Legislature overrides Moore’s veto, approves creation of reparations commission

Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s) applauds after the Maryland Senate voted Tuesday to override Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) veto of a bill to study reparations for African Americans in Maryland. (Photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)

It took years to pass — and another eight months to override the governor’s veto — but lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill creating a Maryland Reparations Commission.

The bill creates a 23-member voluntary commission to evaluate certain federal, state, and local policies from 1877 to 1965, the post-Reconstruction and Jim Crow era, and to examine how public and private institutions may have benefited from policies that led to discrimination. The commission is also responsible for recommending appropriate remedies, ranging from a statement of apology to monetary compensation or social service assistance.

The bill had been a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus, and its veto in May by Gov. Wes Moore (D), Maryland’s first black governor, stunned many lawmakers and advocates, in Maryland and across the country. Lawmakers immediately promised to override it, which they did by comfortable margins during Tuesday’s special session.

“This has been a long time coming, and I’m very grateful that this body saw fit to do this,” said Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s), the Senate’s lead sponsor, in a brief interview after the vote. “I think the study will go a long way toward revealing some of the things we’re talking about. I’m glad it happened.”

Sen. Mary-Dulany James (D-Harford) voted with all 13 Senate Republicans to uphold the governor’s veto. But 31 Democrats voted in favor of the measure, more than the 29 needed.

Regarding disagreements with the governor, Muse said, “The governor is a friend to everyone here, so we disagree, but we disagree in terms of friendship. »

Moore said in his May 16 veto message that it was a “difficult decision” but that “now is not the time for another study. Now is the time to pursue action that will produce results for the people we serve.”

But Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D-Baltimore County), who voted Tuesday to override the veto, said a commission should be created. Sydnor, the only person to speak on the bill on Seante’s floor, gave a more than 10-minute speech interspersed with a history lesson explaining how Baltimore County failed to provide black students with a secondary education in the 1940s.

“Let’s be clear: Slavery may have ended 150 years ago, but segregation, redlining, discrimination has extended into our time,” Sydnor said. “The harsh consequences are real and we cannot prepare [for] what we refuse to recognize. The mission is not to blame individuals. It’s about fixing systems.

While the Senate spent about 15 minutes debating and overturning the vote on the reparations bill, debate in the House lasted just over an hour before delegates voted 93-35 to override the governor’s veto.

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany), who voted to uphold the governor’s veto, was the first of seven delegates to speak on the bill, followed by five others who rose to explain their vote. Buckel reminded his colleagues that these were “the actions of the majority of the people of the United States of America, black and white at the time, who said enough is enough and we are going to change the system,” and shed their blood to do so.

But before voting in favor of the governor’s veto, Rep. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) said the commission was created to provide “race bait.”

Del. Terri Hill (D-Howard), who voted to override the veto, said the bill “requires us, as an arm of Maryland government, to look at the things that government policy has been able to achieve and allow.”

Hill praised the lawmaker who sponsored the House version that passed the House but did not advance in the Senate. Del. Aletheia McCaskill (D-Baltimore County), who did not speak about the bill on the House floor Tuesday, received congratulatory hugs from several of her House colleagues.

After the House adjourned, McCaskill thanked colleagues, community leaders and advocates who spoke in favor of a commission.

“I’m so upset right now, but I’m grateful. This is such a historic moment not only for Maryland, but literally for this country,” McCaskill said in a brief interview after the vote. “It’s time to act and petition this commission and support the commission for the work that needs to be done.”

The Legislative Black Caucus said in a statement Tuesday that the reparations commission “will now become law in our state. At a time of growing attacks on diversity and equity, today’s action reaffirms our shared commitment to truth, accountability and meaningful progress for Black Marylanders.”