FROM BREITBART: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has approved legislation establishing a new state agency tasked with administering programs for descendants of slaves, marking the latest step in his years-long effort to advance reparations policies despite ongoing political and fiscal challenges.
The move follows years of stalled negotiations, activist pressure, and budget shortfalls, as Newsom continues working to push the issue forward in the nation’s most populous state.
The new law, Senate Bill 518, creates the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the California Civil Rights Department. The bureau will be led by a governor-appointed deputy director and organized into three main divisions: Genealogy, Education and Outreach, and Legal Affairs. The agency will be responsible for verifying individual lineage, managing public education efforts about historical discrimination, and ensuring legal compliance as reparations-related initiatives expand.
The implementation of the bureau hinges on future legislative appropriations, as the bill empowers the agency to procure funding from federal, state, and private sources.
SB 518 draws inspiration from AB 3121, legislation enacted in 2020 that established a task force to investigate and recommend reparations for Black Californians. The task force proposed payments exceeding $1 million per eligible resident.
Newsom has since approved related bills, including a formal state apology for slavery in 2024 (the “highest-profile legislation the caucus had achieved,” according to Politico), and non-cash remedies such as homeownership and educational benefits. But amid California’s multibillion-dollar budget deficits, Newsom has previously rejected the notion of cash payments to the descendants of slaves.
In 2023 he said, “Dealing with the legacy of slavery is about much more than cash payments.”
Earlier this year, Black Caucus members advanced legislation to avoid labeling their policies as “reparations,” instead calling their bill package the “Road to Repair,” Politico reports.
Now, Newsom has set the reparations in motion.
“I signed a bill two days ago with the Black Caucus as it relates to creating a new office to address these systemic issues,” Newsom said during a conversation about racism on the podcast “Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a bill into law on Friday, launching a process for California to administer reparations for descendants of slaves. https://t.co/N2B86XwCaV
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 11, 2025
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