First of 14 Slavery Apology Bills Passes California Assembly

A bill that would issue a formal apology by the state for human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants was passed by the Assembly in a 62-0 vote on Thursday.

Assembly Bill 3089, authored by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), would provide that the State of California recognizes and accepts responsibility for all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state, and entities under its jurisdiction who promoted, facilitated, enforced, and permitted the institution of chattel slavery and the enduring legacy of ongoing incidents from which the systemic structures of discrimination have come to exist. In addition, AB 3089 would further provide that the State of California apologize for perpetuating the harms African Americans have faced and affirms its role in protecting the descendants of enslaved people and all Black Californians. The bill would also require a plaque memorializing this apology to be publicly and conspicuously installed and maintained in the State Capitol Building.

Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer authored the bill as one of fourteen reparations related bills this year. As giving out direct cash payments isn’t an option because of a severe lack of popularity in the Legislature, in the Governor’s office, and amongst residents for them, legislators working on creating bills based on the recommendations of the California Reparations Task Force had to find non-monetary options. Also pressing is the state’s $73 billion deficit, leaving little room for anything costing too much. AB 3089, consisting of a simple apology and a plaque to be placed in the Capitol, proved to be one of the most benign and least expensive options for legislators.

While many of the 14 reparations bills are not expected to pass, AB 3089 managed to gain traction earlier this year because of the symbolism of such an action. In two Assembly Committee meetings this year, AB 3089 passed both with 0 nay votes, but with many Assemblymembers simply choosing not to vote as well because of the controversial nature of the reparations bills as a whole. Nonetheless, AB 3089 moved on to an Assembly vote on Thursday with a 62-0 vote, but with nearly a quarter of the Assembly also not voting on the bill as protest.

“On a 62-0 vote, the California Assembly has passed my bill, AB 3089, an act to formally apologize to Black Californians for its role in instituting slave laws & discriminatory practices since its founding,” said Jones-Sawyer added on X on Thursday. “This is an historic vote.”

BREAKING: On a 62-0 vote, the #California Assembly has passed my bill, #AB3089, an act to formally apologize to Black Californians for its role in instituting slave laws & discriminatory practices since its founding. This is an historic vote. #Reparations @CABlackCaucus pic.twitter.com/KOtB18Cl73

— Reggie Jones-Sawyer (@JonesSawyerAD57) May 16, 2024

While the bill is now expected to go through the Senate in a similar manner, legal experts noted that many of the reparations bills are likely to get legal challenges in the future because of their legal questionability.

“The apology will likely go through, although there might be some words about the plaque part of it,” Legal adviser Richard Weaver said on Thursday. “AB 3089 is a bill that, like you said, is ultimately benign, because all it is is an apology. They can’t really point to that later and say more bills need to be passed because of it because, again, it is just an apology and leaves a lot of space to work with. California being a union state really works against AB 3089 being used as a precedent to build off of.”

“At the same time, you can see why so many Assemblymembers just didn’t vote for it. California never had slavery, yet they also did have unfair practices in areas like housing. It’s misrepresenting how big it was, but a lot of bark with little bite.

“It’s those other bills, like blatantly giving money towards students of one race over others, that will meet big legal challenges. And like your outlet also pointed out, other places in California are working to get reparations in other ways that, yes, also will get legal challenges.

“The California Assembly and Senate will need to be very careful here. Newsom does not want anything high cost going through because of the budget, and they also don’t want any legal headaches to come up, as that would harm any future reparations bills. This will be interesting.”

AB 3089 is expected to be heard next in Senate Commmittees.