DATE:
October 8, 2024
15
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PROPOSITION 6 TO AMEND ARTICLE 1, SECTION 6 OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Prison labor has a long history in the United States penal system. In California, incarcerated people are paid little for performing difficult labor under threat of punishment. The California Penal Code currently "require[s] of every able-bodied prisoner imprisoned in any state prison as many hours of faithful labor in each day and every day during his or her term of imprisonment as shall be prescribed by the rules and regulations of the Director of Corrections." Cal. Penal Code ? 2700. Incarcerated persons who refuse to work sometimes face consequences such as losing the ability to make regular phone calls and the loss of good time credits, among other punitive measures. Proposition 6 would explicitly end this practice in California.
Article 1, Section 6 of the California Constitution states: "Slavery is prohibited. Involuntary servitude is prohibited except to punish crime." Proposition 6 would amend this section and replace it with the following:
(a) Slavery and involuntary servitude is prohibited.
(b) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not discipline any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from awarding credits to an incarcerated person who voluntarily accepts a work assignment.
(d) Amendments made to this section by the measure adding the subdivision shall become operative January 1, 2025.
The exploitation of prison labor is one example of the systemic issues that plague correctional facilities. California law currently allows incarcerated individuals to be subjected to inhumane treatment and abusive interactions resulting in trauma and impeding rehabilitation. Forced prison labor is one form of this. Black indi...
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