Lawmakers in the Maryland legislature are one step closer to sending a bill creating a commission studying reparations to Gov. Wes Moore‘s (D-MD) desk after a preliminary vote Tuesday.
SB0587 would create the Maryland Reparations Commission, tasked with studying forms of reparations for people whose ancestors were slaves or “impacted by certain inequitable government policies.”
Moore has not said whether he would support the bill if it were brought before him for approval, dodging questions on the matter from Baltimore television station WBFF.
Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services found the legislation would cost $54,500 for fiscal 2026, as the state faces a budget deficit of more than $3 billion, which is expected to rise to nearly $7 billion in 2028. The state Senate passed a budget that would increase taxes and make cuts throughout the Maryland government as it seeks to close the significant deficit.
Republicans, who are in the super-minority in both chambers of the Maryland legislature, have questioned why the costly proposals are being considered when the state faces fiscal strains.
“We don’t have the money right now to be exploring these options, period,” GOP state Sen. Justin Ready told WBFF. “The issue of reparations, I’m sure, elicits strong opinions, but the fact is it’s just something that’s not financially feasible, whether you think it’s a good idea or not.”
If the bill is signed into law, a final report from the commission, which would be similar to other commissions created by some states and cities in recent years, including in California, would be due by Nov. 1, 2027.
The measure passed in the state Senate last month and advanced past a second reading in the state House Tuesday. The bill will need to pass a third reading in the state House and be reviewed in the state Senate before it can be sent to Moore for approval or veto.
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Democrats in the state legislature have been supportive of the measure, and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, which is made up solely of Democrats, named the legislation as one of its priorities for the 2025 session.
While similar reparations commissions have been created in other Democrat-led states, including New York and California, much of the major recommendations from the commissions have yet to be implemented. In California, costly proposals from their reparations panel failed to be signed into law during the 2024 session, four years after the commission was created with significant fanfare.