Legislative · State · CA

California Assembly Bill AB2599 Would Add Slavery-Related Corporate Disclosure Requirements to Civil and Public Contract Code

Why this rating

The source material does not include the operative bill text — what disclosures would be required, who is covered, or what remedies attach — so it cannot be determined whether the mechanism materially benefits freedmen specifically or serves general historical transparency. A corporate slavery-disclosure requirement points mildly positive in principle: compelling businesses to disclose past participation in the slave trade is an accountability measure. But with no operative text available and no enactment (the bill remains in Senate Appropriations), the effect is too uncertain to sign. Rated 0 pending the enacted statutory text; revisable to +1 if the disclosure mechanism proves substantive.

Summary

AB2599, introduced by Assemblymember Mia Bonta with multiple co-sponsors, would add Section 1714.44 to the California Civil Code and amend Section 2010 of the Public Contract Code, both described in the bill's official summary as 'relating to slavery.' The bill has passed through the Assembly (58-17 on May 26, 2026) and has cleared Senate Judiciary and Public Safety committees, most recently being re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 1, 2026 after a 5-1 committee vote.

The provided source material consists of legislative tracking metadata — bill title, code sections affected, procedural history, and sponsor information — but does not include the substantive bill text describing what disclosures would be required, which entities would be covered, what triggers disclosure obligations, or what penalties or remedies (if any) attach to noncompliance.

Because the bill remains in committee in the second house and has not been signed into law, it has no current legal effect. Its ultimate impact on Freedmen specifically cannot be assessed without the operative statutory text.

Sources

• Slavery: corporate disclosures. — bill text · primary · legiscan

Rated under the published impact rubric. Direction records what a measure would do if fully effective; force records how far it has actually travelled. Neither is inferred — both trace to the sources above. Think something here is wrong? Tell us and we will log the correction.

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