Bill to Create New Reparations Agency Passes Senate In Divisive Vote

A bill to create a new state agency, the California American Freedman Affairs Agency, to assist Californians with any approved reparations programs, passed in the Senate on Tuesday in a split 30-7 vote, with 3 abstentions.

Senate Bill 1403, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), would specifically establish the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency in state government, under the control of the secretary, who would be appointed by the Governor. SB 1403 would require the agency to implement the recommendations of the Task Force, as well as require the agency to determine how an individual’s status as a descendant would be confirmed. The bill would also require proof of an individual’s descendant status to be a qualifying criteria for benefits authorized by the state for descendants. To accomplish these goals, the bill would require the agency to be comprised of a Genealogy Office and an Office of Legal Affairs.

SB 1403 would further require the agency to oversee and monitor existing state agencies and departments tasked with engaging in direct implementation of the policies that fall within the scope of the existing state agencies and departments’ authority, including policies related to reparations.

As the state is currently in a $73 billion budget deficit, and any cash reparations have been heavily opposed by Californians, Lawmakers, and even the Governor, the 14 reparations bills released this year have almost all been zero or low cost. Some of the bills quickly moved up. This included AB 1986, a zero cost bill that would eliminate the CDCR practice of banning books without oversight and review, and AB 1815,  a zero-cost bill that would prohibit discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles in all competitive sports. Both bills passed the Assembly in recent weeks and are now headed to Senate committees. The same went for AB 3089, a bill that would have the state issue a formal apology for slavery. The bill passed the Assembly last week, with the cost of the bill likely to come down to how much creating a plaque for the Capitol Building is.

Other bills, however, have not been as lucky.  Two bills authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) were held back in the Senate last Thursday due to their costly nature. One, SB 1013, would give major financial property tax assistance solely for black descendants of slaves. The other, SB 1007, would give housing grants for the same group in formerly redlined areas. Both of the bills were subsequently killed by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

However, on Tuesday, there was a major exception to high cost/no passage trend: SB 1403. Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated that the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency would cost around $1 million a year to operate, with high additional costs in having the state investigate land claims by black residents over whether or not land was lawfully taken from them or not.

Despite this, the bill has moved forward. Every committee vote so far has had the bill be vehemently contested, with multiple votes coming against it. Supporters have tried to justify the cost as needed to help coordinate all passed reparations bills based off of Task Force recommendations, including investigating. This cost justification won over 3/4ths of the Senate on Tuesday, with the bill passing 30-7, with 3 abstentions.

“Thanks to the NAACP for championing SB 1403 and other critical bills at the CA State Capitol,” said Task Force Chairwoman Kamilah Moore on X on Tuesday. “It’s inspiring to see young advocates push for the Freedmen Affairs Agency, an initiative I proposed on the CA Reparations Task Force. Your efforts are shaping the future!”

Thanks to @cahinaacp & @NAACPYouth for championing #SB1403 and other critical bills at the CA State Capitol. It's inspiring to see young advocates push for the Freedmen Affairs Agency, an initiative I proposed on the CA Reparations Task Force. Your efforts are shaping the future! pic.twitter.com/SAkJk39P4J

— Kamilah Moore, Esq. (@KamilahVMoore) May 21, 2024

While the bill did receive praise for passing, many lawmakers and those opposing such high-cost bills during a time of financial strain denounced the bill moving forward. Many also pointed out that all other reparations bills being moved forward have no monetary reparations, making such an Agency useless or having little to do.

“It seems to me like they’re putting, number one, the cart before the horse,” Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) on Wednesday. “They’re setting up these agencies and frameworks to dispense reparations without actually passing any reparations.”

Katherine Douglas, a Washington-based analyst who focuses on state reparation efforts, told the Globe on Wednesday that “Essayli is right on the money about this. They’re trying to set up the Bureau for payouts and investigations, and other related tasks, but pretty much anything relating to money or property has been held up. They can maybe oversee some of the other bills that have been moved forward if they have been passed, but you don’t need a ton of people for that. A whole new Agency, we’re talking about staff, office costs, and other expenses that, yeah, sound like $1 million at least. If it is more than a skeleton staff though, that can go way up.”

“If this bill passes, they will use it to signal that more is coming. But as we’ve seen, the original 14 bills have dropped significantly so far. This is a costly bill, but it is being sold as a ‘first step’ bill for other reparations bills in the future. Every Californian should be watching this closely.”

SB 1403 is to be heard next in Assembly committees.