Martin Luther King, Jr. and holidays

Massachusetts passed it's MLK, Jr. holiday law in March of 1971, as Chapter 6 section 15S of the general laws. The act was Chapter 69 of the Acts and resolves of 1971. While it states that the governor shall proclaim the 15th of January to honor the man, we can find the first record of an executive order on January 8th, 1991 by Governor Weld. The holiday for the memory and work of Martin Luther King Jr. became a federal holiday in 1983, and was first observed in 1986. It wasn't until 2000 when all 50 states recognized the holiday. The list of state holidays and what work can be performed has been compiled by the state Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development here.