Sacramento Settles Lawsuit Brought by CFER and the ACR Project

On December 31, 2024, on behalf of Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (“CFER”) and its members, the ACR Project field a suit challenging Sacramento County’s so-called “guaranteed income” program that unlawfully chose beneficiaries based on race.

Sacramento had announced the launch of its “Family First Economic Support Pilot” program in September 2024, with the intention of beginning payments at the start of 2025. In October 2024, the ACR Project warned Sacramento that the program, designed to provide cash payments only to families raising “Black/African American or American Indian/Alaska Native child[ren,]” clearly discriminated based on race in violation of at least the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sacramento never responded to these warnings, prompting the filing of the suit.

Sacramento County has now settled this dispute. As documented by the parties’ settlement, Sacramento “updated the eligibility criteria” for the program such that “applicants [would be] selected randomly, with no basis in race in their selection.” Sacramento also agreed to pay $25,000.00 toward plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees.

CFER Executive Director Wenyuan Wu explained: “All racial discrimination is wrong.  Sacramento never should have considered handing out taxpayer dollars based on race. Stopping them from doing so is a good result for the people of Sacramento and of California.”

ACR Project Executive Director Dan Morenoff added: “California and its subdivisions should not need reminding that racial discrimination is illegal. We’re pleased, though, that Sacramento came to its senses and decided to comply with American law.  In time, voluntarily or because compelled by the Courts, the rest of the state will do the same.”

The ACR Project and CFER’s litigation against related programs of the City and County of San Francisco and the State of California remains pending at this time.