California Becomes First State to Introduce Reparations Legislation

California has won the race to be the first state in the nation to formally introduce legislation that would pay slavery reparations to black Americans with a series of bills — including one that claims to restore property that was seized in “race-based” eminent domain cases and one constitutionally problematic proposal for giving public funds to only to specific groups.

As Politico reports, the new legislative push comes on the heels of 111 pages of recommendations published last year by California’s state-sanctioned reparations task force. Based on these recommendations, the California Legislative Black Caucus in the state Legislature introduced 14 measures that tackle the issue, not with cash payments, but in a number of spheres that include criminal justice, civil rights, and education.

For example, one bill would restrict solitary confinement in the Golden State, a perpetual effort that was killed in the statehouse just last year.

In excluding outright direct monetary payments to black Americans, Democrats are tacitly accepting the unviability of such a proposal which, while highly demanded among the black community, would be difficult to pass even in liberal California given the state’s high proportion of nonblack minorities, including Latinos and Asians.

But Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, chair of the black caucus, defended the suite of bills by arguing that reparations are not only about cash, but about a holistic approach to undoing the alleged effects of racism.

“While many only associate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the word, to repair, involves much more,” Wilson said. “We need a comprehensive approach to dismantling the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.”

Nevertheless, the legislative package does have some monetary assistance. In the bill dealing with “property takings,” blacks who had their property taken away by “race-based” eminent domain must have it restored to them. In situations where giving back the property itself is not appropriate, the original owner is to be financially compensated.

Politico reports that the suite’s proponents expect a tough battle to get it passed and anticipate running into legal challenges. The outlet notes:

Democratic Assemblymember Corey Jackson, who represents a district north of San Diego, is proposing asking voters to change California’s Constitution to allow the state to fund programs aimed at “increasing the life expectancy of, improving educational outcomes for, or lifting out of poverty specific groups based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, or marginalized genders, sexes, or sexual orientations.”

That plan could face a similar constitutional challenge like the one that ultimately dismantled affirmative action.

The reparations plan includes an assortment of other proposals, such as protections for “natural and protective” hair stylings in competitive sports and even a requirement that the governor and state Legislature offer the black community a formal apology for their alleged participation in human rights violations against African slaves and their descendants.

Colorado, New York, and Massachusetts are other states that have created task forces or funded studies to look into reparations, but California is the first to actually move toward codifying the longtime progressive talking point into law.

Even if the current measures are passed and signed, will the cultural Marxists be satiated, or merely take it as blood in the water, proof that they can squeeze extreme left-wing policies from the state if they apply enough pressure?

Amid the deliberations of California’s reparations task force, black activists demanded cash payments of up to $800,000 per person, along with grants to black-owned businesses and 15-20 acres of land per person. The task force itself at one point recommended giving out $223,000 per person, calling for a total of $569 billion to be allocated to the black community.

The hope of California’s Democrat-controlled government is that the state’s reparations program will inspire the federal government to launch a similar plan nationwide.

California state Sen. Steven Bradford, a member of the task force, admitted on Thursday that the implementation of the proposed measures could be impacted by the state’s budget deficit.

“We have to have at least a placeholder in the budget for reparations,” said Bradford, adding that the state could designate funds from its reserves to bankroll the reparations.

And the black caucus has declared that this won’t be a one-and-done, but rather “a multi-year effort to implement the legislative recommendations in the report.”

As with other race-based programs, such as affirmative action, the proponents of reparations sell short those they claim to champion by essentially arguing that these communities are perpetually unable to prosper by their own effort and can only find success if given enormous handouts by others.

In the end, the reparations push is nothing more than a manifestation of cultural Marxism aimed at dividing the citizenry on the basis of race and keeping blacks in the Democratic tent through otherism, demagoguery, and the bribing of the electorate.

If California Democrats get their way, it could create an unfortunate storm that would give impetus to further racial pandering in blue states across the nation — to the detriment of true constitutional republicanism.