The Bill Headed to Newsom’s Desk That Could Force Corporations to Confess Their Slavery Ties

For generations, the names of companies that profited from slavery have largely remained buried in old records, archives and history books. California lawmakers now want some of those companies to put that history on the record.

California lawmakers have passed legislation that would require certain large companies doing business in the state to disclose whether they or their predecessors profited from slavery-era transactions. If the measure becomes law, California would be the first state to impose such a requirement on major corporations.

The bill, known as the Truth in Disclosure Act, would apply to companies with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts that were in existence, or have predecessors that were in existence, before 1965.

Under the legislation, companies would have to search their records for evidence that they or related entities bought or sold enslaved people, used enslaved people as collateral, provided loans to purchase enslaved people, insured enslaved people or slavery-related transactions, or otherwise helped facilitate slavery.

RELATED: Famous Civil Rights Group Push For Reparations in New York

And they would not simply be asked to check a box.

Companies would have to submit affidavits under penalty of perjury detailing what they find. The disclosures could include the names of enslaved people and slaveholders, evidence of financial transactions and other records documenting a company’s connection to slavery.

According to the bill, California would then create a public database containing the disclosures and supporting records. The information would be available to the public indefinitely, creating a searchable record of corporate involvement in slavery.

The bill also raises questions about how far corporate accountability should extend and whether documenting slavery-era wealth is ultimately a first step toward reparations. The effort is part of California’s broader effort to confront the legacy of slavery and examine reparations for Black Californians.

But there is an important distinction: The bill does not require companies to pay reparations.

Instead, it focuses on forcing corporations to investigate and publicly acknowledge their historical connections to slavery.

For Black Americans, the wealth generated through slavery did not simply disappear when emancipation ended the institution. Financial institutions, insurance companies, railroads and other businesses were among the industries that benefited from an economy built on enslaved labor.

The legislation would give the public a clearer picture of which companies were connected to that system and how those relationships operated.

It also raises a larger question about corporate accountability. If a company discovers that its predecessor profited from enslaved labor more than 150 years ago, what responsibility, if any, does that company have today?

That question becomes particularly relevant as California continues debating reparations and other policies aimed at addressing the lasting economic effects of slavery and discrimination.

For now, lawmakers are focused on the first step: finding the records. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill. If he does neither, it becomes law without his signature.

The bill would effectively ask some of the country’s largest companies to open their historical books and confront a part of American history that has often remained outside the corporate story. But once those records are public, the harder conversation may begin.