The Reparations Task Force of California has sparked outrage with its recent proposals that have surfaced regarding black citizens of the state. These proposals suggest that black residents are not held responsible for child support debt and that enforcement of public urination laws should cease. The report released by the task force alleges that “discriminatory laws” have led to an increase in the number of children born to unwed black mothers. This has resulted in a higher level of black fathers who owe child support.
The proposal outlines that the state’s 10% interest applied to back child support debt is causing problems for black fathers to pursue their education while trying to keep up with payments. For this reason, the task force has called for the interest on child support payments to be waived and for the back child support debt to be wiped out for those who happen to be black.
This report suggests that the enforcement of public urination laws, as well as any other “public nuisance” offenses, is considered as “criminalizing poverty.” The task force found that this type of enforcement was raising the risk of violence and that the police as the first point of contact was putting black citizens in danger.
The task force recommends a “public health” approach instead of one rooted in law enforcement. The group said, “This disconnect often results in the use of excessive and sometimes fatal force that falls disproportionately on Black individuals. Given the devastating impacts of this kind of over-policing, the Task Force recommends that the Legislature prohibit law enforcement from criminally enforcing public disorder infractions and other low-level crimes.”
Many have criticized these proposed policies, saying that they send a message of leniency and lack of accountability to black citizens. Moreover, eliminating interest payments on child support debt based on race has sparked outrage, with many saying that it will encourage people not to pay their child support and further damage the children involved.
Critics argue that public urination laws exist to maintain hygiene and cleanliness in public spaces and that the proposal to ban their enforcement is unwise. They say that the task force’s recommendations only harm communities and ruin public spaces. Thus, California’s government must prevent these alarming proposals from passing and stop the Reparations Task Force of California from imposing such policies that will only damage their communities
