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Maryland lawmakers hear testimony on bill to form state reparations commission
Summary
Supporters told the House Health and Government Operations Committee that House Bill 14-22 would create a commission to study reparations for descendants of the enslaved in Maryland; testimony emphasized historical roots, recommended scope, and a focus on research rather than immediate payouts.
Delegate Aletheia McCaskill asked the House Health and Government Operations Committee on March 1 to give a favorable report to House Bill 14-22, a measure to establish a Maryland Reparations Commission to study reparations for descendants of people enslaved in Maryland.
The bill would create a study commission to research and recommend remedies, testimony said, not to provide immediate payments. McCaskill framed the measure as a fact-finding and advisory body that could examine a range of responses — including nonmonetary actions such as education, childcare, and housing programs — and report recommendations to the Legislature.
Nut graf: Supporters said the commission would document Maryland’s two-century history of slavery and its present-day effects on wealth, education and health, and produce evidence-based recommendations for state action. Several local officials, faith leaders, civil-rights organizers and advocacy groups told the committee they favor a body that can marshal historical records, disaggregated data and policy analysis.
What supporters said Supporters framed the commission as a research and reconciliation mechanism. Delegate McCaskill said the commission would “not impose any form of restitution” immediately, but would study options and report recommendations. Davon Love of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle urged the panel to examine institutional investments and governance that contribute to intergenerational disparities. Prince George’s County Councilmember Wanika Fisher said her county has already passed a local resolution supporting a state-level commission and listed at least a dozen plantations formerly in the county as local context.
Representatives of the Maryland Lynching and Truth and Reconciliation Commission and local reparations commissions said HB 14-22 could build on prior work. Trish Floyd, a project manager at the Maryland Lynching and Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said that commission’s hearings and recommendations create a foundation the new state commission could use.
What the bill would do Testimony repeatedly emphasized that the bill would establish a commission to study and report — not to deliver immediate payments. Witnesses described a broad remit: collect historical records, disaggregate data by race and place, identify the effects of slavery and subsequent discriminatory policies (redlining, exclusion from programs), and recommend remedies that could include programmatic investments as well as potential compensation.
Concerns and clarifications Witnesses asked that the commission’s design ensure rigorous data collection and include economists and race researchers to evaluate remedies. The American Descendants of Slavery Advocacy Foundation urged four specific amendments — stronger data-disaggregation, formal ADOS representation, dedicated race researchers and an economist on the panel, and creation of a commission focused on ADOS affairs.
Next steps Committee staff closed public testimony without committee questions; the sponsor and supporters urged a favorable report. No formal vote was recorded during the hearing.
Ending: Supporters said HB 14-22 is a first step to create a forum for evidence-based recommendations and reconciliation. The committee closed the hearing and moved to the next bill on the agenda.
