Amendments to SB 490 represent the first significant piece of legislation introduced following the final report from the CA Reparations Task Force.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) has brought forth a bill to establish a new state agency in California responsible for overseeing reparations to the descendants of enslaved individuals. The introduction of the California American Freedman Affairs Agency stems from the policy recommendations made by Senator Bradford and the California Reparations Task Force.

Senator Bradford remarked, "This groundbreaking bill is the foundation for overhauling our future. We, the members of the task force, have meticulously recorded the atrocities, traced their familial impacts, and charted a path forward to amend these egregious wrongs. The Freedman Affairs Agency is the critical framework necessary for California as it begins to correct the historical injustices inflicted."

SB 490’s recent alterations necessitate the creation of the California American Freedman Affairs Agency, tasked with implementing reparations as designated by the Legislature and Governor.

Senator Bradford added, "Annually, we enact laws in the California State Legislature to halt and avert wage theft in acknowledgment of workers' rights to just remuneration. This nation benefitted from 250 years of unremunerated labor through slavery. Just as my legislative partners support wage theft legislation, reparations too, born out of similar fiscal principles, merit their backing. Reparations are far from a giveaway; they are neither alms nor a simple act of kindness. They are a fulfillment of a longstanding debt - one outstandingly due and approaching."

The proposal of SB 490 initiates budding conversations in policy regarding reparations. The bill will be up for legislative voting next year.