New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Committee Votes 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 
 
•  LFIN 
 
•  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A09435 Summary:

A09435 Floor Votes:

A09435 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A9435
 
SPONSOR: Solages

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and
inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and the state of New York;
to establish the New York state community commission on reparations
remedies, to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure
and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Ameri-
cans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans and to
make determinations regarding compensation; and providing for the repeal
of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: :
 
This bill establishes the New York state community commission on repara-
tions remedies.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
Section one of the bill states the name of the act. Section two if the
bill is the legislative intent.
 
Section three of the bill establishes the purpose and duties of the
commission.
 
Section four outlines the appointment and qualifications of the commis-
sion members and commission's meeting requirements.
 
Section five of the bill outlines the power of the commission. Section
six outlines the date on which the commission shall end. Section seven
is the effective date.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhu-
manity of slavery in the City of New York and the State of New York.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
2019-2020: A.3080-A (Barron) - Reported to Ways and Means

2017-2018: A.7274-A (Barron) - Reported to Ways and Means
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: :
 
To be determined.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed 90 days after the New York state community commission to study
reparations remedies submits its report to the temporary president of
the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of the
senate and the assembly and the governor as provided in subdivision c of
section three of this act; provided that, the chair of the New York
state community commission to study reparations remedies shall notify
the legislative bill drafting commission upon the submission of its
report as provided in subdivision c of section three of this act in
order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective
data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in
furtherance of effecting the provisions of section 44 of the legislative
law and section 70-b of the public officers law.

A09435 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9435
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      March 7, 2022
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, AUBRY, DICKENS, PRETLOW, WILLIAMS, WALK-
          ER,   PEOPLES-STOKES,   COOK,  VANEL,  HYNDMAN,  CAHILL,  JEAN-PIERRE,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN, TAYLOR, DILAN, DARLING, JOYNER, BENEDETTO, EPSTEIN,
          FRONTUS, REYES, NOLAN, O'DONNELL,  CRUZ,  ZINERMAN,  JACKSON,  BURGOS,
          FORREST, ANDERSON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, J. RIVERA -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN  ACT to acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and
          inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and  the  state  of  New
          York;  to establish the New York state community commission on repara-
          tions remedies, to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de
          jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against  African-
          Americans,  and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans
          and to make determinations regarding compensation; and  providing  for
          the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
     2  state community commission on reparations remedies".
     3    §  2. Legislative intent.  Contrary to what many people believe, slav-
     4  ery was not just a southern institution. Prior  to  the  American  Revo-
     5  lution,  there  were more enslaved Africans in New York City than in any
     6  other city except Charleston, South Carolina. During this period, slaves
     7  accounted for 20% of the population of New York and approximately 40% of
     8  colonial New York's households owned slaves. These slaves were an  inte-
     9  gral part of the population which settled and developed what we now know
    10  as the state of New York.
    11    The  first  slaves arrived in New Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement estab-
    12  lished at the southern tip  of  Manhattan  Island,  around  1627.  These
    13  enslaved  Africans  did  not  belong  to individuals, but worked for the
    14  Dutch West India Company. The Dutch East India Company  had  established
    15  Fort  Amsterdam,  a  fortification  located  on  the southern tip of the
    16  island of Manhattan, for the purpose  of  defending  the  company's  fur
    17  trade  operations  in the North River, now known as the Hudson River. In
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00314-04-1
        A. 9435                             2
 
     1  1624, New Amsterdam became a provincial extension of the Dutch  Republic
     2  and it was designated the capital of the province in 1625.
     3    These first enslaved Africans cleared forests, prepared land for agri-
     4  culture  and  built  an  infrastructure of roads, buildings and walls of
     5  timber and earthwork, including the wall  that  gives  Wall  Street  its
     6  name.  During  the following years, more and more enslaved Africans were
     7  brought to the New World for the purpose of expanding the settlement.
     8    New Amsterdam came under English control in 1664 and was  renamed  New
     9  York  in  honor  of the then Duke of York, in whose name the English had
    10  captured it. Three years later, the Dutch gave up  their  claim  to  the
    11  town  and  the  rest  of  the colony, in exchange for control of certain
    12  trade routes and areas.
    13    The change of control of the city did not deter  slavery;  it  was  an
    14  enormously profitable enterprise and it continued under the English. New
    15  York  businesses  engaged  directly  in  slave  trade  and  also  in the
    16  production of supplies used in the slave trade.    They  supplied  food,
    17  tools  and  grain  to slave plantations in North America and in the West
    18  Indies.  Slave labor built and maintained ships used for  trade  between
    19  North  America,  Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Slaves produced goods
    20  for sale and worked in private homes.  Even  newspapers  benefited  from
    21  slavery:    advertisements of slaves for purchase were a major source of
    22  revenue for the papers during the eighteenth century.
    23    Life was repressive for enslaved Africans in New York.  The  New  York
    24  City  Common  Council  passed  a  number of restrictive laws designed at
    25  curtailing the rights and freedoms of slaves.  Slaves were  barred  from
    26  owning  significant  property  and from bequeathing what they did own to
    27  their children. The number of people of African descent who could gather
    28  in one place was limited. Restrictions on  movement  included  requiring
    29  slaves  to carry lanterns after dark and to remain in certain geographic
    30  areas.
    31    Penalties for breaking these and other  laws  were  severe.  Beatings,
    32  mutilations and executions were common.
    33    Enslaved Africans refused to submit to the slave existence. The condi-
    34  tions  of their lives gave rise to rebellions and the development in the
    35  city of a network of the Underground Railroad.
    36    Not all citizens of New York agreed with slavery.  A  powerful  aboli-
    37  tionist  movement  developed, but the end of slavery in New York did not
    38  come easily or quickly. Those who profited from the slave economy fought
    39  to maintain the system.
    40    In 1799 the New York state legislature passed "An Act for the  Gradual
    41  Abolition  of  Slavery". This legislation was a first step in the direc-
    42  tion of emancipation, but did not have an immediate effect or affect all
    43  slaves. Rather, it provided for gradual manumission. All  children  born
    44  to  slave  women after July 4, 1799 would be freed, but only after their
    45  most productive years: age 28 for men  and  age  25  for  women.  Slaves
    46  already  in  servitude  before July 4, 1799 were reclassified as "inden-
    47  tured servants", but in reality, remained slaves  for  the  duration  of
    48  their lives.
    49    In  1817,  the  Legislature enacted a statute that gave freedom to New
    50  York slaves who had been born before July 4, 1799. This statute did  not
    51  become effective until July 4, 1827, however.
    52    Despite  these laws, there were exceptions under which certain persons
    53  could still own slaves. Non-residents could enter New York  with  slaves
    54  for  up  to nine months, and allowing part-time residents to bring their
    55  slaves into the state temporarily. The  nine-months  exception  remained
        A. 9435                             3
 
     1  law  until  its repeal in 1841, when the North was re-defining itself as
     2  the "free" region in advance of the civil war.
     3    In  1991,  a huge African burial ground was discovered in the heart of
     4  New York's financial district during construction of a  skyscraper.  The
     5  excavations  that  followed  the termination of the construction project
     6  yielded the skeletal remains of 419 Africans, many of  whom  were  women
     7  and children.
     8    The  slavery  that  flourished  in  the  New York state constituted an
     9  immoral and inhumane deprivation of  Africans'  life,  liberty,  African
    10  citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of
    11  their  own  labor. Sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects
    12  of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in
    13  New York.
    14    § 3. Establishment, purpose and duties of the commission.   a.  Estab-
    15  lishment.  There  is  hereby  established  the  New York state community
    16  commission on reparations  remedies  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the
    17  "commission").
    18    b. Duties. The commission shall perform the following duties:
    19    (1)  Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the state
    20  of New York and in the city of New York.  The  commission's  examination
    21  shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of:
    22    (A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
    23    (B)  the  transport  of Africans to the United States and the colonies
    24  that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement,  including
    25  their treatment during transport;
    26    (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in inter-
    27  state and intrastate commerce; and
    28    (D) the treatment of enslaved Africans in the city of New York and the
    29  state of New York, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploita-
    30  tion  of  their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, reli-
    31  gion, and families.
    32    (2) Examine the extent to which the federal and state  governments  of
    33  the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional
    34  and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments
    35  prevented,  opposed, or restricted efforts of freed enslaved Africans to
    36  repatriate to their homeland.
    37    (3) Examine federal and state laws that  discriminated  against  freed
    38  enslaved  Africans  and  their descendants during the period between the
    39  end of the Civil War and the present.
    40    (4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the  public  and  private
    41  sectors against freed enslaved Africans and their descendants during the
    42  period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
    43    (5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slav-
    44  ery  and  the  matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
    45  this subdivision on living  African-Americans  and  on  society  in  the
    46  United States.
    47    (6)  Recommend  appropriate ways to educate the American public of the
    48  commission's findings.
    49    (7) Recommend appropriate remedies in  consideration  of  the  commis-
    50  sion's  findings  on  the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
    51  and (4) of this subdivision. The commission shall determine the form  of
    52  compensation,  the amount of compensation and who should be eligible for
    53  such compensation.
    54    c. Report to the legislature. The commission shall  submit  a  written
    55  report of its findings and recommendations to the temporary president of
    56  the  senate,  the  speaker  of the assembly, the minority leaders of the
        A. 9435                             4

     1  senate and the assembly and the governor not later than the  date  which
     2  is  one  year after the date of the first meeting of the commission held
     3  pursuant to subdivision c of section four of this act.
     4    §  4.  Membership.  a. Appointment of members. The commission shall be
     5  composed of eleven members who shall be appointed within 90  days  after
     6  the effective date of this act, as follows:
     7    (1) one member shall be appointed by the governor;
     8    (2) one member shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
     9    (3)  one  member  shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
    10  senate;
    11    (4) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assem-
    12  bly;
    13    (5) one member shall be  appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the
    14  senate;
    15    (6) two members shall be appointed by the National Coalition of Blacks
    16  for Reparations in America (N.C.O.B.R.A.);
    17    (7) two members shall be appointed by the December 12th Movement; and
    18    (8)  two  members  shall  be  appointed  by the Institute of the Black
    19  World.
    20    b. Qualification of members. All members of the  commission  shall  be
    21  persons  who  are  especially  qualified  to  serve on the commission by
    22  virtue of their education, training, or experience, particularly in  the
    23  field of African-American studies.
    24    c.  First  meeting.  The  chair  shall  call  the first meeting of the
    25  commission within 120 days after the effective date of this act.
    26    d. Quorum. Six members of the commission shall  constitute  a  quorum,
    27  but a lesser number may hold hearings.
    28    e.  Chair  and vice chair. The commission shall elect a Chair and Vice
    29  Chair from among its members.
    30    f. Compensation. The  members  of  the  commission  shall  receive  no
    31  compensation  for their services as members, but shall be reimbursed for
    32  their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
    33  duties.
    34    § 5. Powers of the commission.  a. Hearings and sessions. The  commis-
    35  sion  may,  for  the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act,
    36  hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such  places  in
    37  the United States, as the commission considers appropriate.
    38    b.  Powers of subcommittees and members. Any subcommittee or member of
    39  the commission may, if authorized by the  commission,  take  any  action
    40  which the commission is authorized to take by this section.
    41    c.  Obtaining  official data. The commission may acquire directly from
    42  the head of any department, agency, or  instrumentality  of  the  state,
    43  available  information  which  the  commission  considers  useful in the
    44  discharge of its duties. All departments, agencies,  and  instrumentali-
    45  ties  of  the  state shall cooperate with the commission with respect to
    46  such information and shall furnish  all  information  requested  by  the
    47  commission to the extent permitted by law.
    48    §  6.  Termination.  The  commission shall terminate 90 days after the
    49  date on which the commission submits its report to the temporary  presi-
    50  dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of
    51  the  senate and the assembly and the governor as provided in subdivision
    52  c of section three of this act.
    53    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    54  deemed repealed 90 days after the New York state community commission to
    55  study reparations remedies submits its report to the temporary president
    56  of  the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of the
        A. 9435                             5
 
     1  senate and the assembly and the governor as provided in subdivision c of
     2  section three of this act; provided that, the  chair  of  the  New  York
     3  state  community  commission  to study reparations remedies shall notify
     4  the  legislative  bill  drafting  commission  upon the submission of its
     5  report as provided in subdivision c of section  three  of  this  act  in
     6  order  that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective
     7  data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New  York  in
     8  furtherance of effecting the provisions of section 44 of the legislative
     9  law and section 70-b of the public officers law.