S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5624--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 21, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, ALCANTARA, PARKER -- read twice and ordered
   printed,  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
   -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and
   inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and  the  state  of  New
   York; to establish the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Am-
   ericans and to Recommend Remedies, to examine the institution of slav-
   ery,  subsequently  de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi-
   nation against African-Americans, and the impact of  these  forces  on
   living  African-Americans  and  to make recommendations on appropriate
   remedies; making an appropriation  therefor;  and  providing  for  the
   repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "Repara-
 tions  commission  on  slavery  in  New York state; a study and call for
 remedies act".
   § 2. Legislative intent.  Contrary to what many people believe,  slav-
 ery  was  not  just  a southern institution. Prior to the American Revo-
 lution, there were more enslaved Africans in New York City than  in  any
 other city except Charleston, South Carolina. During this period, slaves
 accounted for 20% of the population of New York and approximately 40% of
 colonial  New York's households owned slaves. These slaves were an inte-
 gral part of the population which settled and developed what we now know
 as the state of New York.
   The first slaves arrived in New Amsterdam, a Dutch  settlement  estab-
 lished  at  the  southern  tip  of  Manhattan Island, around 1627. These
 enslaved Africans did not belong to  individuals,  but  worked  for  the
 Dutch  West  India Company. The Dutch East India Company had established
 Fort Amsterdam, a fortification located  on  the  southern  tip  of  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD09600-04-7

 S. 5624--A                          2
 
 island  of  Manhattan,  for  the  purpose of defending the company's fur
 trade operations in the North River, now known as the Hudson  River.  In
 1624,  New Amsterdam became a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic
 and it was designated the capital of the province in 1625.
   These first enslaved Africans cleared forests, prepared land for agri-
 culture  and  built  an  infrastructure of roads, buildings and walls of
 timber and earthwork, including the wall  that  gives  Wall  Street  its
 name.  During  the following years, more and more enslaved Africans were
 brought to the New World for the purpose of expanding the settlement.
   New Amsterdam came under English control in 1664 and was  renamed  New
 York  in  honor  of the then Duke of York, in whose name the English had
 captured it. Three years later, the Dutch gave up  their  claim  to  the
 town  and  the  rest  of  the colony, in exchange for control of certain
 trade routes and areas.
   The change of control of the city did not deter  slavery;  it  was  an
 enormously profitable enterprise and it continued under the English. New
 York  businesses  engaged  directly  in  slave  trade  and  also  in the
 production of supplies used in the slave trade.    They  supplied  food,
 tools  and  grain  to slave plantations in North America and in the West
 Indies.  Slave labor built and maintained ships used for  trade  between
 North  America,  Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Slaves produced goods
 for sale and worked in private homes.  Even  newspapers  benefited  from
 slavery:    advertisements of slaves for purchase were a major source of
 revenue for the papers during the eighteenth century.
   Life was repressive for slaves in New York. The New York  City  Common
 Council  passed  a number of restrictive laws designed at curtailing the
 rights and freedoms of slaves.  Slaves were barred from  owning  signif-
 icant property and from bequeathing what they did own to their children.
 The  number  of  people of African descent who could gather in one place
 was limited. Restrictions on movement included requiring slaves to carry
 lanterns after dark and to remain in certain geographic areas.
   Penalties for breaking these and other  laws  were  severe.  Beatings,
 mutilations and executions were common.
   Enslaved Africans refused to submit to the slave existence. The condi-
 tions  of their lives gave rise to rebellions and the development in the
 city of a network of the Underground Railroad.
   Not all citizens of New York agreed with slavery.  A  powerful  aboli-
 tionist  movement  developed, but the end of slavery in New York did not
 come easily or quickly. Those who profited from the slave economy fought
 to maintain the system.
   In 1799 the New York state legislature passed "An Act for the  Gradual
 Abolition  of  Slavery". This legislation was a first step in the direc-
 tion of emancipation, but did not have an immediate effect or affect all
 slaves. Rather, it provided for gradual manumission. All  children  born
 to  slave  women after July 4, 1799 would be freed, but only after their
 most productive years: age 28 for men  and  age  25  for  women.  Slaves
 already  in  servitude  before July 4, 1799 were reclassified as "inden-
 tured servants", but in reality, remained slaves  for  the  duration  of
 their lives.
   In  1817,  the  Legislature enacted a statute that gave freedom to New
 York slaves who had been born before July 4, 1799. This statute did  not
 become effective until July 4, 1827, however.
   Despite  these laws, there were exceptions under which certain persons
 could still own slaves. Non-residents could enter New York  with  slaves
 for  up  to nine months, and allowing part-time residents to bring their
 slaves into the state temporarily. The  nine-months  exception  remained

 S. 5624--A                          3
 
 law  until  its repeal in 1841, when the North was re-defining itself as
 the "free" region in advance of the civil war.
   In  1991,  a huge African burial ground was discovered in the heart of
 New York's financial district during construction of a  skyscraper.  The
 excavations  that  followed  the termination of the construction project
 yielded the skeletal remains of 419 Africans, many of  whom  were  women
 and children.
   The  slavery  that  flourished  in  the  New York state constituted an
 immoral and inhumane deprivation of  Africans'  life,  liberty,  African
 citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of
 their  own  labor. Sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects
 of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in
 New York.
   § 3. Establishment, purpose and duties of the commission.   a.  Estab-
 lishment.  There  is  hereby established the Commission to Study Repara-
 tions for  African-Americans  and  to  Recommend  Remedies  (hereinafter
 referred to as the "commission").
   b. Duties. The commission shall perform the following duties:
   (1)  Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the state
 of New York and in the city of New York.  The  commission's  examination
 shall include an examination of:
   (A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
   (B)  the  transport  of Africans to the United States and the colonies
 that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement,  including
 their treatment during transport;
   (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in inter-
 state and intrastate commerce; and
   (D)  the  treatment  of African slaves in the city of New York and the
 state of New York, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploita-
 tion of their labor, and destruction of their culture,  language,  reli-
 gion, and families.
   (2)  Examine  the extent to which the federal and state governments of
 the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional
 and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments
 prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of  freed  African  slaves  to
 repatriate to their homeland.
   (3)  Examine  federal  and state laws that discriminated against freed
 African slaves and their descendants during the period between  the  end
 of the Civil War and the present.
   (4)  Examine  other  forms of discrimination in the public and private
 sectors against freed African slaves and their  descendants  during  the
 period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
   (5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slav-
 ery  and  the  matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
 this subdivision on living  African-Americans  and  on  society  in  the
 United States.
   (6)  Recommend  appropriate ways to educate the American public of the
 commission's findings.
   (7) Recommend appropriate remedies in  consideration  of  the  commis-
 sion's  findings  on  the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
 and (4) of this subdivision. In making such recommendations, the commis-
 sion shall address among other issues, the following questions:
   (A) whether the New York state legislature should offer a formal apol-
 ogy on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of
 gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants;

 S. 5624--A                          4

   (B) whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering  effects
 of  the  matters  described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this
 subdivision;
   (C)  whether,  in consideration of the commission's findings, any form
 of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted; and
   (D) if the commission finds that such compensation is warranted,  what
 should  be  the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should
 be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
   c. Report to the legislature. The commission shall  submit  a  written
 report of its findings and recommendations to the temporary president of
 the  senate,  the  speaker  of the assembly, the minority leaders of the
 senate and the assembly and the governor not later than the  date  which
 is  one  year after the date of the first meeting of the commission held
 pursuant to subdivision c of section four of this act.
   § 4. Membership. a. The commission shall be composed of eleven members
 who shall be appointed within 90 days after the effective date  of  this
 act, as follows:
   (1) one member shall be appointed by the governor;
   (2) one member shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
   (3)  one  member  shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
 senate;
   (4) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assem-
 bly;
   (5) one member shall be  appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the
 senate;
   (6) two members shall be appointed by the National Coalition of Blacks
 for Reparations in America (N.C.O.B.R.A.);
   (7) two members shall be appointed by the December 12th Movement; and
   (8) two members shall be appointed by Dr. Ron Daniels of the Institute
 of the Black World.
   b.  All  members of the commission shall be persons who are especially
 qualified to serve on the  commission  by  virtue  of  their  education,
 training,  or  experience, particularly in the field of African-American
 studies.
   c. First meeting. The chair  shall  call  the  first  meeting  of  the
 commission within 120 days after the effective date of this act or with-
 in  30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appro-
 priations to carry out this act, whichever date is later.
   d. Quorum. Eight members of the commission shall constitute a  quorum,
 but a lesser number may hold hearings.
   e.  Chair  and vice chair. The commission shall elect a Chair and Vice
 Chair from among its members. The term of office for each shall  be  for
 one year.
   f.  Compensation.  The  members  of  the  commission  shall receive no
 compensation for their services as members, but shall be reimbursed  for
 their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
 duties.
   §  5. Powers of the commission.  a. Hearings and sessions. The commis-
 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions  of  this  act,
 hold  such  hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in
 the United States, and request the  attendance  and  testimony  of  such
 witnesses  and  the  production  of such books, records, correspondence,
 memoranda, papers, and documents, as the commission considers  appropri-
 ate.

 S. 5624--A                          5
 
   b.  Powers of subcommittees and members. Any subcommittee or member of
 the commission may, if authorized by the  commission,  take  any  action
 which the commission is authorized to take by this section.
   c.  Obtaining  official data. The commission may acquire directly from
 the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the  executive
 branch  of  the  government,  available information which the commission
 considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments,  agen-
 cies,  and  instrumentalities  of the executive branch of the government
 shall cooperate with the commission with respect to such information and
 shall furnish all information requested by the commission to the  extent
 permitted by law.
   §  6.  Administrative  provisions.    a.  Experts and consultants. The
 commission may procure through a competitive  process  the  services  of
 experts and consultants.
   b.  Administrative  support  services.  The  commission may enter into
 agreements with the commissioner of general services for procurement  of
 financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the
 duties  of  the  commission.  Payment for such services shall be made by
 reimbursement from funds of the commission in such  amounts  as  may  be
 agreed  upon  by  the  chair  of  the commission and the commissioner of
 general services.
   c. Contracts. The commission may:
   (1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance
 with applicable laws and regulations  and  to  the  extent  or  in  such
 amounts as are provided in appropriations acts; and
   (2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumental-
 ities  of  the  federal  government,  state agencies, and private firms,
 institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys,  the
 preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge
 of the duties of the commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are
 provided in appropriations acts.
   §  7.  Termination.  The  commission shall terminate 90 days after the
 date on which the commission submits its report to the temporary  presi-
 dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of
 the  senate and the assembly and the governor as provided in subdivision
 c of section three of this act.
   § 8. The performance of the commission's duties, purposes  and  objec-
 tives  shall  be executed within amounts made available by appropriation
 therefor.
   § 9. The sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000),  or  so
 much  thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Commis-
 sion to Study Reparations for African-Americans and to  Recommend  Reme-
 dies  from  any  moneys  in  the state treasury in the general fund, not
 otherwise appropriated, for the purposes of carrying out the  provisions
 of  this  act. Such sum shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the
 state chair of the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Americans
 and to Recommend Remedies, or his or her duly designated  representative
 in the manner provided by law.
   §  10.  This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
 deemed repealed 30 days after the Commission to  Study  Reparations  for
 African-Americans  and  to  Recommend Remedies submits its report to the
 temporary president of the senate, the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  the
 minority  leaders  of  the  senate  and the assembly and the governor as
 provided in subdivision c of section three of this act;  provided  that,
 the  chair  of the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Americans
 and to Recommend Remedies shall notify  the  legislative  bill  drafting

 S. 5624--A                          6
 
 commission  upon the submission of its report as provided in subdivision
 c of section three of this act in order that the commission may maintain
 an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text  of  the
 laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effecting the provisions
 of  section  44  of  the  legislative law and section 70-b of the public
 officers law.