<p>This spring, Idaho State Senator Patti Ann Lodge, R-Huston sponsored a bill, S.B. 1374, which was signed into law by Governor CL "Butch" Otter, that <b>enables private employers to hire state prisoners for agricultural labor</b>, according to TakePart.com.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As comprehensive immigration policy reform stalls in the US legislature, some states have turned to their own prison populations to supplement agricultural labor shortages.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"People aren’t coming across [the border] like they used to. There just isn’t the labor that there’s been before," said Senator Lodge. "There aren’t as many migrants that follow the work like they used to."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Nearly <b>70% of the United States' agricultural workforce is from Mexico</b>, and harsh immigration measures are making it difficult for farmers in some states to find enough labor.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Prisoner work programs are nothing new. Georgia had a chain gang program from 1908 until 1955.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In addition to the Idaho program, there are several similar prisoner work programs in states across the country, including <b>Georgia, Arizona, and Washington</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The way the current Idaho program works, a private employer hires prison laborers and pays them a <b>starting wage of $15.48</b>. However, part of a prisoner's wages is returned to the Department of Corrections, and sometimes more goes to victim restitution, court fees and other debts.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Workers do not have any sick days, vacation time, or insurance. <b>They also cannot unionize.</b><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Lodge stressed the <b>rehabilitative value</b> of the new program, available to "low-risk" prisoners. Idaho has a 53% recidivism rate, in part because it's difficult for former inmates to find jobs when they get out. Perhaps agricultural work could help some prisoners post-incarceration, but right now this is difficult to measure.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This is a controversial issue, but in some ways this program seems to be a win-win. The program is said to be voluntary, and prisoners get to leave prison and be outdoors to work.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.idoc.idaho.gov/content/prisons/offenders_at_work" target="_new"> Idaho's Offenders at Work Program </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
