Maryland Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto of Reparations Commission

The commission would consider giving slaves’ descendants monetary compensation, down payment assistance, debt forgiveness, and higher education aid.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (C) and lawmakers speak during a press conference about rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 9, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Maryland will form a commission to study the possibility of providing reparations for slavery after the state’s legislature reversed Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of enabling legislation on Dec. 16.

Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865 with the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was abolished in Maryland a year prior, in 1864, when the state amended its constitution to outlaw the practice. In 2007, the Maryland General Assembly and the Annapolis City Council issued official statements expressing “regret for the role Maryland played in instituting and maintaining slavery.”

Supporters of reparations benefits being paid to descendants of slaves say such benefits are justified because the harms that slavery inflicted on black Americans continue to be felt today, long after the practice was abolished.

Opponents say that no one who is alive today suffered under slavery and that it would be unfair to force Americans who had nothing to do with slavery to pay people who themselves did not experience slavery.

Blacks comprise almost 32 percent of Maryland’s population, the highest percentage in any state outside the Deep South.

On Dec. 16, the Maryland Senate voted 31-14 to override the Democratic governor’s veto of Senate Bill 587. The Maryland House of House of Delegates voted 93-35 to undo the veto.

The House previously approved the bill 101–36 on April 2, after the Senate passed it 32–13 on March 14.

The measure creates a Maryland Reparations Commission that will “study and make recommendations relating to appropriate benefits to be offered to individuals whose ancestors were enslaved in the State or were impacted by certain inequitable government policies.”

The commission is required to file a preliminary report by Jan. 1, 2027, and a final report including its findings and recommendations with the governor and the Maryland General Assembly by Nov. 1, 2027.

Among the various benefits that the commission will explore are an official apology, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, down payment assistance for purchasing residential real estate, child care, debt forgiveness, and higher education tuition payment waivers.

Moore vetoed the legislation on May 16. In a veto message, he suggested the bill was not needed because the reparations issue has already been extensively studied.

Moore wrote that over the past 25 years, the state has hosted several commissions and study groups to look at the legacy of slavery, and the “scholarship on this topic is both vast in scope and robust in scale.”

“While I appreciate the work that went into this legislation, I strongly believe now is not the time for another study,” Moore wrote. “Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.”

Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Democrat who represents Baltimore County, hailed the override.

“This topic isn’t easy, but, again, without formal study, reparations risk being dismissed as symbolic or unconstitutional, regardless of moral merit,” Sydnor said.

House Delegate Ryan Nawrocki, a Republican who also represents Baltimore County, opposed the legislation.

“Why should families like mine that came to this country long after slavery ended and to escape systemic discrimination in Nazi Germany bear any responsibility for paying reparations?” he wrote on Facebook after the House approved the override.

“Where is the fairness and justice in that?” Nawrocki added.

Although jurisdictions around the United States—including California and New York—have enacted legislation to study reparations, few have authorized payments.

In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, signed a law authorizing $6 million for California State University to study ways to confirm an individual’s status as a descendant of an enslaved person.

Lawmakers in New York City approved legislation in 2024 to study the city’s historical involvement in slavery and look at reparations to descendants of people who were enslaved.

In 2019, Evanston, Illinois, authorized a reparations plan for its black residents funded using tax revenue generated from the sale of recreational marijuana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.