HR 1530: Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment; propose - CA

Georgia's Constitution currently bans involuntary servitude but carves out an exception for people convicted of a crime or held in contempt of court. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would delete that exception, so the ban on involuntary servitude would apply without carving out punishment for crimes or contempt of court. The resolution gives the amendment the short title the 'Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment.' Because it changes the state Constitution, it cannot take effect on its own. It must be published and put to Georgia voters on a ballot, with a yes or no question asking whether to remove the language authorizing involuntary servitude as punishment. If voters ratify it, the change becomes part of the Georgia Constitution.

• Proposes deleting the constitutional exception in Article I, Section I, Paragraph XXII that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime or for contempt of court.
• Gives the proposed amendment the short title 'Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment.'
• Requires the proposed amendment to be published and submitted to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection under the Constitution's amendment process.
• Specifies the exact ballot question voters would see and states the amendment becomes part of the Constitution only if ratified.

Georgia voters, who would decide the amendment at the ballot box; incarcerated people and others subject to court orders, who are affected by rules on involuntary servitude and contempt; and the state's criminal justice and corrections systems, whose practices touch on forced labor as punishment.

If ratified, the change would remove the constitutional basis for treating forced labor as an allowed punishment for crime or contempt in Georgia, potentially affecting how prison labor and court-ordered work requirements are justified under state law.

• Section 1 names the resolution the 'Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment.'
• Section 2 revises Article I, Section I, Paragraph XXII of the Constitution by striking the phrase allowing involuntary servitude 'as a punishment for crime after legal conviction thereof or for contempt of court.'
• Section 3 requires the amendment be published and submitted to voters as set out in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution, and specifies the ballot's yes/no question wording.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)Primary sponsor
• Al Williams (D, HD-168)
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)

• constitutional amendment
• involuntary servitude
• criminal justice
• prison labor
• ballot referendum