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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3115 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3921
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Brandy Fluker Oakley
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to cure us of the liabilities that ultimately restricted equity.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Brandy Fluker Oakley12th Suffolk1/20/2023 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3115 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3921
By Representative Fluker Oakley of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3921)
of Brandy Fluker Oakley relative to establishing a commission to study and develop proposals
for lineage-based reparations programs in the Commonwealth. The Judiciary.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act to cure us of the liabilities that ultimately restricted equity.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. There shall be a commission to study and develop proposals for lineage-
2based reparations programs in the commonwealth through a truth and reconciliation process to
3redress the harm resulting from the institution of slavery in the commonwealth, de jure and de
4facto institutional and systemic racism against enslaved people and their descendants, and the
5lasting effects of slavery and institutional and systemic racism in the commonwealth. Members
6shall be considered special state employees for purposes of chapter 268A. The commission shall
7develop harm reports based on the effects on American Freedmen and their descendants in the
8commonwealth of harms including enslavement, racial terror, political disenfranchisement,
9housing segregation, separate and unequal education, racism in environment and infrastructure,
10pathologizing of Black families, control over creative cultural and intellectual life, stolen labor
11and hindered opportunity, an unjust legal system, mental and physical harm and neglect and the
12racial wealth gap from 1619 to present. In developing its proposals, the commission shall consult 2 of 3
13with the permanent commission on the status of African Americans, established in section 72 of
14chapter 3 of the General Laws.
15 SECTION 2. The commission shall consist of 15 members: 11 members appointed by the
16governor, 1 of whom shall have expertise in transitional and reparatory justice, 1 of whom shall
17have expertise in genealogy, 2 of whom shall have expertise in the history of American slavery
18and anti-Black institutional discrimination and systemic racism, 2 of whom shall be members of
19civil rights or reparatory justice organizations, 1 of whom shall have expertise in forensic
20accounting, 1 of whom shall have expertise in public education, 2 of whom shall be young adults
21between the ages of 18 and 25 who have demonstrated a commitment to reparations advocacy
22and 1 of whom shall have expertise in constitutional law; 2 members appointed by the president
23of the senate; and 2 members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. The
24appointing authorities shall create a public application process that includes a written application,
25an interview and thorough vetting. The appointing authorities shall, to the extent possible,
26appoint members to the commission who have a verified familial connection to an American
27Freedman. The commission shall elect a chair and vice chair from among its members.
28 SECTION 3. (a) The commission shall develop: (i) proposals for a reparations program,
29including proposals for the form and amount of reparations; and (ii) a summary of data from the
30truth and reconciliation process. The commission shall consider a variety of methods, including,
31but not limited to: lump sum payments, yearly payments, victims’ assistance funds,
32homeowners’ assistance, tuition assistance, tuition refunds, mortgage refunds and tax credits.
33 (b) The commission shall develop criteria for reparations program participants and a
34method for application to the program. 3 of 3
35 (c) The commission shall make recommendations for the implementation of a reparations
36program, including recommendations regarding: (i) the timeline for the implementation of the
37program, with attention to how the program would function for present and future generations;
38(ii) draft legislation to implement a program; and (iii) resources and materials for educating the
39public on reparations and the reparations program.
40 SECTION 4. Within 2 years, the commission shall submit a report of its findings and
41recommendations, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out such
42recommendations, to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint
43committee on racial equity, civil rights, and inclusion and the house and senate committees on
44ways and means. Within 2 years, the commission shall notify the public of its findings.