CA Reparations News - Sep 2025 - Week 1

Senate bill's SB-437 and SB-518 are making thier way toward a final vote this week. We remain opposed because of the serious problems with the langauge of both bills.

There have been recent changes to SB-518, the bill to create the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery.

Some of the biggest changes include: 

• The Property Reclamation Division (which was going to focus on returning stolen property) was removed from the bill;

• The Bureau was moved out of the Law Enforcement Agency known as the California Dapartment of Justice, something we fought hard for, as no Reparations system should run through law enforcement;

Both bills (SB-518 and SB-437) had language added to them that literally tie them together, a move that supports one of the main criticisms we have with the study bill (SB-437) in particular, which is that all bills for descendants of people enslaved in the U.S. now depend on 3-5 year study before they can happen.

There were other changes to Bureau bill, and the study bill (SB-437) as well, including changes to the funding of the bills. Stay tuned for more info on the other changes. If you have a specific question about a bill, email cjecofficial@gmail.com.

On a more positive note, our bill SB-515, which will require every city and county across the state to create a category of data collection for descendants of people enslaved in the U.S., starting with city and county employees, is headed for final vote this week!