Nevada is taking steps to eliminate slavery and involuntary servitude as forms of criminal punishment from its state constitution, which will be voted on in the 2024 ballot.
This move is part of a nationwide effort by several states to remove outdated language that has been in place for over a century. The Nevada Senate passed the joint resolution unanimously, following similar steps taken by the assembly the week prior. However, the proposed amendment must survive two consecutive legislative sessions before going to a public vote.
Nearly a dozen states are pushing to remove slavery or involuntary servitude exceptions from their constitutions this year, according to the Abolish Slavery National Network. The presence of this language has significant legal implications today, particularly in litigation related to prison labor pay and conditions.
The loophole in over a dozen state constitutions originated from chattel slavery in the U.S., and it enabled other racist measures after the Civil War. The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution contains nearly identical language, which has recently prompted attempts by Democrats in Congress to eliminate the language federally.
In 2018, Colorado became the first state in recent years to revise its constitution to ban slavery and involuntary servitude, followed by Utah and Nebraska in 2020. Last fall, voters in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont approved measures that removed this language from their respective state constitutions.
California lawmakers are also considering putting the measure on the 2024 ballot. The ACLU of Nevada is considering litigation related to the pay and working conditions of incarcerated women at prison firefighting camps, and the measure could protect individuals from harmful conditions without being forced to labor. Incarcerated individuals in California, Nevada, and other states are often paid around $1 an hour to perform various tasks.
»Nevada voters to decide whether to remove slavery as a criminal punishment from state constitution«