California Governor vetoes bill for Black families to reclaim land
SACRAMENTO, California: A bill that would have helped Black families reclaim or be compensated for property the government unjustly took was vetoed this week by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The bill would have allowed families to file a claim with the state if they believed the government had seized their property without providing fair compensation.
However, the proposal still would not be enough because lawmakers blocked another bill to create a reparations agency that would review claims.
The veto dealt a blow to the California Legislative Black Caucus this year that hoped to help the state make up for policies that, over decades, drove racial disparities for Black Americans. The other proposals sent to Newsom’s desk by the caucus required the state to formally apologize for slavery and its lingering impacts, improve protections against hair discrimination for athletes and combat the banning of books in state prisons.
Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford introduced the eminent domain bill after Los Angeles-area officials in 2022 returned a beachfront property to a Black couple a century after it was taken from their ancestors through eminent domain.
Bradford also introduced a bill this year to create an agency to help Black families research their family lineage and implement reparations programs that become law and a measure to create a fund for reparations legislation.
Newsom’s office declined to comment to The Associated Press last month on the reparations agency and fund proposals, saying it doesn’t typically weigh in publicly on pending legislation.
The Department of Finance said earlier this year it opposed the eminent domain bill because it was not specifically included in the budget. The agency said the cost to implement it could have ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars annually.