California makes ‘Native American Day’ a paid holiday for state workers

California is giving state workers another paid day off — and taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $20 million a year to make it happen.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1841 this week, making Native American Day California’s 12th paid holiday for state employees.

The annual price tag is estimated at $16 million to $20 million, including payroll costs and lost productivity, according to a state analysis.

The move also leaves California with more paid state holidays than Florida, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Florida has nine, while the other three each have 11. Among the nation’s most populous states, only Texas and Illinois have more.

In other words, California is already handing state workers more paid holidays than most of its biggest-state counterparts — and now taxpayers are being asked to finance one more.

The new day off also comes as part of a broader effort to reckon with California’s treatment of Native American tribes.

Newsom separately signed legislation formalizing an apology from the state and making the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs permanent.

“Today’s legislation reflects the many facets of the relationship between California and Native American tribes,” Newsom said, citing “great remorse over the violent beginnings of this state.”

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California first designated the fourth Friday of September as California Native American Day in 1998.

According to the holiday’s website, the designation was intended to challenge misconceptions about California Indians and address what it describes as an incomplete understanding of Native American societies in the teaching of California history.

The taxpayer bill, however, is very much a present-day issue.

The state is already grappling with fiscal pressures and existing liabilities, prompting critics to question whether adding another paid holiday for government workers should be a priority.

Some have gone after the broader approach as well, denouncing legislative efforts centered on historical grievances, symbolic gestures and official apologies.

Their argument is that California should be looking ahead to practical policy rather than continually emphasizing historical guilt.

The bill was authored by Assemblymember James Ramos, D-San Bernardino, and signed by Newsom along with other legislation involving California tribes.