The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) stated on Wednesday that it will propose 14 reparations measures as the first step in implementing the legislative ideas outlined in the Reparations Task Force’s report last summer.
In a press release, the caucus called the “2024 Reparations Priority Bill Package” as a “multi-year effort to implement the legislative recommendations of the report.”
With the introduction of the 14 measures, California will become the first state to undertake concrete legislative plans to enact reparations, a movement that has grown in recent years.
“While many people equate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the phrase, to mend, is considerably broader! “As outlined in the report, we require a comprehensive approach to dismantling the legacy of slavery and systemic racism,” CLBC Chair Lori Wilson stated in the news release.
“This year’s legislative package addresses a broad variety of problems, including criminal justice reform, property rights, education, civil rights, and food justice. The Caucus hopes to make progress in the second half of this legislative session as we work to rectify the wrongs of California’s past in future sessions,” Wilson added.
One of the suggestions is an amendment to the California Constitution that would “allow the state to fund programs for the purpose of increasing the life expectancy of, improving educational outcomes for, or lifting out of poverty specific groups.”
Another amendment would “prohibit involuntary servitude for incarcerated persons.”
One provision covers “property takings,” while another allows for the return of “property taken during race-based uses of eminent domain to its original owners or provide another effective remedy where appropriate, such as restitution or compensation.”
The package will be laid out in two stages: “a resolution that recognizes that harm and a subsequent bill that requests a formal apology by the Governor and the Legislature for the role that the State played in the human rights violation and crimes against humanity on African Slaves and their descendants.”
The 14 initiatives are organized into five major categories: education, civil rights, criminal justice reform, health, and business.
Education options include establishing grants to boost enrollment in STEM-related CTE programs at the high school and college levels. One proposal also includes “career education financial aid for redlined communities.”
In addition to property issues, the civil rights recommendations would entail, for example, expanding the CROWN Act to specifically prohibit discrimination based on certain hairstyles in competitive sports.
Criminal justice reform proposals would end the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) practice of banning books without proper oversight, limit solitary confinement within CDCR detention facilities, and establish grants to fund community-driven solutions to reduce violence at the family, school, and neighborhood levels.
Health measures would require early notification to community stakeholders before grocery stores close in underprivileged or at-risk neighborhoods, while another would “make medically supportive food and nutrition interventions, when deemed medically necessary.”
The lone business proposal would remove barriers to obtaining occupational licenses for those with criminal histories.
The California Secretary of State hailed the release, adding, “I am optimistic and encouraged by the work, and I look forward to incredible and ground-breaking results.” The nation expects us to take the lead. And, as California has always done, we will take the lead in addressing a form of delayed justice known as reparations.”
In a statement, Assemblymember and Task Force person Reggie Jones-Sawyer stated, “We will endeavor to right the wrongs committed against black communities through laws and policies designed to restrict and alienate African Americans.”