ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In a special legislative session on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Gov. Wes Moore’s [D] veto of Senate Bill 587 to establish the Maryland Reparations Commission, a body charged with studying the legacy of slavery and recommending reparative measures for those potentially affected by historical inequality.
The commission will examine federal, state and local policies from the post-Reconstruction era through the Jim Crow period that may have contributed to entrenched racial disparities in areas like housing, education and employment. It mandates a preliminary report by Jan. 1, 2027, and a final set of recommendations by Nov. 1, 2027. Possible reparations options under consideration include formal apologies and monetary compensation such as debt forgiveness, property tax rebates, tuition waivers and other social supports.
Moore vetoed the bill in May 2025, arguing that additional study was unnecessary and that the state should instead focus on direct policy interventions to narrow racial disparities. After the legislature’s override, Moore said he disagreed with lawmakers’ approach but expressed willingness to work collaboratively on “the work of repair” for Black Marylanders.
During initial debates over the bill, Del. Matt Morgan [R-St. Mary’s County] expressed concern over potential favoritism of one race over others, suggesting that the commission would essentially enact an inequitable reparations tax. Morgan also argued that the bill invited “race-bait handouts” and could prompt Maryland residents to vacate the state in the fiscal and social aftermath. Many of Morgan’s colleagues echoed his sentiments and noted the potential for redundancy in the work of the commission as well as potentially divisive outcomes.
Supporters of the commission, including members of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, hailed the override as a historic step toward meaningful racial justice, declaring the structured study essential to developing viable and constitutionally sound reparations proposals. These advocates suggested that reparations are not only a moral imperative but also a significant step to closing historical racial wealth gaps.
According to the General Assembly’s Department of Legislative Services, the commission’s proposed activities for the specified period will add a negligible expenditure increase for contractual staff and are “not anticipated to materially affect local government operations or finances” or to affect small businesses.
The creation of the Maryland Reparations Commission places the state among a small but growing number of jurisdictions across the United States exploring reparations as a public policy option.
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It is not just a black says, racial against it’s a hispanics and Asians and everybody else.So why is it just for the blacks?And not everybody else that is being racist against. I don’t\n Know how many times I have gone and tried to do stuff, and I’ve been turned down because they say, I’m white, I’m not white, I’m Hispanic, and I can prove my background\n I have gone for IRS forgiveness for my taxes and still get turned down because they say, I’m white, I’m not white, I am Hispanic.
Don’t worry they will have to answer to God very soon! They speww hate against everyone else including white people. And they will be held accountable.
Sounds like Wes Moore is boot licking to get re-elected and the MD Legislature is doing the right thing.
Another ‘Something for Nothing’ scheme by politicians. Nobody in Maryland today was a slave, nor a slave owner, so why try to spend today’s Maryland tax payers money for something they had no part in?
Exactly!
Im certain every working taxpayer in MD will gladly accept the additional tax, this committee will recommend to help “ …to closing historical racial wealth gaps.”
Wrong!
This is BS! No one alive right now was involved with anything back then. And the people you want to give it to can’t even trace their heritage back to anyone affected by that. And I find it appalling that every race in the entire world has been a slave to another race at one point in history, but they are the only ones who whine about everything and can’t move forward! They already have rights that no other race has in the United States, like their own month, they are 5 times more likely to get hired then someone who is a little better qualified, all this does is feed the hate “racism” they have against everyone else! It’s wrong and you will have to answer to God one day for your hate.
This won’t end anything it will make it worse they whine about everything and you idiots keep fueling their hate by giving them everything they want! They already have more rights and privileges than anyone else in the United States! You will have to answer to God for all your hate.
My ancestors were not in this country during slavery times. If this happens, I’m leaving Maryland. I was born and raised here.
The Japanese got reparations. So did other groups.
The ACTUAL people that had those things happen to them got reparations. Not My great aunts, cousins, from 4 generations back.
Perhaps they should try getting reparations from the tribal chiefs in Africa, that caught and sold their own people into slavery, first!
Better yet, the new ‘Commission’ should travel straight to Nigeria and attend church on each Sunday that they are there and shout “Praise the Lord” at the top of their lungs.