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Board unanimously backs resolution supporting Proposition 6 to remove penal exception for prison labor
Summary
The supervisors unanimously approved a resolution supporting California Proposition 6, which would remove the constitutional penal exception permitting involuntary servitude as punishment for crime and leave voluntary rehabilitation programs intact.
The Board of Supervisors on Oct. 8 unanimously approved a resolution urging voter support for Proposition 6, an amendment to Article I, Section 6 of the California Constitution that would remove the clause allowing involuntary servitude as punishment for crime.
Supervisor Montgomery Stepp outlined historical context for the measure, citing convict leasing after the Civil War and describing current prison‑labor practices in California that she said can be coercive and pay well below minimum wage. "California prison labor ... differs from ordinary labor in three ways... they lack the protections of labor laws... the work is not always voluntary," Montgomery Stepp said as she framed the resolution as a step toward eliminating an antiquated penal exemption.
Speakers during the item generally supported the resolution, describing it as compatible with rehabilitation programs that remain voluntary. The motion passed unanimously with all supervisors present voting aye.
The resolution is advisory: it expresses the county board’s support for a statewide ballot proposition and does not itself change state or county law. Supporters said the change would align the state constitution with modern labor and civil‑rights norms while preserving voluntary training and educational programs for incarcerated individuals.
