California voters reject proposed ban on forced prison labor in any form

SACRAMENTO, California — California voters have rejected a measure to amend the state constitution prohibit forced labor in any form. The Constitution currently prohibits it except as punishment for crime.

That exemption became a target of criminal justice advocates, who worry about prison working conditions. People in prison are often paid less than $1 an hour to fight fires, clean cells and landscape cemeteries.

The initiative is included in a reparations package introduced by lawmakers as part of an effort to reconcile and provide redress for a history of racism and discrimination against Black Californians.

Several other states, including Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont, have passed constitutional amendments in recent years that eliminate exceptions to slavery and involuntary servitude.

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