15 Sep Legislature Approves Five Black Caucus Reparations Bills, Sending Them to Newsom

Asm. LaShae Sharp-Collins’s Assembly Bill 766 requires state agencies and departments to integrate racial equity and inclusive practices into their strategic plans. It advances to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature or veto. (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey)

Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ ‌|‌ ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Assembly Bill 62, authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, passed in the Assembly with a 66-4 vote on Sept. 9. It now advances to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for a signature or veto by Oct. 12. 

The measure — part of the California Legislative Black Caucus multi-year “Road to Repair” legislative package — is a reparations bill aimed at providing restitution for victims of racially motivated eminent domain and their descendants.

“I feel so hopeful that the governor will sign it,” McKinnor told California Black Media on Sept. 11 at the State Capitol. “Actually, it will help the descendants of chattel slavery at the top, but it helps every Californian whose home or property was taken through eminent domain.”

McKinnor’s bill defines “racially motivated eminent domain” as the acquisition of private property by a state or local government for public use without just compensation, motivated by the owner’s race or ethnicity.

According to AB 62’s language, the California Civil Rights Department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, will be directed to review, investigate, and make certain determinations regarding applications from persons who claim they are the dispossessed owners. 

Republican Assemblymembers Carl DeMaio, Stan Ellis, Alexandra Macedo and Heather Hardwick voted no on AB 62. A day before its final Assembly floor vote, the bill passed 30-7 in the Senate.

AB 62 builds on the momentum of California’s decision to return Bruce’s Beach in Los Angeles County to its original owners. In September 2021, Newsom signed Senate Bill 796 into law, granting Los Angeles County the authority to transfer the Bruce’s Beach property back to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce, who were unjustly stripped of their beachfront land without consent.

“People must understand, most of the time when homes were taken by eminent domain, it was the poor people’s homes – Black and Brown,” McKinnor said. “I think this is a good bill for California and a good way that Californians get paid back for their land. It’s similar to Bruce’s Beach.”

In February, the CLBC introduced its multi-year Road to Repair legislative package based on recommendations included in the state’s 2023 reparations task force report. Several other reparative justice bills by CLBC members are on their way to Newsom’s desk, including the following. 

On Sept. 11, AB 766, legislation authored by Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, D-San Diego, passed out of the Assembly with a 48-14 vote. It mandates state agencies to perform a “racial equity analysis” on new regulations and budget requests. 

AB 742, authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary, D-Los Angeles, passed 59-16 out of the Assembly on Sept. 10. It requires state licensing boards to expedite applications for individuals who are certified as descendants of American slaves.

Last week, the Senate concurred with Assembly amendments to Senate Bill 437, authored by chair of the CLBC Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego, with a 29-10 vote. 

The bill’s purpose is to direct the California State University to research and develop methods for verifying an individual’s status as a descendant of a person who was enslaved in the United States. SB 437 would authorize the use of up to $6 million to enable the CSU to conduct the research.

Weber Pierson’s SB 518 also advances to the governor’s desk after receiving a 30-10 vote in the Senate on Sept. 10. The bill establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the California Department of Justice. The bill, part of a larger reparations effort, aims to address past and ongoing harms caused by slavery and discriminatory policies against Black Californians.

SB 437 and SB 518 are “one step closer to the governor’s desk and to becoming California law,” Weber Pierson said last week.

The members of the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, a grassroots reparations organization, have been forcefully fighting the passage of Weber Pierson’s bills, claiming the measures are “undermining real reparations.”

Chris Lodgson, the lead organizer and advocate for the CJEC, said in a statement that SB 437 and SB 518 “divert, delay, and diminish the urgent demand for reparations.” He is asking that the governor veto both bills.

“Reparations delayed are reparations denied. California cannot study, stall, or divert its way out of its responsibility,” Lodgson stated. “Our movement will continue to demand Reparations be enacted with respect, safety, and urgency — and we will not accept half-measures that undermine that goal.”