Gavin Newsom Signs Bill to Build Reparations Bureaucracy

Governor Gavin Newsom has approved yet another expansive government program — this time, creating a new state agency to oversee reparations for descendants of slaves. The move adds another layer of bureaucracy to California’s already bloated government, even as the state faces mounting deficits and widespread public opposition to massive cash payouts.

Senate Bill 518 establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery, a division within the California Civil Rights Department. The new bureau will include three arms — Genealogy, Education and Outreach, and Legal Affairs — all charged with verifying lineage, running public campaigns, and managing legal compliance for future reparations efforts. The deputy director will be appointed by the governor, placing full operational control under Newsom’s administration.

Funding for the bureau will come not only from the state but potentially from federal and private sources. The law includes data privacy clauses for personal and genetic information, though critics warn it sets the stage for intrusive government data collection and politically driven spending.

This latest development is part of Newsom’s long-running reparations campaign, which began with AB 3121 in 2020, creating a state task force to explore reparations proposals in the wake of the George Floyd riots. That task force later recommended payments exceeding $1 million per person, along with sweeping social and policy changes — including overturning California’s voter-approved ban on affirmative action (Proposition 209).

Although Newsom once claimed the issue was “about much more than cash payments,” he has since signed bills supporting reparations-adjacent programs, including a 2024 formal state apology for slavery and measures offering homeownership and education benefits.

The creation of this bureau comes after months of political infighting within the California Legislative Black Caucus, which delayed earlier reparations proposals. Activists accused lawmakers of retreating under public scrutiny, while Newsom vetoed prior bills on the grounds that there was “no agency in place” to manage the complex effort. SB 518 fixes that by creating one — and with it, the framework for what could become a multibillion-dollar undertaking.

Under the new system, the Genealogy Division will determine who qualifies as a “descendant of enslaved persons” — those tied to individuals emancipated or classified as contraband before 1900. Certified applicants could later access programs tied to reparations eligibility. The Education and Outreach Division will promote awareness on topics such as redlining, gentrification, and housing discrimination, while the Legal Affairs Division will ensure the bureau stays within state law as new initiatives unfold.

Supporters frame this as a moral reckoning, arguing that California’s institutions long perpetuated inequities in housing, education, and employment — despite the state entering the Union as a free state in 1850. But even some Democrats have raised concerns about scale and cost. Task force estimates top $800 billion — more than twice California’s annual budget — while polls consistently show most Californians oppose direct cash reparations.

With the state already burdened by record deficits, shrinking population, and rising taxes, the new bureau reflects Sacramento’s growing appetite for symbolism over solvency. Rather than addressing homelessness, crime, or the exodus of working families, California’s leadership appears focused on building new bureaucracies — ones that promise big spending, little accountability, and endless political theater.