California Proposition 139, Prison Inmate Labor Initiative (1990)

California Proposition 139
Election date November 6, 1990
Topic Prison work regulations
Status Approved
Type Combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute

California Proposition 139 was on the ballot as a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute in California on November 6, 1990. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to permit state prisons and county jails to contract with public entities and businesses for inmate labor; requiring the state prison director to establish joint venture programs for inmate employment; requires inmate wages to be comparable to non-inmate work; authorizes inmate wage reductions for room and board, restitution, and family support; and authorizing a 10% of inmate wage tax credit toward state taxes for inmate employers.

A "no" vote opposed amending this initiative to authorize inmate labor.

Election results

California Proposition 139
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		3,867,147	54.05%
No		3,288,144	45.95%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 139 was as follows:

“

Prison Inmate Labor. Tax Credit. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

Amends state Constitution to permit state prison and county jail officials to contract with public entities, businesses and others, for inmate labor. Limits inmate labor during strike or lockout situations. Adds statutes requiring state prison director to establish joint venture programs for employment of inmates. Requires inmate wages be comparable to non-inmate wages for similar work. Makes inmate wages subject to deductions for: taxes, room and board, lawful restitution fines or victim compensation, and family support. Allows inmate's employer 10 percent of wage tax credit against defined state taxes.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Fiscal impact

The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:

“

This measure would likely result in net savings to the state because of wage deductions to offset cost of incarceration, reduction in amount of time spent in prison due to participation in joint venture program, and decreased state and local costs due to additional family support payments reducing public assistance costs. These savings would be partially offset by costs due to revenue loss resulting from employer tax credits and possible additional administrative costs to operate program. The magnitude of savings is impossible to quantify. The measure's impact on local governments is impossible to estimate because the contents of local ordinances implementing contracts for use of jail labor are unknown. Unknown indirect fiscal effects may occur to the extent this measure affects the number of jobs available in the private sector.

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in California

In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election. For initiated amendments filed in 1990, at least 595,485 valid signatures were required.

See also

1990 Measures

• 1990 Measures
• Prison work regulations on the ballot
• 1990 legislative sessions

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• California Voter Guide (November 1990)