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ANC News: Schwarzenegger Passes Bill On Armenian Genocide InsuranceC

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  • ANC News: Schwarzenegger Passes Bill On Armenian Genocide InsuranceC

    ************************************************** ****************************
    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_
    ************************************************** ****************************

    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.

    ####

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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