SACRAMENTO, California — A California state lawmaker is blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom for the stalling of key slavery reparations bills on the final day of the legislative session.
Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford and other advocates backing the state’s multiyear effort to repair harms from institutional racism say Newsom’s aides pushed to dramatically narrow a proposal for a new state reparations agency . The changes mean the state would instead simply authorize the further study of the issue.
Draft amendments obtained by POLITICO Saturday, but dated Monday, proposed sending $6 million to California State University to study how to implement recommendations from the state’s task force on reparations, including how to confirm the status of a person seeking reparations. The draft changes remove the bill’s core purpose: creating a new Freedmen Affairs Agency.
Bradford’s office confirmed the authenticity of the draft and said it had come from the Newsom administration. The senator told reporters the governor’s office had cited cost pressures during a year in which the state had to trim billions from its budget.
Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon would not answer questions about changes to the bill sought by the governor’s office, saying only that Newsom has "been working collaboratively with the Legislative Black Caucus on their reparations package." He pointed to a lengthy statement the governor gave during his January budget presentation.
The state task force issued a lengthy report last year with wide-ranging recommendations following extensive research and public testimony. The two bills that stalled Saturday were among more than a dozen resulting legislative proposals. Black Caucus members have said the group intends to spend years implementing the task force’s findings.
Shirley Weber, now the California secretary of state, authored the 2020 bill Newsom signed to create the reparations task force when she served in the Assembly.
Several reparations bills promoted by the California Legislative Black Caucus passed the Legislature this year. They include one from Bradford creating a process for Californians whose land was stolen from them through eminent domain. Another from Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer requires the state to formally apologize for slavery, racism and discrimination.
Bradford, who served on the reparations task force, said on Saturday he refused to accept the governor’s proposed amendments. He also suggested that his position created pressure for leaders of the California Legislative Black Caucus to shelve the bills, saying he disagreed with their decision to "only hold them now because of the possible concerns that have been expressed by the administration."
"You hear challenges on every piece of legislation," the senator said. "That doesn't mean that you don't move forward with it."
California Black Caucus members worried potential vetoes would reflect badly on the rest of the reparations bills, said Chris Lodgson, lead organizer and advocate for the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California.
Lodgson was among the activists crowding an area in the Capitol rotunda Saturday shouting bill numbers at Black Caucus members as they went through to vote.
"This is your mother's bill," one person yelled at Shirley Weber’s daughter, Democratic Assemblymember Akilah Weber. "Don't let them destroy your mother's legacy."
Caucus chair Lori Wilson earlier Saturday seemed to acknowledge the administration wanted changes to the bill, but she flatly denied that the governor's office sought to turn a proposal about creating a new agency into a bill for more study. "That is not true,” she said. “It's unfortunate that that information was put out there. There was no way, shape or form that the Newsom administration recommended further study."
When asked about the amendments POLITICO obtained, Wilson said they represent a snapshot of a larger discussion. They do not represent the final changes the caucus wanted, nor what the bill will contain when the caucus brings it back next year, she said.
Lodgson said he was “outraged” that “it's our own damn people” preventing the bills from getting heard on the floor.
“If the governor wants to veto the bills, don't call your Black legislators and tell them to stop the bills from coming to your desk first,” he said. “You be a man. Veto the bills with your chest and stand on that as a man.”
Rachel Bluth contributed to this report.
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