California’s AB 2599 requires companies with over $100M in annual receipts to submit sworn affidavits by 2029.
By Catholics for Catholics
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring big corporations to probe and reveal historical ties to chattel slavery, in what some advocacy groups cheered as a “big important victory.”
According to a Fox News story, Kristin Nimmers, policy and campaign manager for the California Black Power Network (CBPN) and the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth, told Fox News Digital Newsom’s signature on Assembly Bill 2599 — the Truth in Disclosure Act — marks a momentous landmark for corporate accountability.
“There are connections right now from slavery to current wealth of individuals and current wealth of corporations whose foundation and who built the start of their companies off of slavery and off of benefits gained from slavery,” Nimmers said.
On Sept. 30, Newsom signed AB 2599 into law, an action Nimmers called a “historic moment” that compels qualifying businesses operating in California to examine historical records and publicly disclose slavery-era deals.
California was the first state in the nation to establish a formal task force to study the legacy of slavery and recommend potential restitution measures.
“The California Reparations Task Force spent years documenting the state’s role in perpetuating racial harm and outlining this path toward repair,” Nimmers said. “AB 2599 is really starting the work of identifying who really benefited from this racial harm and from slavery.”
The bill was authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Ladera Heights; the law affects businesses with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts that existed — or had a predecessor entity in operation — on or before Dec. 31, 1964.
Once funded by the state legislature, covered companies will be required to submit sworn affidavits under penalty of perjury to the California Civil Rights Department.
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