HR 23: Lunar New Year Celebration; commend

This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives rather than a change to state law. It notes that Georgia is home to nearly 500,000 Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, about 4 percent of the state's population, and that Lunar New Year is especially observed by Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese Georgians, who together number around 200,000. The resolution states that House members join these communities in celebrating the start of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake, on January 29, 2025, and wishes all Georgians a peaceful and prosperous new year. It directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to the public and the press. It does not create any new legal requirements, funding, or penalties.

• Formally recognizes January 29, 2025 as the beginning of the Lunar New Year on behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives.
• States that House members join Asian and Pacific Islander communities in celebrating the holiday and extends wishes for a peaceful and prosperous new year.
• Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to the public and the press.
• Creates no new statutes, funding, penalties, or legal obligations, since it is a commendatory resolution rather than a bill amending Georgia law.

The resolution speaks to Georgia's Asian and Pacific Islander American communities, including residents of Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Iu-Mien, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese descent, and more broadly all Georgians.

While the resolution carries no legal force and changes no laws, it is an official public acknowledgment by the Georgia House of Representatives of the cultural significance of the Lunar New Year and the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander Georgians to the state.

• The preamble ('WHEREAS' clauses) cites population figures, noting nearly 500,000 Asian and Pacific Islander Americans live in Georgia, about 4 percent of the state's population.
• The preamble notes about 200,000 Georgians, mainly of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese descent, predominantly celebrate the Lunar New Year.
• The resolved clause has the House join in celebrating January 29, 2025 as the start of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake.
• A final clause directs the Clerk of the House to make copies available to the public and press.

1. 2025-01-14House Read and Adopted (House)
2. 2025-01-14House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)Primary sponsor
• Long Tran (D, HD-080)
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)
• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)

• Lunar New Year
• Asian American communities
• Georgia House resolutions
• cultural celebrations