HF 5456

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 05/06/2024 11:14am

A bill for an act
relating to state government; establishing the Minnesota Migration Act;
appropriating money to study reparations for American descendants of chattel
slavery; providing appointments; requiring reports.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin MINNESOTA MIGRATION ACT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Findings. new text end

new text begin The legislature finds that:
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new text begin (1) beginning in 1619 and continuing through 1863, slavery enriched American industries
and commercial and financial institutions and transformed the newly established United
States into an international economic power through the oppressive, dehumanizing, and
tortuous system of enslaved Black labor;
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new text begin (2) slave owners invested heavily in the territory that is now known as the state of
Minnesota and after slavery ended in the United States, the slave owners were compensated
for the loss of their slaves. Those persons who were held in bondage were never compensated
for their labor, despite the promise of "40 acres and a mule";
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new text begin (3) although slavery was illegal in Minnesota, Dred Scott and Harriet Scott were held
in military bondage at Fort Snelling, along with other African Americans who were used
for enslaved labor by United States Army agents. This was in violation of the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise of 1820;
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new text begin (4) in the aftermath of slavery, African American citizens of this country continued to
face brutal discrimination as evidenced by Jim Crow laws, such as forced segregation, mass
atrocities in Tulsa and Rosewood, the lynching period in history, and, to this day, mass
incarceration;
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new text begin (5) in Minnesota, systemic discrimination was perpetrated through redlining and racial
covenants; diminished access to housing; environmental injustice; and removal of St. Paul's
Rondo neighborhood, which was the center of American descendants of chattel slavery
business, residential, spiritual, and cultural life, for the construction of I-94 and other
interstate systems that harmed Black communities in Minnesota;
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new text begin (6) structural institutionalized racism in Minnesota and all of American society has led
to overwhelming Black-white disparities in housing, business investment, economic
prosperity, health and wellness, life expectancy, and infant mortality;
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new text begin (7) according to the November 2020 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine,
reparations are considered the most effective means of breaking down the societal structure
related to power, money, and access to resources and may be the only solution that can be
applied intergenerationally that would be an investment in the future and in reducing
disparities;
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new text begin (8) local and state governments throughout the United States have demonstrated a
commitment to addressing disparities by creating programs to generate public and private
sources of funding, including dedicating tax revenues from enterprises that have historically
profited from targeting African American consumers and other forms of discrimination that
have fueled Black-white disparities; and
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new text begin (9) the tragic murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has stirred a local,
national, and international reckoning of the immorality of the racial hierarchy that exists
under our democratic institutions and defies the founding values of this nation "that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Acknowledgment and apology. new text end

new text begin The state must issue an apology for the past
occurrence of chattel slavery and notable slave owners in Minnesota. Minnesota
acknowledges and issues an official apology:
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new text begin (1) for holding Dred and Harriet Scott in military slavery at Fort Snelling;
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new text begin (2) to the families of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie for the lynching
that took place in 1920 in Duluth. The state must issue an antilynching proclamation and
enact antilynching legislation;
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new text begin (3) to the Rondo neighborhood and other Black communities for constructing the I-94
freeway and other highways in Black communities in Minnesota;
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new text begin (4) to the families of George Floyd, Philando Castile, Hardel Sherrell, and Jamar Clark.
The state must implement remedies to reform law enforcement in the state;
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new text begin (5) for allowing racial housing covenants in deeds in the state. The state must commit
to working to create generational wealth for the American descendants of chattel slavery;
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new text begin (6) for having the word "slavery" removed from the Minnesota state constitution; and
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new text begin (7) for the systemic racism in the state and the impact slavery has had on descendants
of chattel slavery in this state. The state must commit to ending systemic racism in the state
that prevents upward mobility of Minnesota's Black residents.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin MINNESOTA MIGRATION ACT ADVISORY COUNCIL; CREATION;
DUTIES; REPORTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Advisory council established. new text end

new text begin The Minnesota Migration Act Advisory
Council is established to analyze the past economic benefits of slavery and institutional
racism that accrued to owners and businesses that received those benefits and to identify
and document the money received from the dehumanizing activity of slavery by identifying
the public and private institutions that benefited from anti-Black practices. The focus of the
advisory council is to develop criteria to determine how to compensate persons and address
systems harmed by these anti-Black practices. Nothing in this section is a substitution for
the need for reparations to the descendants of slaves from the federal government. The
advisory council must, among other issues, address the following:
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new text begin (1) review international standards of remedy for wrongs and injuries caused by the state,
including full reparations and special measures, as understood by various relevant
international protocols, laws, and findings;
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new text begin (2) provide input to the state on how to issue a formal apology on behalf of the people
of Minnesota for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against
humanity on enslaved African and American descendants of chattel slavery;
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new text begin (3) review which laws and policies that continue to disproportionately and negatively
affect African Americans as a group and perpetuate the lingering material and psychosocial
effects of slavery can be eliminated;
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new text begin (4) review and study how the injuries resulting from matters described in this subdivision
can be reversed and how to provide appropriate policies, programs, projects, and
recommendations for the purpose of reversing the injuries;
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new text begin (5) determine what form of compensation to African Americans who are descendants
of persons enslaved in the United States can be achieved;
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new text begin (6) determine what form of compensation should be awarded, through what
instrumentalities, and who should be eligible for the compensation; and
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new text begin (7) determine if any other forms of rehabilitation or restitution are appropriate to remedy
issues identified by the advisory council.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Membership. new text end

new text begin (a) The advisory council consists of the following 19 voting
members, appointed by the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage in consultation
with the governor, except as otherwise specified, and six nonvoting members. All members
must be chosen with an emphasis on appointing members who are American descendants
of chattel slavery with lived experience of racial discrimination and who were impacted by
policies that have caused intergenerational trauma. The advisory council must include:
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new text begin (1) two members of the house of representatives, one from the majority party appointed
by the speaker of the house and one from the minority party appointed by the minority
leader;
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new text begin (2) two members of the senate, one from the majority party appointed by the senate
majority leader and one from the minority party appointed by the senate minority leader;
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new text begin (3) two members who are educators or who have worked in the education system;
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new text begin (4) two members who are leaders in the business and labor community;
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new text begin (5) two members who are community activists engaged in solving issues caused by racial
disparities;
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new text begin (6) two members who are leaders in the faith community;
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new text begin (7) two members who are professionals in or have worked in the health care industry;
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new text begin (8) three members who are historians, economists, legal analysts, or policy experts who
have expertise in issues the advisory council is studying;
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new text begin (9) two youth members; and
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new text begin (10) the commissioners of housing finance, health, human services, human rights,
employment and economic development, and education, or their designees, who are ex
officio nonvoting members of the council.
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new text begin (b) The advisory council is governed by Minnesota Statutes, section 15.059, and expires
five years after the effective date of this section.
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new text begin (c) The chair must convene the council at least monthly.
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new text begin (d) The Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage must provide staff and
administrative services for the advisory council.
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new text begin (e) The advisory council is subject to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 13D.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Goals and outcomes; report. new text end

new text begin The advisory council must establish goals related
to addressing the directives in subdivision 1, determine a baseline against which progress
is to be monitored, and set measurable outcomes. The advisory council must use existing
measures and data collection systems to determine baseline data against which progress is
to be measured. The advisory council must include the proposed goals and measurable
outcomes to meet the goals in its initial report to the legislature due March 31, 2025.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Conflict of interest. new text end

new text begin Advisory council members must disclose to the council,
refrain from participating in discussions, and recuse themselves from voting on any matter
before the advisor council if the member has a conflict of interest. "Conflict of interest"
means a financial association that has the potential to bias or have the appearance of biasing
an advisory council member's decision related to activities under this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Reports. new text end

new text begin The advisory council must report annually to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health, human services
policy and finance, education, employment and economic development, and housing finance
and policy by March 31 of each year, beginning March 31, 2025. The report must include
any study results and policy recommendations and must describe the goals established and
any activities implemented, along with measurable outcomes.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin APPROPRIATION; MINNESOTA MIGRATION ACT ADVISORY
COUNCIL.
new text end

new text begin $500,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the workforce development fund to
the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage for the Minnesota Migration Act Advisory
Council to complete the work in this act related to the effects of systemic racism on Black
Minnesotans who are descendants of persons who were treated as chattel slaves in this state.
A portion of this funding may be used to hire additional staff to support the administration
and operation of the Minnesota Migration Act Advisory Council.
new text end