H.J.R. 19

1

JOINT RESOLUTION SUPPORTING
2 RECOGNITION OF TOPAZ AND ITS
3 HISTORY
4 2006 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Chief Sponsor: Richard W. Wheeler
7 Senate Sponsor: ____________
8
9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This joint resolution of the Legislature supports the Topaz Museum Board's efforts to
12 build a conservation center and learning museum in Delta.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This resolution:
15 . supports the Topaz Museum Board's efforts to build a conservation center and
16 learning museum in Delta to help protect the site, house artifacts and research
17 material, and educate all citizens about Topaz and its history.
18 Special Clauses:
19 None
20
21 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
22 WHEREAS, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February
23 19, 1942, authorizing the evacuation of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from their homes
24 in portions of Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona to ten remote internment
25 camps in Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, California, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah;
26 WHEREAS, one of those camps, Topaz, located near Delta, Utah, housed over 8,300
27 men, women, and children from September 11, 1942 until October 31, 1945, and was Utah's

28 fifth largest city;
29 WHEREAS, over 25,000 Japanese Americans, many from Topaz, served in the United
30 States military during World War II and incurred tremendous casualties while their families
31 were confined in the internment camps;
32 WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Civil Liberties Act of 1988,
33 and President George H.W. Bush issued a letter of apology and redress payments to the
34 survivors of the internment;
35 WHEREAS, the Topaz camp site should be preserved and protected as part of the
36 nation's commitment to equal justice for all;
37 WHEREAS, the Topaz Museum Board, a nonprofit agency that has raised money to
38 purchase 614 of the 640 acres of the site, has sponsored pilgrimages, teachers' workshops, and
39 Topaz Day for fourth graders in Millard County, has restored a recreation hall from the camp,
40 and collected artifacts in order to raise awareness regarding the history of the internment;
41 WHEREAS, the Topaz site was declared a "Save America's Treasures" Project in 1999;
42 WHEREAS, in 2005 the United States House of Representatives passed HR 1492,
43 which will authorize the Secretary of the Interior to create a program within the National Park
44 Service to further protect and provide funding for the ten internment camp sites and other
45 significant related areas;
46 WHEREAS, Congressmen Chris Cannon and Jim Matheson were co-sponsors of HR
47 1492 along with 114 other congressmen;
48 WHEREAS, Senator Daniel Inouye introduced S 1719 as a companion bill to HR 1492,
49 along with five cosponsors, including Senators Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch; and
50 WHEREAS, the National Park Service is currently accepting an application for the
51 Topaz site to become a National Historic Landmark:
52 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
53 expresses its support for the Topaz Museum Board's efforts to build a conservation center and
54 learning museum in Delta to help protect the site, house artifacts and research material, and
55 educate all citizens about Topaz and its history.
56 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Topaz
57 Museum Board, the National Park Service, the United States Secretary of the Interior, and to
58 the members of Utah's congressional delegation.

Legislative Review Note
as of 1-26-06 11:25 AM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel