Urges Congress to propose amendment to United States Constitution to prohibit use of slavery or indentured servitude for individuals convicted of crime.

SR91

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 91

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Respectfully urges Congress to propose amendment to
United States Constitution to prohibit use of slavery or indentured servitude
for individuals convicted of crime.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Senate
Resolution
respectfully urging Congress to propose an amendment to the
United States Constitution to prohibit the use of slavery or indentured
servitude for individuals convicted of a crime.

�

Whereas,

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted in 1865,
and is commonly understood to have abolished slavery and indentured servitude
in the United States; and

Whereas,

The Thirteenth Amendment reads: �Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction�; and

Whereas,

The Thirteenth Amendment did not completely abolish slavery and indentured
servitude, but rather allowed both slavery and indentured servitude to remain
legal as punishments for individuals convicted of a crime; and

Whereas,

Twenty-five percent of the world�s incarcerated population, roughly 2.3 million
people, currently reside in the United States; and

Whereas,

Nearly 20 percent of federal prisoners and seven percent of state prisoners are
held in private correctional facilities; and

Whereas,

The private correctional facility industry is a $4.8 billion industry; and

Whereas,

In order to make a profit, private correctional facilities often rely on low-cost
labor provided by prison workers; and

Whereas,

According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, prison
workers are not entitled to receive the minimum wage under the �Fair Labor
Standards Act,� and the average working inmate�s wage is 93 cents per hour; and

Whereas,

Incarcerated workers in states such as South Carolina and Texas are largely not
paid for the work that they are forced to perform; and

Whereas,

According to the Solidarity Research Center, the California prison system made
a $58 million profit from the work of prison inmates, where 4,000 California
prison workers earn $2 per day; and

Whereas,

Most of the work performed by incarcerated individuals does not develop skills
that are translatable to the labor market outside of prison; and

Whereas,

Therefore, it is appropriate for Congress to adopt an amendment to the United
States Constitution to prohibit the use of slavery and indentured servitude for
incarcerated individuals; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate of the State of New
Jersey:

���� 1.��� This House urges
Congress to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to prohibit
the use of slavery and indentured servitude within the United States or any of
its territories.

���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary
of the Senate to the Majority and the Minority Leader of the United States
Senate, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United States House of
Representatives, and each member of Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

���� This resolution respectfully
urges Congress to amend the United States Constitution to prohibit the use of
slavery or indentured servitude for individuals convicted of a crime. �It is
commonly understood that the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution abolished slavery and indentured servitude. �However, the
Thirteenth Amendment makes an exception to the use of slavery and indentured
servitude as punishments for individuals convicted of a crime.

���� The average wage for a working
incarcerated individual is 93 cents per hour. �The work that is typically
required of incarcerated individuals does not prepare or develop skills that
are necessary for employment in the labor market outside of prison. �The work
provides neither a sufficient wage to prepare for life outside of prison, nor
skills necessary to obtain work upon release.� Therefore, Congress should amend
the United States Constitution to prohibit the use of slavery and indentured
servitude for incarcerated individuals.