Would Prop. 6 increase California prison costs? Q&A on the involuntary servitude measure

Proposition 6 asks California voters whether to end involuntary servitude through forced labor in state prisons and jails.

The measure has no formal opposition, but supporters say involuntary prison labor is rooted in slavery and should be removed from the state constitution.

“Prisoners will still work” if Prop. 6 passes, said Assembly member Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, who authored the legislation that put the measure on this year’s ballot.

Wilson was speaking at a recent virtual panel hosted by The Sacramento Bee. She said there are currently more prisoners than work assignments in prisons, meaning “there will be more than enough work for the prison population.”

Several readers raised other questions about the measure and prison labor during the event. Below are answers to some of those questions.

Would Prop. 6 end all prison labor?

No. Work assignments would continue in California jails but they would become voluntary. That means the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation would not be allowed to punish inmates with solitary confinement or loss of privileges for refusing a work assignment.

Would Prop. 6 increase wages for inmates?

Prop. 6 would not increase wages paid to incarcerated workers.

CDCR boosted wages earlier this year and most inmates earn between 16 and 74 cents per hour for their work. To offset the costs of the wage increase, prison officials cut hours for most work shifts.

Incarcerated people who work on fire crews can earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per hour for their labor.

Giving inmates a minimum wage would increase state prison costs by more than $1 billion each year, according to a 2022 report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

“A lot of times, prisoners actually have more debt coming out of prison than they have going in” because of restitution fines, said Wilson said.

Wilson said she’s looking forward to a study commissioned by the legislature on the topic of prison wages before determining whether to pursue legislation to increase them.

Does prison labor offset costs to taxpayers?

Yes, somewhat. First, by employing low-paid inmates to perform cooking, cleaning and other duties, the state avoids outsourcing that labor to contractors who would require higher wages.

Second, 55% of inmates’ wages are garnished to pay restitution. The fine is given at sentencing and is considered a “debt to society” which ranges between $300 and $10,000 depending on the severity of the crime.

That number is far more than the $132,000 it costs to house one inmate each year at California prisons.

Some incarcerated people also owe money to the state Victim Compensation Program, which goes to services that help crime victims.

The fiscal impact of Prop. 6 is uncertain, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, but could be in the tens of millions of dollars in either costs or savings.

Whether corrections costs increase or decrease depends on how work programs would change if the measure is approved.

“If people in prison and jail no longer face consequences for refusing to work, prisons and/or jails might have to find other ways to encourage working,” the LAO analysis said. “If this is done by increasing pay, costs would increase. If this is done by giving more time credits instead, costs would decrease because people would serve less time.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 1:42 PM.