On Jan. 10, 2025, the California Department of General Services (DGS) submitted to the Legislature a request of $500,000 “for the purposes of memorializing a plaque” in the State Capitol building. The project would occur over the course of at least two fiscal cycles.

“Whatever configuration, should it be a bronze plaque, encased with papers, or written, we want it to give the kind of gravitas that when you’re looking at it, you’re proud to see it,” Jones-Sawyer said.

AB 3089 is a landmark California law. Jones-Sawyer said learning about the legislation and broader reparations effort is essential for Black Californians and residents of the state because it represents the first formal state-level acknowledgment of historical injustices.

“The plaque is about learning. Learning about our history, but most importantly, why we should not repeat that part of history ever again,” Jones-Sawyer told CBM. “We want it to be a learning opportunity for everyone, no matter what color, race, or gender.”

Jones-Sawyer officially left the California State Assembly on Dec. 2, 2024, after reaching his term limit. While he has been active in public life since leaving office, he is currently pursuing a doctorate in policy, planning, and development at the University of Southern California (USC) Price School of Public Policy.

“Yes, I have been busy since leaving the Legislature,” Jones-Sawyer said. “It’s been great. I feel good.”

Jones-Sawyer’s visit to the State Capitol happened a few weeks after Assemblymember James Ramos (D-Highland) introduced a bill, AB 2115 – California State Legislature’s Formal Apology to California Native Americans Act – in February 2026. The legislation proposes that the Legislature and the courts formally apologize to California’s Native Americans for past atrocities.

The “demand,” Ramos stated, follows a previous executive apology from Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, which Ramos noted had not yet been formally joined by the other branches of state government.

The apology is necessary to address California’s historical role in inhumanity committed against Native Americans, including state-sanctioned wars against tribes between 1851 and 1859 and the payment of bounties for the heads of Native Americans, an action Ramos said was an “extermination of the Indian race.”

“AB 2115 would provide that the State of California recognizes and accepts responsibility for all of the harms and atrocities committed by its public officials, those who promoted, permitted, facilitated, and enforced policies of violence against California’s First People,” Ramos said.