City Council Meeting
May 19, 2022
ID 22-0379
CITY OF OAKLAND
CITY HALL • ONE FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA • OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612
COUNCILMEMBER LOREN TAYLOR (510) 238-7006
DISTRICT 6 [email protected]
Date: May 19, 2022
To: Members of the City Council and Members of the Public From: Councilmember Loren Taylor
Subject: Emerald New Deal Healing And Reparations Fund
Colleagues on the City Council and Members of the Public:
As the only Black Man serving as an elected representative in Oakland City Hall, and the Councilmember representing District 6, an area of the city that continues to reel from the impacts of the War on Drugs, I am excited to introduce the Emerald New Deal Healing And Reparations Measure (END HARM). East Oakland neighborhoods bear the brunt of this failed and racist attack on Black and other low-income communities of color and the Emerald New Deal will allow us to heal some of the harm inflicted on families and communities. This charter amendment was inspired and propelled by community members who have directly experienced the trauma and harm from the War on Drugs. I am grateful for Councilmembers Noel Gallo and Treva Reid for joining me as co-sponsors of this legislation.
When approved, the legislation will direct 100% of Oakland’s Cannabis Business Tax revenue into a newly established END HARM Fund. The basis of the effort is rooted in repairing the harm done to Black and Brown communities, who were disproportionately criminalized by the War on Drugs in Oakland. To illustrate the extent of the harm caused, we need only examine arrest rates for cannabis expenses in Oakland. From 1995-2015, 77% of the 12,655 individuals arrested for cannabis were Black, 15% were LatinX. With the city’s cannabis industry currently generating roughly $7.5–12 million in annual tax revenue, supporters of END HARM foresee these funds being used to support social equity investments including, but not limited to:
• Reentry programs and support for the formerly incarcerated; • Community-based mental health services;
• Affordable and transitional housing access; and,
• Workforce development and training.
For all the foregoing reasons, I respectfully request your support of the Emerald New Deal Healing And Reparations Measure.
Sincerely,
Loren Taylor
Councilmember District 6
AGENDA MEMORANDUM