Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 931 on Sunday, Sept. 20, formally establishing Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day in California.
- The bill was authored by Republican Sen. Shannon Grove and Democratic Sen. John Laird as a bipartisan measure to honor Parton.
- Lawmakers explicitly chose 9/25 as a nod to Parton's hit song “9 to 5” as a symbolic date for the observance.
- Officials highlighted Parton's Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 300 million books worldwide, as the main reason for the statewide recognition.
- The new law is expected to prompt local commemorations, literacy events and fundraising tied to the Imagination Library and prior efforts to expand bilingual reading programs in California.