California’s Leftist Committee Approves Bill for Reparations that Could Cost $800 Billion
A California State Legislature committee has approved a bill that could allocate a staggering $800 billion for slavery reparations—a sum that is more than 2.5 times the state’s annual budget.
This decision comes from a state that historically never practiced slavery and will be paying individuals who themselves were never enslaved.
The reparations initiative stems from the recommendations of California’s Reparations Task Force, which convened for the first time in 2020. The task force, made up of eight black members and one Asian member, was established through Assembly Bill 3121.
According to the California Attorney General’s website, the committee’s purpose is threefold: “(1) to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans; (2) to recommend appropriate ways to educate the California public of the task force’s findings; and (3) to recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Task Force’s findings.”
The task force ultimately voted in favor of recommendations that could include payments of a minimum of 360,000 to each eligible black resident in the state. As reported by the New York Post, this reparations proposal could potentially cost the state up to 800 billion — more than 2.5 times its annual budget.
On May 21, 2024, following a motion for reconsideration and a series of procedural votes, the bill was passed in the California State Senate, securing a vote of 30-7.