California should wipe interest on child support debt for black residents, says taskforce
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California should eliminate interest on child support debt for black residents, the state’s Reparations Task Force has recommended.
It has also called for a ban on police arresting people for minor public order offences, including public urination.
The recommendations are contained in a 1,100-page report by the task force, which was set up by California governor Gavin Newsom in 2020.
California was the first US state to pass a law ordering a study into how the descendants of slaves should be compensated.
In May, the task force proposed that black Californians should receive $1.2 million (£940,000) each in reparations to address decades of racial injustice.
It was estimated this would cost the state $500 billion, nearly $200 billion more than its annual budget.
Now, the nine-strong task force has unveiled its detailed findings. Its recommendations will go to the state legislature, which will decide what action it should take on the report.
While the task force said child support should be paid, it called for action to ease the burden of interest which, according to one study, accounts for 27 per cent of the total debt.
California charges 10 per cent interest on unpaid child support. The report said this has a disproportionate impact on African-Americans making it harder for them to find a home or get a job.
“At a minimum, the proposal recommends that the legislature eliminate the prospective accrual of interest on child support debt for low-income parents,” the report added.
Other recommendations include banning the arrest and prosecution of people who commit what it described as “public disorder” offences.
A significant proportion of police involvement with the public involves low-level non-violent crime.
“Thus, for example, law enforcement is frequently tasked with enforcing public disorder offences, such as illegal camping, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, minor trespass, and public urination.
“Although the subjects of these contacts are often experiencing homelessness, a mental health crisis, or both, the responding officers typically possess neither training nor expertise in working with these vulnerable populations.”
This can result in disproportionate - and occasionally fatal - force being used.
Those arrested for what the report calls “administrative violations” should be allowed to sue for damages, or automatically receive a payout.
Approximately 6.5 per cent of California’s population - around 2.5 million people - are black.
However, the compensation scheme should be limited to those who are “an African-American descendant of a chattel enslaved person or the descendant of a free black person living in the United States prior to the end of the 19th century”.
That would reduce those eligible for compensation to fewer than two million.
