California Bill Would Create Genealogy Office to Determine Reparations Eligibility

Establishing the office was among the recommendations released last year by the state’s reparations task force.

(L-R) State Sen. Steven Bradford, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, task force member Lisa Holder, and Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer hold up a final report of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans during a hearing in Sacramento, Calif., on June 29, 2023. Haven Daley/AP Photo

A California bill that would set up a genealogy office to determine reparations eligibility has cleared a state Senate committee.

Senate Bill 1403, authored by Sen. Steven Bradford, would establish the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency to help implement policies recommended last year by the state’s reparations task force.