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Gavin Newsom Shoots Down Dem Effort To Force State To Pay Inmates $15 An Hour

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Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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A proposal that would have forced Californians to pay prisoners $15 per hour failed to pass the Senate on Thursday.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s progressive administration warned that paying prisoners $15 an hour as a minimum wage would cost taxpayers potentially billions of dollars, according to the Associated Press. Refusing to pay prisoners for work while incarcerated is not legally slavery, which is banned under the U.S. Constitution, the outlet noted.

It is legal for the government to force individuals to work as part of their punishment for criminal activity, known as “involuntary servitude,” the outlet continued. California’s state constitution includes an involuntary servitude clause. (RELATED: ‘Greatest Scam In Modern American History’: Daily Caller Reporter Kay Smythe Slams BLM)

California lawmakers have until June 30 to push their amendment to end involuntary servitude through the Senate, else it won’t be part of the 2022 ballot for the state. Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer said that the amendment had nothing to do with slavery, but focused on California’s requirement for “felons in state prison to work,” according The AP.

“Banning the work requirement in our prisons would undermine our rehabilitation programs,” Glazer said, according to the outlet. “Inmates will sue claiming their wages are too low, their hours are too high or that it is unconstitutional to link goodtime credit and early release to their willingness to work.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called for an end to involuntary servitude and comprehensive reforms to the way prisoners are forced to work, according to their official website. The ACLU is pushing for prisoners to be “paid fairly, properly trained, and able to gain transferable skills.”

Many Democrats did not vote for the amendment due to the cost that would be forced upon law-abiding Californians, the AP reported.

“The CA State Senate just reaffirmed its commitment to keeping slavery and involuntary servitude in the state’s constitution,” Democratic state Sen. Sydney Kamlager, a supporter of the amendment, said on Twitter. “Way to go, Confederates.”