SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Two proposals aiming to advance reparations for descendants of enslaved African Americans were shelved by the California Legislature on Aug. 31, the last day of the 2023-2024 legislative session.
At issue are two proposals introduced by state Sen. Steven Bradford of Inglewood: Senate Bill 1331 would establish a fund to receive state and federal funds to distribute reparations payments in the future. Senate Bill 1403 would create an agency to implement recommendations made last year by the state’s Reparations Task Force—a panel of nine members established by Assembly Bill 3121 in 2020 to study and develop reparations proposals—in its final report. Hundreds of recommendations were made spanning more than 1,000 pages.
