California Reparations Bill Would Require State Licensing Boards To Favor Black Applicants

A proposed California reparations bill would require occupational licensing boards in the state to prioritize black applicants, especially descendants of slaves. A.B. 2862, introduced last week by Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D.), would update California’s Business and Professions Code, seemingly requiring every certification board in the state—including medical boards—to favor black applicants. The bill’s preamble mentions licensure for real estate and “healing arts,” which includes health care professions such as physicians, nurses, and therapists. “Existing law prescribes requirements for licensure and regulation of various businesses and professions, including healing arts and real estate businesses and professions,” reads the text of the bill. “This bill would require boards to prioritize African American applicants seeking licenses under these provisions, especially applicants who are descended from a person enslaved in the United States.” Gipson’s bill is part of a package of 14 pieces of legislation that the state’s Legislative Black Caucus announced in late January. Other bills in the package include one that would fund “community-driven solutions” to violence in black communities and another that would issue a formal apology for atrocities inflicted on black slaves and their descendants. The caucus’s package represents California’s first legislative action on reparations since the state’s Reparations Task...