Annapolis, Maryland - A bill to create a reparations commission in Maryland is heading to Governor Wes Moore's desk after it passed out of the House on Wednesday.

The House voted 101-36 in favor of the bill, which was a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland this session. The Senate already approved it 32-13.

The legislation – SB 587 – aims to establish a 23-member body to document and develop proposals to address the legacy of enslavement and racial discrimination in the state.

The potential reparations remedies listed in the bill include official apologies, financial compensation, property tax rebates, social service assistance, down payment assistance for the purchase of homes, higher education tuition payment waivers and reimbursement, child care and debt forgiveness programs, and more.

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If the commission is enacted, Maryland would join California, New York, and Illinois in taking the first step toward long-overdue reparations for Black residents, a process the communities of Greenbelt and College Park have already begun at the local level.

"For far too long, our communities have endured the profound consequences of unacknowledged systematic economic exploitation and physical mistreatment," Delegate Aletheia McCaskill said during a press conference in January.

"This mistreatment rooted in the legacy of slavery, segregation, and discriminatory practices has left lasting scars that have yet to be adequately addressed, and we have not undertaken any major statewide attempts to acknowledge or make amends for these historic injustices."

The Maryland reparations commission's final report would be due on or before November 1, 2027.