SACRAMENTO, CA—The California Legislative Black Caucus announces its Road to Repair priority bill package heads to the governor for signature.
In the final days of its current sitting, the legislature approved the last of the CLBC priority bills which establish a framework for the remediation of systemic degradation of those enslaved in the United States and their descendants.
The Road to Repair bill package furthers the Caucus’ commitment to level the playing field and widen access for the descendants of formerly enslaved people in our state by providing mechanisms to verify descendancy and access supports.
Continuing on its commitment to actualize recommendations in the California Reparations Task Force Final Report, the CLBC continues to push for recognition for slavery descendants and repair for centuries of turmoil.
“Institutional harm requires institutional repair,” said CLBC Chair Akilah Weber Pierson, M.D. “We thank our legislative colleagues for their continued engagement on addressing the atrocities of forced chattel slavery. Instead of running or hiding from our complicated past, California continues to take the proper steps to confront it,” said Weber Pierson.
CLBC priority bills headed to the governor’s desk:
• SB 518 (Weber Pierson)—Establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery.
• SB 437 (Weber Pierson)—requires the California State University to research methodologies for determining an individual’s descendancy and make recommendations for state-level implementation.
• AB 7 (Bryan)—authorizes colleges to offer priority admission for descendants of American chattel slavery.
• AB 57 (McKinnor)—allocates 10 percent of first-time homebuyer assistance funds to descendants of American chattel slavery
• AB 62 (McKinnor)—creates pathways for victims of racially-motivated eminent domain to seek redress.
• SB 464 (Smallwood-Cuevas)—expands employer-employee demographic data reporting for the purpose of enforcing civil rights protections.
• AB 742 (Elhawary)—adds descendants of American chattel slaves as a priority group when issuing professional licenses.
• AB 766 (Sharp-Collins)—requires enhanced analysis as part of the existing equity analyses of Executive branch agencies.
• AB 935 (Ransom)—requires public posting of anonymized data on civil rights complaints.
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