The California reparations task force is scheduled to submit its final report to the Golden State legislature next week after years of deliberation.
The task force has outlined lofty proposals in its approved plan that it will submit for consideration, including reparations of up to $1.4 million. Here is what to know ahead of the proposal being sent to California lawmakers.
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The payment proposal
The proposed reparations payments are divided into categories detailing various alleged harms the committee seeks to atone for on behalf of the state of California and vary depending on the time spent in the Golden State. Some of the categories include alleged health-related harms and alleged housing discrimination.
Those who have suffered from health-related harms would receive $13,619 for each year spent in California, with descendants eligible for the payments. Payments for those who were victims of alleged over-policing from 1971 through 2020 would be entitled to $2,352 for each year living in California during that time, with a maximum amount of $115,260.
For housing discrimination from 1933 to 1977, eligible people would receive up to $148,099, or $3,366 for each year a person was a resident of the state during that time.
The payments can total up to $1.4 million per person, according to estimates.
Other proposals in the report
While the payments are the most publicized part of the task force's final report, there are other initiatives included in the plan. Other proposals include recommendations that the task force claims will mend past and present discrimination.
One of the recommendations included in the task force's plan is to repeal a law that outlaws discrimination based on race or other characteristics. Voters recently rejected a proposition to repeal the constitutional amendment that banned affirmative action by not permitting the state to consider race, gender, or ethnicity in hiring decisions by a 57%-42% margin in 2020.
What are the plan's chances in the state legislature?
The plans outlined by the task force appear to have an uphill climb ahead in the state legislature, specifically the plan for reparations payments.
“California is not as liberal as people want us to believe,” Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford told Politico. “When it comes to the real issue that impacts us the most, race, we’re hesitant to really buck the curve.”
Despite the legislature approving the task force's creation in 2020, polling on the task force shows it does not have majority support in the Golden State. A PPIC-Ipsos KnowledgePanel poll from May shows that 43% of Californians see the task force favorably, while 54% of those in the state see the task force unfavorably.
What does Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) think about the proposals?
Newsom has not directly said whether he would support the task force's findings, saying he will evaluate the plan when it is delivered to the state legislature on June 29. The California governor has, however, said that reparations are more than just payments while speaking on Fox News's Hannity earlier this month.
"Ronald Reagan did reparations for the Japanese. It’s beyond — doesn’t have to be in the frame of writing a check," Newsom said. "Reparations comes in many different forms, but one cannot deny these historical facts, and I really strongly believe people have to come to grips."
When asked by Sean Hannity if he "understood" that those paying for the reparations would be people who had no connection to slavery, Newsom said he understood that was the case if the payments were to be approved.
"Deeply understand that. I deeply understand. Do the math on the $1.4 [million]," Newsom said. "You had a group the last two years that is making series of recommendations. That is one of many recommendations. You guys ran with that — over and over and over again."
When pressed on if he would support the up to $1.4 million reparation payments, he continued to insist that the recommendations from the task force are about "more than just money" but did not offer a direct answer on the payments.
"I put out a statement saying reparations is more than just about money," Newsom said. "That implies a deeper rationalization of what is achievable, what is reasonable, and what is right, and that is the balance that we will try to advance."
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The state is also facing a $31.5 billion budget deficit, meaning various programs could be cut this year and beyond, further complicating the reparations proposals.
The California reparations task force is scheduled to meet on June 29 at 9 a.m., when the final report will be completed and delivered to the legislature for consideration of its recommendations.