Loading chat...
FL H1523
M
Status
Failed
3/8/2024
Primary Sponsor
Dotie Joseph
Click for details
AI Summary
- Urges Congress to propose a constitutional amendment deleting the "Punishment Clause" from the Thirteenth Amendment, which currently permits slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for convicted crimes
- Cites the historical exploitation of the Punishment Clause through post-Reconstruction "Black Codes," which enabled sheriffs to arrest Black Americans for minor offenses like loitering or vagrancy and lease them out as forced labor
- Asserts that the loophole has driven the over-incarceration of Black Americans and communities of color from Reconstruction through the present day
- Contends that private prison corporations and companies selling prison-made goods profit from forced labor, while the U.S. simultaneously bans imports of goods produced with forced labor in other nations
- Directs the Secretary of State to send copies of the memorial to the President, the President of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House, and all members of Florida's congressional delegation
Legislative Description
Deleting Punishment Clause from the Thirteenth Amendment
Last Action
Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee
3/8/2024
Committee Referrals
Criminal Justice Subcommittee1/13/2024
Full Bill Text
No bill text available