California lawmakers have advanced a plan that would allow colleges in the state to offer preferential admission to students who are descended from enslaved people, part of an ongoing effort by Democrats to address the legacy of slavery in the United States.

The legislation by the Democrat-led Assembly would allow, but not require, the University of California, Cal State and private colleges to give admissions preference to applicants who can prove they are directly related to someone who was enslaved in America before 1900, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The measure now goes to Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will decide whether to sign it into law.