Bill Text: MI HB6111 | 2025-2026 | 103rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Civil rights: other; American Freedmen reparations commission; establish. Creates new act.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-23 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 06/18/2026 [HB6111 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2025-HB6111-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 6111
A bill to create the American Freedmen reparations commission and prescribe its powers and duties; and to provide for the powers and duties of certain state officers and entities.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "American Freedmen reparations commission act".
(a) "American Freedmen" means individuals who meet all of the following conditions:
(i) Have at least 1 ancestor who was an enslaved individual.
(ii) Have been denied rights as a result of Dred Scott v Sanford, 60 US 393 (1856), which ruled that enslaved individuals were not citizens of the United States of America and could not expect any protections by the United States Supreme Court.
(b) "Commission" means the American Freedmen reparations commission created under section 5.
(c) "Enslaved individual" means an individual who was enslaved in the United States of America and emancipated by the Emancipation Proclamation, Amendment XIII of the Constitution of the United States, or another form of manumission.
(d) "Freedmen's bureau" means the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands established in 1865 to aid formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants.
(e) "Reparations" means any tangible benefits or remuneration for the purpose of repaying the debt of unpaid labor from slavery and repairing the effects of slavery. Reparations includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(i) Monetary remuneration.
(ii) Programs and policies that eliminate the racial wealth gap and achieve equality for American Freedmen.
(iii) Creation of an educational system of state institutions of higher education for American Freedmen that is similar to institutions created under the Morrill Act of 1862, 7 USC 301 to 308, the agricultural college act of 1890, chapter 841 of 26 Stat 417, and the equity in educational land-grant status act of 1994, PL 103-382.
Sec. 5. (1) The American Freedmen reparations commission is created in the department of treasury.
(2) The commission must have 9 members, of which not more than 4 members may be members of the legislature. The commission must consist of the following members:
(a) Five members appointed by the governor that meet the following conditions:
(i) One member who works in academia and has expertise in civil rights and freedmen bureau history and policies.
(ii) Two members who work for grassroots reparations organizations that have a mission of reparatory justice for American Freedmen.
(iii) Two members who are experts in constitutional law.
(b) Two members appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate.
(c) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(3) The members of the commission must be appointed not more than 90 days after the effective date of this act.
(4) The term of office of each member is for the life of the commission.
(5) If a vacancy occurs on the commission, the governor, president pro tempore, or speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy for the balance of the term, depending on which member created the vacancy.
(6) The governor may remove a member of the commission for incompetence, dereliction of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, or any other good cause.
(7) Not later than 30 days after the members are appointed, the governor shall call the first meeting of the commission. At the first meeting, the commission shall elect a member as a chairperson, a member as a vice chairperson, and may elect other officers that it considers necessary or appropriate. The commission shall meet not less than 1 time each month or more frequently at the call of the chairperson or at the request of 5 or more members.
(8) Five of the members of the commission constitute a quorum for transacting business. A vote in favor by 5 of the members of the commission serving is required for any action of the commission.
(9) The commission shall conduct its business in compliance with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.
(10) A writing that is prepared, owned, used, possessed, or retained by the commission in performing an official function is subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(11) A member of the commission who is not a member of the legislature is entitled to per diem compensation for service on the commission and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in serving as established by the legislature. Only for attendance at a commission meeting that occurs during adjournment of the legislature is a member of the commission that is a member of the legislature entitled to per diem compensation for service on the commission and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in serving as established by the legislature.
Sec. 7. The department of civil rights shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide administrative services to the commission, including, but not limited to, secretarial and other staff necessary for the commission to exercise the commission's powers and duties under this act.
(b) Provide office space for the commission.
(c) Make available the times and places of commission meetings in accordance with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.
(d) Keep minutes and a record of the actions of the commission's meetings.
Sec. 9. The commission shall do all of the following to study and develop reparations proposals that provide reparations to American Freedmen:
(a) Identify, compile, and synthesize relevant written evidentiary documentation of slavery in this state. The documentation must include, but not be limited to, information on all of the following topics:
(i) The capture and procurement of Africans.
(ii) The transport of Africans to the United States and this state for the purpose of enslavement, including the treatment of Africans during transport.
(iii) The sale and acquisition of enslaved individuals as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce.
(iv) The treatment of enslaved individuals in the colonies and the United States, including, but not limited to, the deprivation of freedom, exploitation of labor, and destruction of culture, language, religion, and families.
(v) The extensive sexual abuse, chattelization of individuals, and denial of humanity, as it relates to enslaved individuals in the colonies and the United States.
(vi) Laws that discriminate against formerly enslaved individuals who were deemed citizens of the United States on and after July 9, 1868 and American Freedmen.
(vii) Forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors of formerly enslaved individuals and descendants of formerly enslaved individuals that occurred on and after 1868, including, but not limited to, denials of housing loans, redlining, and educational funding discrepancies as compared to funding offered to white citizens through the servicemen's readjustment act of 1944, 58 Stat 284.
(viii) The negative effects of the institution of slavery and the discrimination described in subparagraphs (vi) and (vii) on American Freedmen.
(b) Recommend and support that data related to American Freedmen in all state-collected data be disaggregated to identify and track parity efforts in this state.
(c) Not later than 18 months after the date of the commission's first meeting, submit a report of the commission's findings and recommendations to the legislature. The report must include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(i) Recommendations on appropriate remedies, including, but not limited to, reparations and special measures as those terms are understood by international protocols, laws, and findings, in consideration of the commission's findings and how the remedies comport with international standards for wrongs and injuries caused by a state.
(ii) If the commission determines that monetary compensation is an appropriate remedy under subparagraph (i), the form of monetary compensation that the commission believes should be awarded to American Freedmen and the manner in which the compensation should be awarded, including how the form of compensation is calculated.
(iii) Recommendations on appropriate ways to educate the public about the commission's findings.
(iv) Recommendations on how injuries that result from the effects of slavery may be remedied and how this state may provide appropriate policies, programs, projects, and recommendations to remedy the injuries.
(v) Recommendations on how this state will offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of this state for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity of enslaved individuals and descendants of enslaved individuals.
(vi) Findings on whether laws and policies of this state continue to disproportionately and negatively affect American Freedmen as a whole and perpetuate the lingering material and psychosocial effects of slavery.
(vii) Whether any other measures of rehabilitation or restitution to American Freedmen are warranted and what form and scope the measures should take.
Sec. 11. The commission may do any of the following:
(a) Hold a hearing at any location in this state to provide testimony and feedback with regard to reparations proposals.
(b) Issue subpoenas and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers, books, and documents.
(c) Seek an order from a circuit court to compel testimony or compliance with a subpoena.
(d) Obtain from the head of any state agency information that the commission considers useful in the discharge of the commission's duties under this act.
(e) Enter into contracts for the purpose of conducting research or surveys, preparing reports, and performing other activities as necessary to discharge the duties of the commission with any of the following entities:
(i) Departments, agencies, or other instrumentalities of this state.
(ii) Departments, agencies, or other instrumentalities of the federal government.
(iii) Private entities.
(f) Appoint and fix the compensation of personnel that the commission considers appropriate.
(g) Procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1101 to 18.1594.
Sec. 13. Any reparations provided under this act are not a replacement for any reparations for American Freedmen that are enacted by the federal government.
Sec. 15. After the commission submits its report under section 9(c), the commission is dissolved.
