California and Nevada may ban forced prison labor

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Lawmakers in Nevada and California are considering a law that would remove “involuntary servitude” from their states’ constitutions. 

The United States Constitution states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This creates a loophole in state constitutions where forced labor can be assigned as punishment for a crime.

© AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File Steven Abujen, a California prison inmate with the Prison Industry Authority, cleans one of the newly installed headstones at the Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery, near Folsom, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2011. Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove involuntary servitude from their state constitutions, a move that follows four states that purged forced labor from the books in ballot measures last fall. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

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It’s not uncommon for prisoners in California, Nevada, and other states to be paid less than $1 an hour to fight fires, clean prison cells, make license plates or do yardwork at cemeteries. For instance, approximately one-third of California’s firefighters are prisoners. 

About a dozen states are pushing this year to get rid of the involuntary servitude exceptions, according to the Abolish Slavery National Network. Some advocates said this has major legal implications today, particularly in litigation related to prison labor pay and conditions.

Samuel Brown, who was formerly incarcerated with a life sentence for attempted murder, helped author an anti-involuntary servitude amendment in California last year. He said incarcerated people can be forced to do work that is unsafe and puts their health at risk. Even more, he described how terrified he was when he had to disinfect jail cells after someone tested positive for COVID-19.

© AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File An inmate selects the letters and numbers to be used to make a specialty license plate by Prison Industries at Folsom State Prison, May 15, 2012, in Folsom, Calif. Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove involuntary servitude from their state constitutions, a move that follows four states that purged forced labor from the books in ballot measures last fall. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, a Californian Democrat representing part of Solano County, is introducing this year’s proposed amendment, hoping to have a different outcome than a failed attempt last year to pass similar legislation in the state. The Senate rejected it after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration warned that if inmates were paid the $15-per-hour minimum wage, it could cost taxpayers $1.5 billion a year.

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If the proposed amendment passes in the California Legislature this year by a two-thirds vote, voters would decide in November 2024 whether to adopt it. Wilson said she hopes conversations she has had with lawmakers about the economic impact of this amendment will help it get passed this year in the Legislature.

Meanwhile in Nevada, lawmakers voted unanimously Tuesday to move a measure that would change the state Constitution to ban slavery and involuntary servitude, which is prohibited “otherwise than in the punishment for crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”

© David Calvert/The Nevada Independent via AP, Pool, File Assemblyman Howard Watts speaks during the sixth day of the 31st Special Session of the Nevada Legislature in Carson City, Nev., on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove involuntary servitude from their state constitutions, a move that follows four states that purged forced labor from the books in ballot measures last fall. David Calvert/The Nevada Independent via AP, Pool, File

That puts the measure one step closer to appearing on the 2024 ballot in Nevada, after it passed unanimously during the 2021 Legislature session. Ballot measures that go through the legislative process must pass Nevada’s Legislature twice before going in front of voters. This would need a majority vote in the state Senate and Assembly to pass again.

A change to the 13th Amendment requires a bill to pass through Congress and then three-fourths of states to ratify it.