Senate BillChaptered/SignedGovernment
SB 518: Descendants of enslaved persons: reparations.
What SB 518 does, verified December 7, 2025
The bill establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the Department, under the control of the Deputy Director. The bureau will create divisions for genealogy, education and outreach, and legal affairs to verify descendant status, provide education, and handle legal matters. The bureau will collect, store, and disclose personal and genetic information, and receive funds from federal, state, and local grants, as well as nongovernmental entities. The bill makes implementation contingent upon legislative appropriation and includes findings and declarations regarding access to public meetings and writings.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 586, Statutes of 2025. (2025-10-10)Alert me
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| Oct. 10, 2025 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 586, Statutes of 2025. |
| Oct. 10, 2025 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 22, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m. |
| Sep. 10, 2025 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 2837.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Sep. 09, 2025 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 60. Noes 17. Page 3064.) Ordered to the Senate. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, October 10, 2025 · 1,828 words
Senate Bill No. 518
CHAPTER 586
An act to add Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12910) to Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state government.
[ Approved by Governor October 10, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 10, 2025. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 518, Weber Pierson. Descendants of enslaved persons: reparations.
Former law, Chapter 319 of the Statutes of 2020, until July 1, 2023, established a task force to, among other things, identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies, as specified, and to recommend the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded, and who should be eligible for this compensation.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, establishes the Civil Rights Department and sets forth its powers and duties, including, among others, receiving, investigating, and prosecuting complaints alleging violations of civil rights, as specified.
This bill would establish the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the department, under the control of the deputy director, who would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would require the bureau to create a Genealogy Division, as specified, and to verify an individual’s status as a descendant and would require proof of an individual’s descendant status to be a qualifying criterion for benefits authorized by the state for descendants. The bill would also require the bureau to create an Education and Outreach Division and a Legal Affairs Division. The bill would impose various requirements on the bureau relating to the collection, storage, and disclosure of personal and genetic information, as specified. The bill would authorize the bureau to receive moneys from any federal, state, or local grant and from any nongovernmental entity, as specified.
This bill would make implementation of its provisions contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature, as specified.
This bill would include findings and declarations relating to a gift of public funds.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12910) is added to Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:CHAPTER 2. Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery
Article 1. General
12910.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing the bureau to establish an initial framework and it is the intent of the Legislature that the scope and responsibilities of the bureau may expand as necessary to fulfill its mission and address additional harms as identified.(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that, as the bureau expands its scope in the future, it shall do both of the following:
(1) Address the lasting harms of disenfranchisement, segregation, discrimination, exclusion neglect, and violence impacting both descendants and communities harmed as described in Chapters 1 to 13, inclusive, of the California Reparations Report.
(2) Advise on reparative remedies to target the persistent consequences of this legacy, guided by Chapters 14 to 33, inclusive, of the California Reparations Report.
(c) Implementation of this chapter shall be contingent upon appropriation of sufficient funding by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other statute for that purpose.
12911.
For purposes of this chapter:(a) “Bureau” means the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery.
(b) “Deputy director” means the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery.
(c) “Descendants” means individuals who can establish direct lineage to a person who, prior to 1900, was subjected to American chattel slavery and meets at least one of the following criteria:
(1) Was emancipated through legal or extralegal means, including self-purchase, manumission, executive or legislative action, military service, or judicial ruling.
(2) Obtained freedom through gradual abolition statutes or constitutional amendments.
(3) Was classified as a fugitive from bondage under federal or state law.
(4) Was deemed contraband by military authorities.
(5) Rendered military or civic service while subject to legal restrictions based on ancestry historically associated with slavery.
12912.
(a) The Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery is hereby established within the department. The bureau shall be under the direct control of a deputy director who shall be responsible to the Director of Civil Rights.(b) The deputy director shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and shall perform all duties, exercise all powers, assume and discharge all responsibilities, and carry out and effect all purposes vested by law in the bureau.
(c) The bureau shall establish a mission statement consistent with the recommendations from the former reparations task force established pursuant to Chapter 319 of the Statutes of 2020.
12913.
(a) As part of its duties, the bureau shall verify an individual’s status as a descendant. Proof of an individual’s descendant status shall be a qualifying criterion for benefits authorized by the state for descendants. The bureau shall create a Genealogy Division.(b) Following the establishment of a process for conducting or verifying genealogical research for the purpose of confirming an individual’s status as a descendant of an enslaved person as provided by Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 8308) of Division 1, as added by Senate Bill 437 of the 2025–26 Regular Session, the Genealogy Division shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish a process for individuals to request certification as a descendant of American slaves informed by the process created pursuant to Chapter 4.8 (commencing with Section 8308) of Division 1, as added by Senate Bill 437 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.
(2) Review and determine requests for certification as a descendant.
(3) Establish a process for individuals to appeal a determination made pursuant to paragraph (2).
(c) Subdivision (b) shall become operative only if Senate Bill 437 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2026.
12914.
(a) The bureau shall create an Education and Outreach Division to develop and implement a public education campaign regarding all of the following:(1) The cycle of gentrification, displacement, and exclusion.
(2) The connection between redlining and gentrification.
(3) The history of discriminatory urban planning in California.
(4) Other findings presented in the California Reparations Report.
(b) To accomplish the goals of this section, the division may collaborate with colleges and universities, community organizations, and individuals, including, but not limited to, the entities included in Item 6610-001-0001 of the Budget Act of 2025.
(c) The entities supported with funds provided for the purpose of education and outreach in Item 6610-001-0001 of the Budget Act of 2025 shall coordinate and implement education and outreach activities in consultation with the division. Upon the bureau’s request, the entities shall regularly report to the division on these activities and provide guidance to ensure alignment with the bureau’s objectives.
12915.
The bureau shall create a Legal Affairs Division to do all of the following:(a) Provide legal advice, counsel, and services to the bureau and its officials.
(b) Ensure that the bureau’s programs are administered in accordance with applicable legislative authority.
(c) Advise the head of the bureau on legislative, legal, and regulatory initiatives.
(d) Serve as an external liaison on legal matters with other state agencies and other entities.
12916.
(a) Nonpublic personal and genetic information held under the bureau’s authority shall be collected, held, and disclosed only as relevant and necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth in this chapter and in a manner permitted by and consistent with federal and California data privacy laws.(b) Before asking individuals to supply information for its system of records, the bureau shall inform each individual of all of the following:
(1) The authority that authorizes the solicitation of the information and whether disclosure of that information is mandatory or voluntary.
(2) The principal purpose or purposes for which the information is intended to be used.
(3) The routine uses that may be made of the information.
(4) The effects on the individual, if any, of not providing all or any part of the requested information.
(c) The bureau shall not disclose any data contained in its system of records by any means of communication to any person except as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter and pursuant to either a written request by, or the written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains. Intra-agency, interagency, or public disclosure shall not be permitted without that written authorization.
12917.
The Civil Rights Department may adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable rules and regulations to implement this chapter.12918.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the bureau may receive moneys from any federal, state, or local grant and from any nongovernmental entity, including from any private donation or grant, for the purposes of this chapter.(b) Receipt of funds pursuant to this section shall not confer any right or authority on a donor or grantor to direct, control, or influence the division’s programs, operations, or policy decisions.
12919.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, provision, part, or section of this chapter, or the application thereof, for any reason, is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter and the application thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered and to the circumstances involved.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares that the addition of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12910) to Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code by this act serves a public purpose and does not constitute a gift of public funds within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XVI of the California Constitution by redressing past acts of government-sponsored harm preventing future acts of government-sponsored harm, and benefitting the whole of the community and its general welfare.SEC. 3.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12910) to Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:In order to protect the personal and genetic information of individuals, it is necessary to limit disclosure of that information to only the limited purpose for which it is collected.
Text of SB 518 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions