SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A community organization that pushed to create the first-in-the-nation African American reparations task force in California is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto legislation extending the deadline for the committee to complete its work.

The Coalition for a Just and Equitable California and other organizations sent a letter to Newsom, a Democrat, last week saying that the legislation by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a task force member, would send a demoralizing message to African Americans already skeptical that they will receive reparations.

The task force's final report assessing the compensation owed to descendants of enslaved people will be released within its original time frame — by July 1, 2023 — even if the legislation is approved, Jones-Sawyer said. But he argues that the committee needs to remain intact long enough to lobby "on what we believe reparations should be or to have additional meetings."

"We're going to turn our report in on time," he said. "We're going to go ahead and ask for reparations on time."

The legislation changes the sunset date from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, extending what was originally a two-year committee to three. The bill also allows the nine task force members, appointed by Newsom and the two legislative leaders, to be removed at any time. The provision was included in case a member does something "problematic," Jones-Sawyer said.