On the last weekend of June, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a $297.9 billion budget that included up to $12 million in reparations legislation. The proposals the state legislature are considering include a formal apology for the state’s role in perpetuating discrimination against Black residents, the creation of an agency for reparations programs, and the identification of families whose property was unjustly seized by the government.
The budget doesn’t specify where the reparations money will go, and California’s legislature is not currently considering direct payments to Black Californians for 2024.
The Assembly Committee on Appropriations estimates that $3 million to $5 million would be needed annually to operate the reparations agency.
The Senate Appropriations Committee said it could cost California hundreds of thousands of dollars to investigate claims of the families who blame racial discrimination for the seizure of their land.
“It means that they’re taking accountability and responsibility, and they’re acknowledging the harms and the atrocities to this particular population,” said Kamilah Moore, chair of California's Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. “That’s a huge step that should not be overlooked.”