--- title: HR 1530. Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment; propose - CA collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1530 cite_as: HR 1530, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1530 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1530.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1530/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73799 date: 2026-03-06 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1529.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1531.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1530.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1530 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Ruwa Romman - Al Williams - Carolyn Hugley - Scott Holcomb - Anne Westbrook - Jasmine Clark text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1530/2025 upstream_id: 2128595 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - constitutional amendment - involuntary servitude - criminal justice - prison labor - ballot referendum --- # HR 1530. Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment; propose - CA ## Text House Resolution 1530 By: Representatives Romman of the 97th, Williams of the 168th, Hugley of the 141st, Holcomb of the 101st, Westbrook of the 163rd, and others A RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to repeal the exception allowing involuntary servitude for persons convicted of crimes or contempt of court; to provide for a short title; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. This resolution shall be known and may be cited as the "Ending Slavery in Georgia Amendment." SECTION 2. Article I, Section I of the Constitution is amended by revising Paragraph XXII as follows: "Paragraph XXII. Involuntary servitude. There shall be no involuntary servitude within the State of Georgia except as a punishment for crime after legal conviction thereof or for contempt of court." SECTION 3. The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following: "( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to remove language ( ) NO authorizing the use of involuntary servitude as a punishment for crimes or for contempt of court?" All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes." All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become part of the Constitution of this state. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to remove language that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime or for contempt of court. ### Plain-language summary 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. ### What it does - 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. ### Who it affects 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. ### Why it matters 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. ### Key provisions - 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. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-03) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-06) - Sponsors: Ruwa Romman, Al Williams, Carolyn Hugley, Scott Holcomb, Anne Westbrook, Jasmine Clark - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73799 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1530.md?full=1