California approves task force to consider paying reparations for slavery

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill Wednesday approving a task force to consider paying reparations for slavery. 

Newsom said the bipartisan support for the bill, which passed in the state Senate on a 33-3 vote last month, is “proving a paradigm that we hope will be resonant all across the United States.”

The bill will require a commission study the lingering impact of slavery in the state and make recommendations to lawmakers by July 2023. The recommendations should include details on what form of compensation should be awarded as well as its recipients. 

“California has come to terms with many of its issues, but it has yet to come to term with its role in slavery,” said Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a Democrat who authored the bill. 

Weber said California has “deeply-rooted issues about race and slavery.” 

“We’re talking about really addressing the issues of justice and fairness in this country that we have to address,” Weber added. 

The task force will be made up of nine members that will be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The task force will recommend appropriate remedies to the state legislature and make determinations as to who should be eligible to receive compensation, the Times noted