Maryland‘s state legislature blocked Gov. Wes Moore‘s (D-MD) veto on Tuesday of the creation of a state reparations commission. The state’s Senate and Assembly both exceeded the three-fifths majority required to override the veto.
Moore, who is black, slapped the legislation down in May because he believed the state had already properly studied the impact of slavery on black Americans in Maryland.
The new 23-member commission will examine specific federal, state, and local policies from 1877 to 1965, the post-Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras. The commission will try to find clues about how public and private institutions benefited from possibly discriminatory policies.
Senate Bill 587’s lead sponsor, Democratic Maryland state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, celebrated the override.
“It’s been a long time coming, and I’m so very grateful that this body saw fit to do that,” he told Maryland Matters. “I think the study will go a long way in revealing some of the things that we’re talking about. I’m happy that it’s happened.”
Thirty-one Maryland Senate Democrats voted against Moore’s veto, with only one joining 13 Republicans in voting with it. Muse characterized his fellow Democrats’ vote against Moore as a friendly disagreement.
“The governor is a friend of everyone here, so we disagree, but we disagree in friendship,” he said.
Moore’s veto letter to Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson sent mixed messages to the chamber.
While the governor applauded the state legislature’s Black Legislative Caucus for its work, he said he “strongly” believed “now is not the time for another study.”
“I will always protect and defend the full history of African Americans in our state and country. But in light of the many important studies that have taken place on this issue over nearly three decades, now is the time to focus on the work itself,” he wrote.
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Maryland has one of the largest black populations in the nation and recently elected its first black U.S. senator, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
The state elected Moore in 2022, and he’s gearing up for his reelection bid in 2026, possibly against Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan.