In the United States, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime of which one has been convicted.[1][2] In the latter 2010s, a movement has emerged to repeal the exception clause from both the federal and state constitutions.
In 2018, Colorado became the first state to repeal the exception clause from their state's constitution with the passing of Amendment A. Similar bills also passed with voter approval in Utah and Nebraska in 2020. In Alabama, a 2020 measure was approved by voters allowing for the Alabama Legislature to recompile the state constitution in order to remove racist language and include a similar exception repeal, with the newly ratified constitution approved by voters in November 2022. The legislatures of Vermont and Oregon sent similar amendments to voters for a vote in 2022, both of which were passed.[9][10] Tennessee's legislature approved similar language for a 2022 ballot after two consecutive sessions, but, like Utah's 2020 revision, included a subsection clarifying that the prohibition will not "prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime".[11] The amendment was passed by referendum.
In 2021, Nikema Williams and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation (H.J.Res.53/S.J.Res.21) in the 117th Congress to repeal the exception clause from the U.S. Constitution.
A resolution to bring a repeal to the California state constitution in 2022 was passed unanimously in the California State Assembly. The resolution failed to receive enough votes and was not passed by the California State Senate before the end of the session, preventing it from appearing on the November 2022 ballot.[12][13] Similar legislation was passed by the legislature and appeared on the November 2024 ballot, but the measure was rejected by voters.[14][15]
A penal exception repeal was sent to the November 2024 ballot by the Nevada Legislature in February 2022.[16] It was approved by 60.6% of voters in the November 2024 elections.[6]
One report commissioned by Worth Rises argued that repealing the exception clause and allowing fairer labor practices and wage increases to apply to voluntary prison labor would net between USD$18.3 billion and USD$20.3 billion annually in fiscal benefits for state governments.[17]