Gov. Newsom Vetoes Eminent Domain Reparations Bill

Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have given black families a way to either get land back or compensation for land wrongfully taken because of racially motivated means.

Senate Bill 1050, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), would have specifically required the Office of Legal Affairs, which would be established within the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency as provided by SB 1403 of the 2023–24 Regular Session, to review, investigate, and make certain determinations regarding applications from persons who claim they are the dispossessed owner of property taken as a result of racially motivated eminent domain. Upon a determination that providing property or just compensation is warranted, the bill would have required the Office of Legal Affairs to certify that the dispossessed owner is entitled to the return of the taken property of equal value, or financial compensation. Upon a determination that the dispossessed owner is entitled to other publicly held property of equal value, SB 1050 would have then required the Office of Legal Affairs to solicit and select a list of recommendations of publicly held properties that are suitable as compensation.

Like all reparations bills this year, SB 1050 proved to be extremely controversial. However, the bill, based on the return of Bruce’s Beach in 2022, passed every committee and floor vote by a wide margin thanks to total Democratic support, and was looking to be one of Bradford’s few successes this year. Few reparations bills, many of which were authored by Bradford, managed to land on the Governor’s desk this month, despite 14 starting off at the beginning of the year. All the little-to-no cost measures with no real legal or political challenges made it, like AB 3089, which issues a state apology over slavery and puts a plaque in the Capitol to commemorate it.

However, other bills had no chance, with some not even making it to the summer. This included two bills authored by Bradford that were held back in the Senate in May due to their costly nature. One, SB 1013, would have given major financial property tax assistance solely for black descendants of slaves. The other, SB 1007, would have given housing grants for the same group in formerly redlined areas.

SB 1050 vetoed

Still, several bills limped along into the slog of August where more were sorted out. Newsom even approved $12 million in this year’s budget for reparations initiatives. Despite some fund now there, high cost bills still bit the dust. Most critically Bradford’s Senate Bill 1403, which would have created the California American Freedman Affairs Agency to assist Californians with reparations program, and, Senate Bill 1331, which would have created the reparations fund, were cast off to the inactive file earlier this month. Newsom had said he wouldn’t sign them, so they went away. Only SB 1050 still remained.

But there was still a major problem. The failures of SB 1403 and SB 1331 took away all the needed support to actually implement SB 1050. Without it, there was no real agency to facilitate the bill, and no way to fund it. The high cost of the bill also made many in Sacramento wince. With no real way to implement the bill, SB 1050 became the latest reparations bill failure on Wednesday when Governor Newsom soundly vetoed the bill.

“This bill would establish a procedure by which a former owner, or their descendants, of property taken as a result of racially motivated eminent domain could apply for the return of the property if still in the possession of the responsible public entity, other publicly held property of the same value, or financial compensation,” said Newsom in a statement on Wednesday.

“I thank the author for his commitment to redressing past racial injustices. However, this bill tasks a nonexistent state agency to carry out its various provisions and requirements, making it impossible to implement. For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.”

Reaction to the veto was swift on Wednesday.

“Newsom didn’t even have to mention the millions this would have cost,” said Katherine Douglas, a Washington-based analyst who focuses on state reparation efforts, to the Globe on Wednesday. “There was no way to fund it, no way to implement it. Bradford had planned too much and expected everything to pass to be built up. But he didn’t plan on the support beam bills to not make it. He tried to do too much at once, and the failure of SB 1050 today was the cherry on top.

“Maybe with existing organizations and funding there, Newsom would have signed it. But it just wasn’t, so what was supposed to have been the crown jewel of reparations bills this year falls with most of the others.”

Newsom is expected to sign/veto bills through the end of the month.