Overview

• Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed bills to allow admissions preference for descendants of enslaved people, to investigate and compensate racially motivated eminent domain seizures, to reserve 10% of first-time homebuyer aid for descendants, and to expedite professional licenses for that group.
• In veto messages, he said universities already have authority to set such admissions preferences, warned an ancestry-based housing set-aside could trigger legal problems and jeopardize mortgage market access, and argued other proposals would overtax agencies without requisite expertise.
• Days earlier, Newsom signed SB 518 to establish the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the Civil Rights Department to verify lineage and help shape future reparative programs.
• He also approved $6 million for California State University to develop procedures to confirm descendant status, laying groundwork for potential eligibility systems.
• The new bureau will require future funding to operate, and the vetoes drew criticism from Democratic Assemblymember Isaac Bryan as legal constraints like Proposition 209 and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admissions continue to shape policy options.