By Bob Egelko | San Francisco Chronicle
State lawmakers are about to consider legislation to speed up government agencies’ handling of African Americans’ applications for occupational licenses in California, among a package of measures related to reparations for descendants of slaves.
A conservative group warns that the bill and others would be challenged in courts that have struck down race-based affirmative action. Its opposition suggests that while none of the bills proposes direct financial payments, they’ll still likely face a tough road both politically and legally.
In hopes of warding off lawsuits, some of the legislation has been drafted to apply only to direct descendants of enslaved Americans, or of free Blacks who lived in the United States before 1900.
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