SB931 - Dolly Parton Day.

Amended IN Assembly August 28, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 28, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 10, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 29, 2026 Amended IN Senate May 14, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 29, 2026 Amended IN Senate March 25, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 931 Introduced by Senators Grove and Laird (Principal coauthors: Senators Caballero, Ochoa Bogh, and Wiener) (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Addis and Krell) (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Hurtado, Jones, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Niello, Padilla, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, and Weber Pierson) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Macedo and Blanca Rubio) January 29, 2026 An act to add Section 6736 to the Government Code, relating to Dolly Parton Day, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 931, as amended, Grove. Dolly Parton Day. Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim various days as days of remembrance or recognition. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim September 25 as Dolly Parton Day. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Digest Key Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) International philanthropist, musician, and icon Dolly Parton dedicated her life to uplifting communities, promoting early literacy, and fostering a love of reading, learning, and music worldwide. (b) Dolly Parton lived a life of strong personal faith and displayed her beliefs through love, forgiveness, and compassion for others. She approached life with optimism, responsibility, and a humbleness that inspired millions of people. (b) (c) Beyond Dolly Parton’s legendary creative career, she was a fierce advocate for equality and a beloved ally to the LGBTQ+ community, exemplifying a lifelong dedication to human dignity, acceptance, and inclusion for all people. (d) Dolly Parton also had a deep connection to the African American community. She earned an estimated $10,000,000 from Whitney Houston’s legendary 1992 cover song, “I Will Always Love You,” but chose to invest that wealth directly back into a historically black neighborhood in the City of Nashville, Tennessee. (c) (e) In 1995, Dolly Parton established the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which initially gifted books to children in the County of Sevier, Tennessee, where Dolly grew up. The program quickly expanded to provide books to children around the world. Since its inception, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has mailed millions of free books directly to children from birth to five years of age, regardless of family income. (d) (f) Recognizing the transformative impact of early literacy, the California State Legislature enacted landmark bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 1183 of the 2021–22 Regular Session, jointly authored by Senator Shannon Grove, then-President pro Tempore of the Senate Toni G. Atkins, and others, to partner with the Dollywood Foundation to establish the Statewide Imagination Library Program in California. (e) (g) Through the joint leadership of Senator Shannon Grove and then-President pro Tempore of the Senate Toni G. Atkins, and in conjunction with state budget investments securing over $68,000,000 in funding, California expanded the Statewide Imagination Library Program across all 58 counties. That historic effort also made California the first state in the nation to offer a fully bilingual English-Spanish book selection, opening access to the program to approximately 2,400,000 young children statewide. (f) (h) It is fitting and proper for the State of California to recognize Dolly Parton’s profound contributions to global literacy, humanitarianism, and the children of California by officially designating September 25 as Dolly Parton Day. SEC. 2. Section 6736 is added to the Government Code, to read: 6736. The Governor shall annually proclaim September 25 as Dolly Parton Day. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to provide timely recognition of the extraordinary humanitarian contributions and early childhood literacy legacy of Dolly Parton following her recent passing, and to ensure that the State of California may observe Dolly Parton Day on September 25 without delay, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.