1983.^[4] In 1979 a vote was held on legislation that would have created a holiday on the third Monday in January, but it failed to receive two-thirds support and was later rescinded following an amendment changing its date.

While attempts were made to have a federally recognized holiday, numerous U.S. states recognized holidays in honor of King. Connecticut did so in 1973. Illinois adopted a commemoration day in 1969, and made it a paid holiday also in 1973. Other states continued to adopt state holidays up through Utah in 2000.