Maryland lawmakers plan to study reparations for slavery

Maryland lawmakers voted on Wednesday to create a commission to study and recommend possible compensation for slavery and the long -term effects of racial discrimination in the state.

The mood of 101-36 in the Maryland House sends the bill to Governor West Moore, a Democrat who says he will consider the legislation.

Potential remuneration set out in the bill includes official statements of excuse, financial remuneration, property tax discounts, social service tools, as well as licensing and waiver and compensation of permit. Trading can also include assistance in paying a installment on a home, business incentives, childcare, forgiveness of guilt and waiver of education for higher education.

The measure was a top priority of the legislative black caucus of Maryland, which has 66 members and is the largest black caucus in the country’s lawmakers.

‘The commission will carefully investigate and evaluate a series of proposals that not only consider financial restitution, but also to investigate strategies to support and uplift vulnerable communities that continue to suffer the long -lasting and elusive consequences of discriminatory practices rooted in systematic racism. Aletheia McCaskill, a Baltimore County democrat, said the Caucus has the primary lead on the legislative victory.

Moore, who is the state’s first black governor and the only black governor of the country currently in office, refused to say whether he would sign the measure, and note the long -term impact of racism, while also recognizing the state’s difficult budget conditions.

“I have said and have been saying that the history of racism in this condition is real,” the governor told reporters, adding that the consequences “still felt a lot and that they felt structurally in the state of Maryland.”

Moore also noted that the state’s fiscal restrictions are in a difficult budget year, saying that it is viewing legislation through the lens of the growing Maryland economy, making the state more business-friendly and investing in the state’s people.

Last year, California lawmakers approved some of the country’s most ambitious legislation aimed at reconciling for a legacy of racist policies that drove racial differences for black people. None of the accounts provided widespread direct payments to black Americans. Instead, California lawmakers approved the return of land or compensation to families whose property was unjustly seized by the government, and issued a formal apology.

New York lawmakers approved legislation last year to study the city’s important role in slavery and consider compensation for descendants of addicted people.