In a move that has sent shockwaves through California's legislative landscape, Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that was integral to the state's pioneering reparations efforts.
The vetoed Senate Bill 1050 was designed to return property seized under racially-motivated eminent domain to its original owners or offer an alternative solution, such as restitution or compensation.
According to ABC News, Newsom expressed his gratitude to the bill's author, state Sen. Steven Bradford, for his dedication to addressing past racial injustices. However, Newsom pointed out a significant flaw in the bill, stating, "this bill tasks a nonexistent state agency to carry out its various provisions and requirements, making it impossible to implement."
The agency in question would have been established if Senate Bill 1403 had been passed by the legislature. This bill, also introduced by Bradford, aimed to create an agency to implement the recommendations of the state's groundbreaking Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. However, the bill failed to pass due to last-minute changes from the Newsom administration, which instead proposed further research on reparations in the state, as reported by local news outlet CalMatters.
Despite vetoing Senate Bill 1050, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3131 on September 22. This bill mandates the state department of education to prioritize funding for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The bill stipulates that when determining grant recipients for the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, priority consideration should be given to applicants in historically redlined communities.
Newsom's decision has left several other bills from a legislative reparations package from the California Legislative Black Caucus in limbo. Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, explained that the package aimed to encapsulate the various forms reparations can take. "While many only associate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the word, to repair, involves much more," said Wilson.
The legislative package was a response to findings from California's state-backed task force, which discovered that the state and various arms of its government had played an active role in perpetuating systemic racism against Black Californians through discrimination in housing, education, and employment.
Among the bills awaiting Newsom's response is Assembly Bill 3089, which would issue a formal apology from the state of California for "all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state" for perpetuating racial discrimination.
Senate Bill 1089 aims to address food and health inequities by requiring advance notification if a grocery store or pharmacy is closing in an underserved or at-risk community.
However, not all the bills from the California Legislative Black Caucus' 14-bill reparations package were successful. Ten bills, including those proposing bans on involuntary servitude and solitary confinement in state detention facilities, and funding for violence reduction programs, failed to make it through the legislature.
The veto of Senate Bill 1050 and the fate of the remaining bills underscore the complexities and challenges of addressing past racial injustices. As California continues to grapple with these issues, the state's approach to reparations and the broader fight against systemic racism remains a topic of intense debate.
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