SB 518 mandates a permanent state office to verify lineage, conduct outreach, and coordinate reparations programs — though actual benefits await future appropriations.
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 518 into law, formally creating the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the California Civil Rights Department.
The legislation, authored by Sen. Akilah Weber Peterson (D-San Diego) and co-sponsored by Assemblymember LaShae Sharp Collins, moves California from studying reparations to institutionalizing a mechanism for its administration.
Under the new structure, the bureau will be led by a governor-appointed deputy director and divided into three key units: Genealogy, Education & Outreach, and Legal Affairs.
Its duties include verifying lineage of descendants, maintaining privacy over genetic data, educating the public on the history and impact of slavery, and enforcing legal compliance as programs roll out.
Although the bureau now has a statutory foundation, implementation demands future legislative appropriations. The law also authorizes the bureau to accept funding from federal, state, and private sources.
This move builds on earlier steps in California’s reparations trajectory. In 2020, Newsom signed AB 3121, which established a task force to study reparations proposals; that task force later recommended cash payments in excess of $1 million per person, plus other remedies such as reintroducing affirmative action.
In 2024, he signed a formal state apology for slavery and approved several reparations-adjacent bills offering noncash remedies.
Still, Newsom has shown caution in committing to more sweeping measures. On October 13, 2025, he vetoed AB 7, a bill that would have allowed public universities to grant preferential admission to descendants of slavery, citing legal risk under Proposition 209 and federal court precedent.
Chris Lodgson, spokesperson for the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, said, “Reparations delayed, Reparations diverted, is Reparations denied,” she told the AP.
“Today, California does what no other state has done. We are moving from words to work,” Weber Pierson remarked.
As the nation’s most populous state, California is now pioneering a model for reparations implementation. Whether the bureau becomes a vehicle for meaningful repair or remains symbolic will depend heavily on funding decisions, legal challenges, and political will.
