Anti-Slavery California Ballot Measure Would Ban Forced Prison Labor

In one day, the constitutional amendment passed in the Senate with only three No votes, and unanimously in the Assembly.

Prisoners at Oak Glen Conservation Camp line up for deployment under the authority of Cal Fire on Sept. 28, 2017, near Yucaipa, Calif. David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

A measure seeking to ban forced prison labor and formally prohibit slavery in California will be on the November ballot.

Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 8 would change the California Constitution to prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from disciplining any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment. It would also prohibit “slavery in any form.”