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Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, CA 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
Email: [email protected]_
Website: _www.anca.org_
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PRESS RELEASE +++ PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Friday, September 10, 2004
Contact: Armen Carapetian
(818) 500-1918
ANCA Praises Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger For Signing Into Law
Poochigian Bill on Armenian Genocide Heirs
Los Angeles, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America
â^À^Ó Western Region (ANCA-WR) praised California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger for signing into law Senate Bill 1689, which will exempt
Armenian Genocide life insurance settlements from state taxation
and other calculations related to income. SB 1689 was authored by
California State Senator Chuck Poochigian.
â^À^ÜSenator Poochigianâ^À^Ùs bill addresses an injustice that New
York Life insurance committed against its policy holders who were
massacred by the Turkish authorities,â^À^Ý commented ANCA-WR Executive
Director Ardashes Kassakhian.
â^À^ÜThe road to justice for the victims of the Armenian Genocide
has been long and arduous. The passage of SB 1689 is an important
step in this process,â^À^Ý added Kassakhian.
The exemptions in this bill, which will now become law, are similar
to exemptions provided to recipients of the Holocaust. This bill
was crafted due to longstanding insurance policy claims by survivors
and descendants of the Armenian Genocide. From the period of 1915 to
1923, Armenians were subjected to a systematic genocide perpetrated
by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Armenian Genocide is currently
and actively denied by the Republic of Turkey and their lobbyists
operating in the U.S. Congress.
Prior to 1915, the New York Life Insurance Company wrote thousands
of life insurance policies to Armenians living on historic Armenian
lands in the Ottoman Empire. New York Life had refused to pay out
many of the claims until a settlement was reached last year as a
result of a class action lawsuit. SB 1689 allows the victims and
their descendants to collect their settlements without being subject
to taxation by the State of California.
SB 1689 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on February 20, 2004 and
was subsequently referred to the committee on Revenue and Tax. The
bill was passed by a unanimous 11-0 vote in committee followed by a
37-0 vote by the entire State Senate. SB 1689 secured strong support
in the California State Assembly.
It was then sent to the Governor Schwarzenegger on September 2,
2004 and
quickly signed into law on September 10th.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively
advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress