A high-stakes proposal at the California Capitol would force major corporations that operate in the state to dig through their own history and, under penalty of perjury, reveal any ties to chattel slavery. That includes whether predecessor companies insured, bought, sold or otherwise profited from enslaved people. Backers say the plan would finally put hard numbers and names behind historic corporate gains. Business groups say it is redundant, expensive and likely to turn into a paperwork nightmare.
What AB 2599 Would Require
Assembly Bill 2599, known as the Truth in Disclosure Act, targets companies with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts that do business in California. Those firms would have to file sworn affidavits confirming they searched their own records and those of related entities for any role in slavery, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The required review would reach back to 1849 and cover documents showing names, transaction records and copies of policies, ledgers or any other materials tied to purchases, sales, loans, insurance or similar transactions involving enslaved people.
Deadlines and public database
Companies operating in California as of January 1, 2027, would have until July 1, 2027, to submit their affidavits. Businesses that begin operating in the state after that date would have 60 days to comply. The bill instructs a state department to gather those filings and stand up a searchable, public digital database by January 3, 2028. It also authorizes the attorney general to seek injunctive relief against companies that do not comply, according to California Legislative Information.
Who Must Report
The disclosure rules would apply not only to companies headquartered in California but also to their predecessors and subsidiaries, which means sprawling corporate families may need to sift through generations of archives. Affidavits must include a statement that the company exercised due diligence in its search, and they must be updated if new reportable information turns up later, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Industry pushback
Insurance trade groups and other business associations are lining up against the bill, arguing it overlaps with existing disclosure rules and would saddle companies with steep compliance costs. The Sacramento Bee reports that the American Council of Life Insurers and several state and national insurance groups oppose AB 2599. Christian Rataj told the paper the proposal would only avoid needless duplicative reporting.
Legal and historical context
California has already tested a narrower version of this idea. A 2000 state law required insurers to search for and disclose slavery-era insurance policies, and the California Department of Insurance now maintains a Slavery Era Insurance Registry that includes policy documents, the names of slaveholders and enslaved people, and related records. Supporters of AB 2599 say the new bill would move that work beyond the insurance sector so descendants, researchers and the broader public can use a single, searchable trove of information. Opponents counter that the wider scope could spur lawsuits and force companies into expensive archival projects, according to the California Department of Insurance.
What comes next
AB 2599 has already had committee hearings and now faces the Legislature's crowded summer schedule. Under legislative rules, it must clear both chambers by early September to land on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. Sponsors are pitching it as a transparency measure that fits alongside the findings of California's Reparations Task Force. Its fate, though, will come down to floor votes and whether lawmakers decide to keep, scale back or kill the reporting mandates in the face of industry resistance, according to KQED.
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