AB 2599 Would Require Companies to Go On Record — Under Penalty of Perjury — About Profits from Enslaved Labor and Human Trafficking

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- California is poised to become the first state in the nation to require corporations to declare under oath whether they or their predecessors profited from slavery.

AB 2599 — The Truth in Disclosure Act, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and a top priority for the California Legislative Black Caucus, goes before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 14. The bill would require qualifying companies to submit sworn affidavits — subject to perjury penalties — disclosing whether they or predecessor entities engaged in or profited from slavery-era transactions, with all filings posted to a publicly searchable state database.

"For too long, corporations have been allowed to benefit from the economic engine of slavery while avoiding any public accounting of that history," said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan. "AB 2599 changes that. Californians deserve to know which companies built their wealth on the backs of enslaved people — and they deserve that truth under oath."

The measure imposes no new taxes and builds on California's existing disclosure framework. While the state has led the country on climate and pay transparency, no state has yet required corporations to account for their historical role in the slave economy. The bill's public database would give journalists, researchers, and reparations advocates an unprecedented tool to trace historical profits to present-day corporate wealth.

"We cannot have an honest conversation about reparations — or corporate accountability — without first establishing the facts," said Civil Rights Attorney Lisa Holder. "This bill compels companies to stop hiding behind the fog of history and go on record. What they declare under oath will shape the debate in California and set a template for the rest of the country."

Tuesday's hearing is a pivotal test of whether California will follow its 2023 Reparations Task Force report with enforceable law — and whether Sacramento's Democratic supermajority will put legal teeth behind its reparations agenda.

Media availability:

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and representatives from the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth will be available for interviews at the State Capitol immediately following the Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, April 14.

About the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth (ARRT)
The Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth (ARRT) is a multiracial, multisector coalition advancing truth-telling, accountability, and public education related to the enduring impacts of slavery and systemic harm in California. Learn more at alliancefor.org

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SOURCE Alliance for Reparations, Reconcilliation, and Truth (ARRT)