Calif. Bill Would Determine Reparations Eligibility

(Dreamstime)

California is continuing to study plans to offer reparations to Black residents.

A bill to create an agency to determine how individuals would be eligible for reparations was approved by the California Senate Judiciary Committee in an 8-1 vote on April 9.

SB 1403, proposed by Sen. Steven Bradford, a Democrat who represents Los Angeles County, would establish the California American Freedom Affairs Agency.

The bill would require the agency to implement the recommendations of a task force report last year to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans. The task force was created in 2020 by Gov. Gavin Newson.

The task force had previously estimated a resident who was a lifetime California resident and was 71 or older could receive $1.2 million, according to KTLA, based on a calculation of $127,000 per year of life expectancy gaps between Black and white Californians.

Under that proposal, Black residents may be owed $800 billion, which is more than California’s total annual budget of $300 billion. The $800 billion included $246 billion to compensate Black Californians who were impacted by aggressive policing and prosecution during the war on drugs from 1970 to 2020, $125,000 for every person who qualified, according to The Associated Press.

An advisory committee in San Franisco had previously recommended $5 million payouts and guaranteed income of $97,000 and debt forgiveness for qualifying individuals to the AP.

Bradford’s bill would 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.

The agency would be comprised of a Genealogy Office and an Office of Legal Affairs.

A Los Angeles Times poll last fall showed Californians opposed slavery reparations by a 2-to-1 margin, including by all racial demographics except Black.

Just 28% of California voters support cash reparations for slavery, while a large majority of 59% are opposed, including 44% strongly.

The breakdown by race:

Black: 76% favor, including 51% strongly.
White: 25% favor, 65% oppose, including 51% strongly.
Latino: 24% favor, while 59% oppose.
Asian-Pacific: 23% favor, while 59% oppose.

The main reasons for opposing reparations, according to those polled: 60% said, “It’s unfair to ask today’s taxpayers to pay for wrongs committed in the past.” A total of 53% said, “It’s not fair to single out one group for reparations when other racial and religious groups have been wronged in the past.”