Legislation that may acceptable $300 million “to implement a program of reparations for damages to persons and property” in Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre has been filed for the session that begins Feb. 6.
House Bill 1627, by Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, is just like measures she filed in 2019 and 2022 and amongst a number of she is launching this yr in opposition to the headwinds of a conservative Republican majority.
Issues addressed by these payments handle policing reform, particularly because it relates to make use of of drive; election regulation reform; the underutilized race bloodbath scholarship fund; and psychological well being entry for the poor.
“We need those bills,” Goodwin mentioned. “They would help Oklahoma to be a more just state.”
Persuading the big Republican majority to associate with her proposals, particularly the reparations fund and a few of the policing reform measures, appears a tall order, however Goodwin takes a reasonably direct method.
People are additionally studying…
“On any given day, folks can wake up and decide to do the right thing,” she mentioned.
HB 1627’s language predates the pending lawsuit on behalf of surviving race bloodbath survivors, however Goodwin believes Tulsa County District Judge Caroline Wall’s choice final yr in opposition to a movement to dismiss the case offers new impetus to the decision for legislative motion on reparations.
“It’s not like we don’t have the money,” Goodwin mentioned, referring to the state’s document reserves. She identified that lawmakers and the governor have been able to spend virtually $700 million to lure a Panasonic digital car battery plant that went elsewhere.
Goodwin
“When you look at the $300 million (in HB 1627), we’re not saying that’s all that’s owed. It’s the state trying to do its share,” Goodwin mentioned.
Her different laws consists of HB 1632, which might strip police and hearth unions of the appropriate to barter self-discipline points via collective bargaining. The challenge got here up three years in the past when Mayor G.T. Bynum’s try to create an independent monitor of the Tulsa Police Department was blocked by town’s contract with the Fraternal Order of Police.
Other payments would permit plaintiffs to sue regulation officers concerned in wrongful deaths for as much as $25,000, impartial of any damages assessed in opposition to regulation enforcement businesses or state or native governments, and would require annual experiences on use of drive within the state.
Goodwin’s HB 1997 would set up a pilot program for 24-hour psychological well being services “to provide immediate support for individuals with symptoms of mental health illness and to avoid psychiatric hospitalization.”
HB 1628 is the newest try at reforming Oklahoma’s Landlord-Tenant Act, which housing advocates say is heavy on the “landlord” and presents little or no for tenants. HB 1628 would outlaw retaliation in opposition to a tenant for complaining or reporting issues to authorities.
HB 1629 would make clear that the voting rights of pardoned felons are restored instantly, and HB 1999 would supply for the “curing” of mail-in absentee poll technical errors.
May 2021 video: Rep. Regina Goodwin testifies before Congress on Tulsa Race Massacre
Video from May 19, 2021 by way of C-SPAN. “To know that the incident that set off the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was basically a lie. And it was a lie that took lives.”
submit credit score to Source link