BILL NUMBER: SJR 2INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe MARCH 9, 2011 Relative to military policy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 2, as introduced, Kehoe. Military policy: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass." This measure would urge the President, Congress, and Secretary of Defense of the United States to end the policy of levying fines on lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members discharged under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" policy. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Since the 1993 codification into law by the United States Congress, and by the signature of the President, the policy now known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160)), has led to the discharge of a great number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members, thereby ending their careers and burdening them with a lifelong stigma; and WHEREAS, On September 9, 2010, Judge Virginia A. Phillips of Federal District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the ban on openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and on October 12, 2010, granted an immediate, worldwide injunction prohibiting the Department of Defense from enforcing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don' t Pursue, Don't Harass" policy, and ordered the military to suspend and discontinue any investigation, discharge, separation, or other proceeding that had commenced under the policy (Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S. (2010) 716 F.Supp.2d 884 ); and WHEREAS, On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-321), a landmark law repealing the discriminatory ban on lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women serving openly in the military and ending the 17-year policy that forced lesbians, gays, and bisexuals to conceal their sexual orientation or face discharge from the military; and WHEREAS, Before the repeal may take effect, pentagon officials are required to complete implementation plans and the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are required to certify to lawmakers that the repeal won't damage combat readiness; and WHEREAS, Lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members have served honorably throughout the history of the United States and continue to serve with distinction on active duty; and WHEREAS, These men and women have achieved military honors, decorations, and promotions to the highest ranks of their respective services for their valor and service to the people of the United States; and WHEREAS, A number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual veterans discharged under the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" policy are now being forced to repay costs, in some cases amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, related to their education and training because they were unable to fulfill their commitment to serve their country despite it being the government that initiated their discharge based on this discriminatory policy; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully urges the President, Congress, and Secretary of Defense of the United States to put an end to levying these fines upon lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members who were discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" policy; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Secretary of Defense of the United States, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.