By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
Assembly Bill 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, advanced from the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file Aug. 13 with a “do pass as amended” recommendation.
Authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), AB 2599 was among approximately 600 bills released from the suspense file. It now moves to the Senate floor for a vote.
“The Truth in Disclosure Act requires any company doing business in California with annual worldwide gross receipts of over $100 million to verify and search their records for any transactions related to wealth gained during chattel slavery and report that wealth to the state to be held in a digital archive,” Bryan said.
If enacted, the measure would make California the first state to require major private corporations to report under oath their historical or financial ties to chattel slavery.
AB 2599 would require the California Civil Rights Department to create a searchable public digital platform by Jan. 3, 2028, containing the affidavits and reports. The measure focuses on industries with historical ties to slavery, including banking, insurance, railroads, shipping, textiles and tobacco.
The Department of Finance opposed the bill because of its projected costs. The California Department of Justice estimated a General Fund cost of “$130,000 in one position” in 2026-27 and “$231,000 in one position ongoing to implement this bill,” according to Christian Beltran, the Finance Department’s deputy director of legislation.
At an Aug. 3 hearing chaired by Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Beltran also said AB 2599 did not identify an agency to administer the program.
“Finance notices bill as drafted explicitly does not identify the department responsible for implementing the provisions of the bill,” Beltran said.
Amendments adopted Aug. 13 addressed that concern by designating the Civil Rights Department as the administrator. They also removed language specifically authorizing the attorney general to seek injunctive relief, while preserving the attorney general’s existing enforcement authority.
“By requiring corporations to tell the truth and educating the public about that truth, AB 2599 helps restore the dignity and humanity of all the enslaved people the qualifying companies or their predecessors commodified for commercial gain,” said Mona Tawatau, a representative of the Equal Justice Society.
The Equal Justice Society, a civil rights organization, co-founded the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation and Truth, a multiracial coalition launched in California in November 2023 to advance state-level reparations policies and build cross-racial support.
The California Legislature generally places bills in the suspense file when their estimated annual costs reach $50,000 in the Senate or $150,000 in the Assembly. During suspense-file hearings, lawmakers decide which measures advance and which are held without public debate.
Several measures authored by California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) members were considered during the Aug. 13 hearings. Some advanced to the Senate or Assembly floors, while others were held for the remainder of the session.
AB 1054, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s (D-Carson), would establish a Deferred Retirement Option Program, or DROP within CalPERS. That bill advanced from the Senate Appropriations Committee with a “do pass as amended” recommendation.
The voluntary program would allow eligible California Highway Patrol officers and Cal Fire firefighters to freeze the value of their pensions, continue working for up to five years and receive lump-sum payments when they fully retire.
AB 1731, authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson’s (D-Suisun City), also advanced from the Senate Appropriations Committee with a “do pass as amended” recommendation.
That measure would establish a dedicated procurement fund through the California Department of Food and Agriculture to connect California farmers with school cafeterias. It now moves to the Senate floor.
Wilson told the Senate Agriculture Committee in June that more than 7,000 small and midsize California farms went out of business between 2017 and 2022 because of rising production costs and shrinking market opportunities.
At the same time, California schools serve roughly 5 million meals daily and face pressure to reduce their reliance on processed foods. That creates a significant opportunity for local farmers, but schools are “constrained by tight budgets and limited access to transparent regional supply chains for healthy locally sourced products,” Wilson said.
“It’s more important than ever to ensure our kids, our school kids, have access to healthier food options, especially for some kids. School meals are their only access to healthy foods,” Wilson said. “AB 1731 establishes a targeted procurement fund and approved vendor system to connect California schools with local farmers, enabling the purchase of fresh, minimally processed climate-smart foods without increasing cost or administrative burdens on schools.”
SB 1312, authored by Sen. Laura Richardson’s (D-Inglewood), also advanced from the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file with a “do pass as amended” recommendation.
Richardson introduced the measure to establish a legal process for handling abandoned private cemeteries after several properties fell into severe neglect when their owners walked away.
The bill would allow local governments to take title to abandoned cemeteries and transfer their management to cities, counties or public cemetery districts, ensuring that graves are properly maintained.
Committee amendments revised the definition of an abandoned endowment-care cemetery and the rules governing such properties, which have funds set aside for long-term maintenance.
Richardson said 187 private cemeteries in California are vulnerable to abandonment, neglect and vandalism because they are deemed “no longer profitable.”
“They are distressing to families. They pose public safety risks, and they negatively affect nearby property values,” Richardson said. “We must act now to adopt a long-lacking policy to address the growing issue and ensure that sacred spaces are preserved with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
