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2 A BILL
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4 25-152
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6 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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8 ____________________
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11 To establish a Commission on Reparations to study and develop reparation proposals for eligible
12 African Americans and a Reparations Foundation Fund to be used for the future payment
13 of reparations; and to amend the Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation
14 Establishment Act of 1996 to require the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance,
15 Securities, and Banking to establish a slavery era database of insurance records and
16 financial records.
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18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
19 act may be cited as the “Insurance Database Amendment Act of 2024”.
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21 TITLE I. COMMISSION ON REPARATIONS.
22 Sec. 101. Commission on Reparations; establishment and purpose.
23 (a) There is established a Commission on Reparations (“Commission”).
24 (b) The Commission shall:
25 (1) With a focus on African Americans and matters in the District of Columbia
26 and the role of District government (in all its forms), study and analyze the:
27 (A) Institution of slavery;
28 (B) Transatlantic and domestic slave trade that existed in what is now the
29 United States between the period of 1619 to 1865;
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30 (C) Federal and state governments support, constitutionally and statutorily,
31 of the institution of slavery;
32 (D) Lawful and de facto discrimination against enslaved people and other
33 free African American people and their descendants from the end of the Civil War to the present,
34 including economic, political, educational, and social discrimination, and structural and
35 institutional racism;
36 (E) Direct benefits received by societal institutions, public and private,
37 including higher education, corporate, religious, and associations as a result of the institution of
38 slavery and its ongoing repercussions;
39 (F) Takings of property, generally, through civil asset forfeiture, the
40 seizure of land acquired through eminent domain, and other unjust land seizures broadening the
41 wealth gap, and, specifically, such takings by the District government or federal government
42 between 1865 and 1973, including in the areas around Broad Branch Road, Chevy Chase, and
43 Fort Reno, and in the southwest quadrant; which study may include soliciting public feedback
44 from individuals who claim knowledge of property, familial or otherwise, that was taken by the
45 District government or federal government;
46 (G) Compounding effect of the racial wealth gap over time and the impact
47 of the racial wealth gap on areas such as health outcomes and public safety; and
48 (H) Ongoing negative effects of the institution of slavery on African
49 Americans living today and society at large in the United States today, including in such areas as
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50 the de facto segregation of the African American population, the criminal legal system, mass
51 incarceration, prison conditions, police brutality, and education, displacement from the District,
52 and other areas of continuing structural and institutional racism.
53 (2) Based on the Commission’s study and analysis of the matters described in
54 paragraph (1) of this subsection and as further authorized by this title, develop a proposal to
55 provide eligible African Americans monetary reparations or other forms of redress.
56 (3) The Commission shall be guided, but not restricted, by the 5 conditions for
57 full reparations as detailed in principles 19 to 23 of the United Nations’s General Assembly
58 Resolution 60/147, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and
59 guarantees of non-repetition.
60 Sec. 102. Duties and responsibilities.
61 (a) The Commission shall:
62 (1) Study and explore the creation of a new government agency, such as, for
63 example, an African American People’s Bureau, to implement any or all of the reparations
64 proposals;
65 (2) Make recommendations regarding the sources, distribution method, and
66 schedule of distribution to eligible African Americans of the funds in the Reparations Fund
67 established by section 201, including recommending a method to exempt the recipients of funds
68 from having to contribute to the sources of the Reparations Fund and from having any funds
69 received from the Reparations Fund taxed, included in a recipient’s taxable income, or in any
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70 manner negatively affecting any public assistance that a recipient may be receiving or may have
71 received.
72 (3) Compile and synthesize evidentiary documentation and testimonies of lived
73 experiences (“documentation”) relating to the institution of slavery and its aftereffects in the
74 United States during the period 1619 to 1865 up to the present, with a focus on the District of
75 Columbia and former residents of the District, including, to the extent possible, documentation
76 related to:
77 (A) The capture and procurement of Africans;
78 (B) The forced removal and treatment of Africans from Africa and the
79 African diaspora to what became the United States for the purpose of enslavement;
80 (C) The sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate
81 and intrastate commerce;
82 (D) The treatment of enslaved human beings, including the deprivation of
83 their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and attempted destruction of their culture, language,
84 religion, and families;
85 (E) The extensive denial of humanity and reproductive autonomy, rape
86 and sexual abuse, forced breeding, and chattelization of persons for financial gain;
87 (F) The federal and state laws that restricted the movement, land
88 ownership, liberty, and humanity of African Americans, including Black codes, vagrancy acts,
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89 eminent domain, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, police brutality, prison conditions, and
90 other forms of disenfranchisement;
91 (G) The federal and state laws and programs that discriminated against
92 African Americans from 1619 to the present, including the District of Columbia Compensated
93 Emancipation Act of 1862;
94 (H) The other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors
95 against African Americans from 1862 to the present, including redlining and unjust land
96 seizures, educational funding discrepancies, health disparities, and predatory financial practices;
97 (I) The ongoing negative effects of the institution of slavery on living
98 African Americans; and
99 (J) The lived experiences of African Americans in the District, including
100 the spoken narratives of enslaved peoples, oral histories, and spoken testimonies.
101 (4) In partnership with community-based organizations with a demonstrated
102 interest in reparations, recommend ways to educate the public of the Commission’s findings.
103 (b) In addition to the Commission’s findings in subsection (a) of this section, the
104 Commission shall detail in the report required by section 103:
105 (1) The criteria it determines should define an eligible African American entitled
106 to monetary reparations or other forms of redress from the District government;
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107 (2) How its recommendations comport with international standards, as set forth
108 in various relevant international protocols, laws, and findings, for reparations or other measures
109 to make amends for the wrongs and injuries caused by the institution of slavery and its aftermath;
110 (3) In what manner the District government can offer a formal apology for its role
111 in the harms perpetuated on African Americans due to slavery and its aftermath;
112 (4) How District laws and policies that may continue to disproportionately and
113 negatively affect African Americans and perpetuate the lingering material and psychosocial
114 effects of slavery can be eliminated;
115 (5) How the resultant injuries can be repaired, including how to provide policies,
116 programs, projects, and recommendations to effect that repair;
117 (6) How the amount of compensation due to eligible African Americans should be
118 calculated;
119 (7) In addition to monetary compensation, if and in what form other redress
120 should be provided to eligible African Americans and through what instrumentalities; and
121 (8) The development and implementation of any programs for African Americans
122 that may be warranted and the suggested form and scope of those programs, if any.
123 Sec. 103. Reporting requirement.
124 (a)(1) The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and
125 recommendations, which may be accompanied by draft legislation or a list of specific steps for
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126 implementing its recommendations, to the Mayor and Council no later than 18 months after the
127 date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 106(a).
128 (2) The Commission shall submit a written interim update of its progress to the
129 Mayor and Council no later than 270 days after the date of the first meeting of the Commission.
130 (b) Following submission of the report, as required by subsection (a)(1) of this section,
131 the Commission shall convene a public forum to announce its findings and recommendations.
132 (c) All recommendations and reports, including updates, prepared and submitted to the
133 Mayor and Council by the Commission shall be made a matter of public record.
134 Sec. 104. Composition.
135 (a)(1) The Commission shall consist of 12 members; 9 voting members appointed by the
136 Chairperson of the Council and 3 ex-officio members.
137 (2) The 9 voting members shall include:
138 (A) Two appointees from organizations with a demonstrated commitment
139 to reparations and preventing and repairing harms caused by racial injustice;
140 (B) Two appointees from the field of academia who have expertise in at
141 least two of the following three areas: civil rights, history, or constitutional law;
142 (C) Two appointees that either currently reside in the District who have
143 been District residents for at least 20 years or who do not currently reside in the District but
144 formerly did so and for at least 20 years;
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145 (D) One appointee who has expertise in community development and
146 social justice in the District; and
147 (E) One appointee from a faith-based organization.
148 (3)(A) Members shall be drawn from diverse backgrounds to represent the
149 interests of African American communities throughout the District, have experience seeking and
150 implementing racial justice reform, and, to the extent possible, represent geographically diverse
151 areas of the District.
152 (B) The Chairperson of the Council may give special consideration to
153 long-time District residents who, in its determination, have been most harmed by the injury set
154 forth in this title.
155 (b) The 3 non-voting ex officio members, who may attend and participate in meetings,
156 shall be the:
157 (1) Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and
158 Banking or the Commissioner’s designee;
159 (2) District’s State Archivist or the Archivist’s designee; and
160 (3) Director of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights or the
161 Director’s designee.
162 (c)(1) The term of office for members shall be for the life of the Commission.
163 (2) The Chairperson of the Council shall appoint the Commission members no
164 later than 60 days after the effective date of this title.
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165 (3) A vacancy in the voting members on the Commission shall not affect the
166 powers of the Commission. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner that the original
167 appointment was made.
168 Sec. 105. Organization; compensation; authority.
169 (a) The voting members of the Commission shall elect a chair from among its voting
170 members; except, that the chair may not be a member of the Council. The Chair of the
171 Commission, or a voting member that the Chair designates as Vice-Chair in his or her absence,
172 shall convene all meetings of the Commission. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.
173 (b)(1) The voting members of the Commission, by a majority vote, shall hire an
174 Executive Director who shall perform the duties required for the day-to-day functioning of the
175 Commission as considered necessary by the members, including appointment of staff, selection
176 of consultants, and the administration of meetings and report production. The Executive Director
177 shall serve for the life of the Commission. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner that the
178 original selection was made.
179 (2) The Executive Director shall receive an annual salary consistent with the
180 District of Columbia Government Salary Schedule for Excepted Service (ES) employees, at the
181 midpoint of Grade 10, plus fringe benefits.
182 (c)(1) Each voting member of the Commission shall be entitled to a stipend of $10,000
183 per year for their service on the Commission; except that, a member of the Council shall not
184 receive a stipend.
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185 (2) Voting members of the Commission shall be entitled to per diem
186 compensation and reimbursement of expenses for up to 18 meetings of the Commission, not to
187 exceed $2,500 per member.
188 (d)(1) The Commission’s operations may be funded by annual appropriations or private
189 sector assistance, or both.
190 (2)(A) If a special fund is established by the Commission for the receipt of
191 operating donations from non-government sources, the fund shall be administered in accordance
192 with established funding and auditing procedures of the District government. The expenditure of
193 donations shall not be subject to appropriation.
194 (B) The Commission shall keep a record, available to the public for
195 inspection, of all donations, assistance, and any substantial non-government in-kind
196 contributions received. The record shall include the full name, address, and occupation or type of
197 business of each donor.
198 (C) For purpose of this subsection, the term “substantial non-government
199 in-kind contributions” includes any service reasonably valued at more than $5,000 that is
200 received from any source other than the District or federal government.
201 (e)(1) The Commission shall have the authority to:
202 (A) Hold hearings, roundtables, and sit and act at any time and location in
203 the District and to use space and supplies owned or rented by the District government;
204 (B) Request the attendance and testimony of witnesses;
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205 (C) Request the production of books, records, correspondence,
206 memoranda, papers, and documents;
207 (D) Seek an order from a Superior Court of the District of Columbia
208 compelling testimony or compliance with a subpoena; and
209 (E) Create and operate under its own rules of procedure, consistent with
210 this title.
211 (2) Any member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Chair or Vice-
212 Chair of the Commission, take any action that the Commission is authorized to take pursuant to
213 this title.
214 (3) The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any executive agency
215 available information that the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties.
216 (4) All Executive agencies shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to
217 such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent
218 permitted by law.
219 (5) The Commission shall keep confidential information received from an
220 executive agency that is confidential, as required by law.
221 (f) The Commission may:
222 (1) Hire and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers
223 appropriate, such as an attorney, researcher, economist, historian, genealogist, constitutional law
224 scholar, data scientist, facilitator, forensic accountant, or a mental health professional;
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225 (2) Employ administrative, technical, and legal assistance;
226 (3) Procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with
227 applicable laws and rules; and
228 (4) Enter into contracts for the purposes of conducting research or surveys,
229 preparing reports, developing a communications strategy for the release of the report, and
230 performing other