(PatriotSpotlight.org) – California could soon become the first US state to roll out reparations to black communities. On Wednesday the Democrat-led state legislature’s Black Caucus (CLBC) said they had planned 14 bills as steps toward enacting recommendations published in the 111-page report published in June 2023 by the state’s Reparations Task Force.
The CLBC was founded by African-American members of the California Legislature in 1967 in a bid to lobby for the community’s concerns. In a statement released on Wednesday, the CLBC said the slew of bills were just one element of a multi-year agenda to complement the report’s policy recommendations. CLBC Chair Lori Wilson emphasized that the plans involved “much more” than cash payments to African-American Californians, which were not announced.
She said the package of reforms would cover criminal justice, food, education and civil rights.
The paper previously suggested that $1.2 million should be granted to each eligible California, in installments. The decision to not include direct financial benefits comes as the state continues to struggle with a major budget shortfall of $37.9 billion. The idea of cash reparations also appears to be unpopular among most California voters, with a September 2023 poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies concluding that 59% of voters opposed the concept.
Namely, the bills include a push to amend the state constitution in order to permit funding of programs to improve socioeconomic, health and educational outcomes for “specific groups,” a measure that could be deemed unconstitutional. An additional amendment has also been put forward to outlaw “ involuntary servitude” for people serving jail time. The plans would also remove barriers for people with criminal records seeking to qualify for occupational licenses.
They also demand that the Golden State’s Governor and the Legislature make a formal apology for slavery and other human rights abuses suffered by African-American slaves and their descendants. However, California’s Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who is herself African-American, welcomed the plans, describing them as “optimistic” and “encouraging”. They also implied that California’s plans should inspire other states to follow the same path.
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