Page images
PDF
EPUB

SEC. 2. The sessions of the legislature shall be annual, and shall commence on the first Monday of January next ensuing the election of its members, unless the governor of the state shall, in the interim, convene the legislature by proclamation.

SEC. 3. The members of the assembly shall be chosen annually by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered by the legislature, and their term of office shall be one year.

SEC. 4. Senators and members of assembly shall be duly qualified electors in the respective counties and districts which they represent.

SEC. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of two years, at the same time and places as members of assembly, and no person shall be a member of the senate or assembly who has not been a citizen and inhabitant of the state one year, and of the county or district for which he shall be chosen six months next before his election.

SEC. 6. The number of senators shall not be less than one-third, nor more than one-half, of that of the members of assembly; and at the first session of the legislature after this constitu tion takes effect the senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes: the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, so that one-half shall be chosen annually.

SEC. 7. When the number of senators is increased, they shall be apportioned by lot, so as to keep the two classes as nearly equal in number as possible.

SEC. 8. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members.

SEC. 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide.

SEC. 10. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member.

SEC. 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journal.

SEC. 12. Members of the legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, and shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session.

SEC. 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the governor, or the person exercising the functions of the governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

SEC. 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy.

SEC. 15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

SEC. 16. Any bill may originate in either house of the legislature, and all bills passed by one house may be amended in the other.

SEC. 17. Every bill which may have passed the legislature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve it he shall sign it, but, if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the same upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again pass both houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each house present, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the governor's objections. If any bill shall not be returned within ten days after it shall have been presented to him, (Sunday excepted,) the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature, by adjournment, prevent such return. (1)

SEC. 18. The assembly shall have the sole power of impeachment, and all impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

SEC. 19. The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, surveyor general, justices of the supreme court and judges of the district courts, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under the state; but the party convicted or acquitted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law. All other civil officers shall be tried, for misdemeanors in office, in such a manner as the legislature may provide.

SEC. 20. No senator or member of assembly shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit, under this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people,

(1) The term "Sunday excepted" applies only to the last day of the ten which the executive has for consideration of a bill. People ex rel. Hepburn v. Whitman, Oct. T. 1856.

SEC. 21. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, or any other power, shall be eligible to any civil office of profit under this state; provided, that officers in the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, or local officers and postmasters, whose compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per annum, shall not be deemed lucrative.

SEC. 22. No person who shall be convicted of the embezzlement or defalcation of the public funds of this state shall ever be eligible to any office of honor, trust or profit under this state; and the legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pass a law providing for the punishment of such embezzlement or defalcation as a felony.

SEC. 23. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached to, and published with, the laws at every regular session of the legislature. SEC. 24. The members of the legislature shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public treasury; but no increase of the compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of either house shall have been elected.

SEC. 25. Every law enacted by the legislature shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in the title; and no law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title; but in such case the act revised, or section amended, shall be re-enacted and published at length. (1) SEC. 26. No divorce shall be granted by the legislature.

SEC. 27. No lottery shall be authorized by this state, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. SEC. 28. The enumeration of the inhabitants of this state shall be taken, under the direction of the legislature, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end of every ten years thereafter; and these enumerations, together with the census that may be taken, under the direction of the congress of the United States, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and every subsequent ten years, shall serve as the basis of representation in both houses of the legislature.

SEC. 29. The number of senators and members of assembly shall, at the first session of the legislature holden after the enumerations herein provided for are made, be fixed by the legislature, and apportioned among the several counties and districts to be established by law, according to the number of white inhabitants. The number of members of assembly shall not be less than twenty-four, nor more than thirty-six, until the number of inhabitants within this state shall amount to one hundred thousand; and, after that period, at such ratio that the whole number of members of assembly shall never be less than thirty, nor more than eighty. SEC. 30. When a congressional, senatorial or assembly district shall be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be separated by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a congressional, senatorial or assembly district.

SEC. 31. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes. (2) All general laws and special acts passed pursuant to this section may be altered from time to time, or repealed.

SEC. 32. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such individual liability of the corporators, and other means, as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 33. The term corporations, as used in this article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint-stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts, in like cases as natural persons.

SEC. 34. The legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting any charter for banking purposes; but associations may be formed, under general laws, for the deposit of gold and silver; but no such association shall make, issue or put in circulation any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the paper of any bank, to circulate as money.

SEO. 35. The legislature of this state shall prohibit by law any person or persons, association, company or corporation from exercising the privileges of banking, or creating paper to circulate as money.

SEC. 36. Each stockholder of a corporation or joint-stock association shall be individually and personally liable for his proportion of all its debts and liabilities.

SEC. 37. It shall be the duty of the legislature to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and in contracting debts by such municipal corporations.

SEC. 38. In all elections by the legislature the members thereof shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal.

(1) A law is constitutional, in view of this section, where the subjects embraced in the statute, and not expressed in the title, have congruity or proper connection. Dewitt v. San Francisco, 2 Cal. 289. This section is merely directory. Washington v. Page, 4 Cal. 388.

(2) The term municipal" is limited to governmental, and cannot be extended to commercial purposes. Lowe 8. Marysville, 5 Cal. 214.

ARTICLE V.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the state of California.

SEC. 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and places of voting for members of assembly, and shall hold his office two years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be qualified.

SEC. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor (except åt the first election) who has not been a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state two years next preceding the election, and attained the age of twenty-five years, at the time of said election. SEC. 4. The returns of every election for governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker of the assembly, who shall, during the first week of the session, open and publish them in presence of both houses of the legislature. The person having the highest number of votes shall be governor; but, in case any two or more have an equal and the highest number of votes, the legislature shall, by joint vote of both houses, choose one of said persons so having an equal and the highest number of votes for governor.

SEC. 5. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, the army and navy of this state.

SEC. 6. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of government, civil and military, and may require information in writing from the officers of the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.

SEC. 8. When any office shall, from any cause, become vacant, and no mode is provided by the constitution and laws for filling such vacancy, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy by granting a commission, which shall expire at the end of the next session of the legislature, or at the next election by the people.

SEC. 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the legislature by proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assembled, the purpose for which they shall have been convened.

SEC. 10. He shall communicate by message to the legislature, at every 'session, the condition of the state, and recommend such matters as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 11. In case of a disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adjourn the legislature to such time as he may think proper; provided, it be not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the next legislature. SEC. 12. No person shall, while holding any office under the United States or this state, exercise the office of governor, except as hereinafter expressly provided.

SEC. 13. The governor shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardons after convic tion, for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have the power to suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the legislature at its next meeting, when the legislature shall either pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall communicate to the legisla ture, at the beginning of every session, every case of reprieve or pardon granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the pardon or reprieve.

SEC. 14. There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called "the great seal of the state of California."

SEC. 15. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the people of the state of California, sealed with the great seal of the state, signed by the gov ernor, and conntersigned by the secretary of state.

SEC. 16. A lieutenant-governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the governor; and his term of office, and his qualifications of eligibility, shall also be the same. He shall be president of the senate, but shall only have a casting vote therein. If, during a vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from the state, the president of the senate shall act as governor, until the vacancy be filled, or the disability shall cease.

SEC. 17. In case of the impeachment of the governor, or his removal from office, death, inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, resignation, or absence from the state, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease. But when the governor shall, with the consent of the legislature, be out of the state in time of war, at the head of any military force thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief of all the military force of the state. SEC. 18. A secretary of state, a controller, a treasurer, an attorney-general, and surveyor

general, shall be chosen in the manner provided in this constitution; and the term of office, and eligibility of each, shall be the same as are prescribed for the governor and lieutenantgovernor.

SEC. 19. The secretary of state shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. He shall keep a fair record of the official acts of the legislative and executive departments of the government, and shall. when required, lay the same, and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the legislature; and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned him by law.

SEC. 20. The controller, treasurer, attorney-general, and surveyor-general, shall be chosen by joint vote of the two houses of the legislature, at their first session under this constitution, and thereafter shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the governor and lieutenant-governor.

SEC. 21. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney-general, and surveyor general, shall each, at stated times during their continuance in office, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected; but neither of these officers shall receive for his own use any fees for the performance of his official duties.

ARTICLE VI.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in a supreme court, in district courts, in county courts, and in justices of the peace. The legislature may also establish such municipal and other inferior courts as may be deemed necessary.

SEC. 2. The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum.

SEC. 3. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected at the general election by the qualitied electors of the state, and shall hold their office for the term of six years from the first day of January next after their election; provided that the legislature shall, at its first meeting, elect a chief justice and two associate justices of the supreme court, by joint vote of both houses, and so classify them that one shall go out of office every two years. After the first election, the senior justice in commission shall be the chief justice.

SEC. 4. The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction in all cases when the matter in dispute exceeds two hundred dollars, when the legality of any tax, toll, or impost or municipal fine is in question, and in all criminal cases amounting to felony on questions of law alone. (1) And the said court, and each of the justices thereof, as well as all district and county judges, shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus at the instance of any person held in actual custody. They shall also have power to issue all other writs and process necessary to the exercise of their appellate jurisdiction, and shall be conservators of the peace throughout the state.

SEC. 5. The state shall be divided by the first legislature into a convenient number of districts, subject to such alteration from time to time as the public good may require, for each of which a district judge shall be appointed by the joint vote of the legislature, at its first meeting, who shall hold his office for two years from the first day of January next after his election; after which, said judges shall be elected by the qualified electors of their respective districts, at the general election, and shall hold their office for the term of six years.

SEC. 6. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction, in law and equity, in all civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds two hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. In all criminal cases not otherwise provided for, and in all issues of fact joined in the probate courts, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. (2)

SEC. 7. The legislature shall provide for the election, by the people, of a clerk of the supreme court, and county clerks, district attorneys, sheriff's, coroners, and other necessary officers; and shall fix by law their duties and compensation. County clerks shall be, ex officio, clerks of the district courts in and for their respective counties.

SEC. 8. There shall be elected in each of the organized counties of this state, one county judge, who shall hold his office for four years. He shall hold the county court, and perform the duties of surrogate, or probate judge. The county judge, with two justices of the peace, to be designated according to law, shall hold courts of session with such criminal jurisdiction as the legislature shall prescribe, and he shall perform such other duties as shall be required by law. (3)

SEC. 9. The county courts shall have such jurisdiction, in cases arising in justices' courts, and in special cases, as the legislature may prescribe, but shall have no original civil jurisdiction, except in such special cases. (4)

(1) The jurisdiction is limited to felony. People v. Applegate, 5 Cal. 295.

(2) The word "unlimited" qualifies the amount in value and not the term "original." Reed v. McCornick, 4 Cal. 342. "Issues of fact," etc. refer to issues to be tried. Id.

(3) The county judge and two associates are necessary to constitute the court. People v. Ah Chung, 5 Cal. 103.

(4) Parsons v. Tuolumne County, 5 Cal. 43; Brock v. Bruce, id. 279.

SEC. 10. The times and places of holding the terms of the supreme court, and the general and special terms of the district courts within the several districts, shall be provided for by law. SEC. 11. No judicial officer, except a justice of the peace, shall receive, to his own use, any fees or perquisites of office.

SEC. 12. The legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of all statute laws, and of such judicial decisions as it may deem expedient; and all laws and judicial decisions shall be free for publication by any person.

SEC. 13. Tribunals for conciliation may be established, with such powers and duties as may be prescribed by law; but such tribunals shall have no power to render judgment to be obligatory on the parties, except they voluntarily submit their matters in difference, and agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto in the presence of such tribunal, in such cases as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 14. The legislature shall determine the number of justices of the peace, to be elected in each county, city, town and incorporated village of the state, and fix by law their powers, duties and responsibilities. It shall also determine in what cases appeals may be made from justices' courts to the county court.

SEC. 15. The justices of the supreme court, and judges of the district court, shall severally, at stated times during their continuation in office, receive for their services a compensation to be paid out of the treasury, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected. The county judges shall also severally, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation to be paid out of the county treasury of their respective counties, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected.

SEC. 16. The justices of the supreme court and district judges shall be ineligible to any other office during the term for which they shall have been elected.

SEC. 17. Judges shall not charge juries with respect to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare the law.

SEC. 18. The style of all process shall be "The people of the state of California;" and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and by the authority of the same.

ARTICLE VII. ·

MILITIA.

SECTION 1. The legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the constitution and laws of the United States.

SEC. 2. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed, in such manner as the legisla ture shall from time to time direct, and shall be commissioned by the governor.

SEC. 3. The governor shall have power to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the state, to suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

ARTICLE VIII.

STATE DEBTS.

The legislature shall not in any manner create any debt or debts, liability or liabilities, which shall singly, or in the aggregate, with any previous debts or liabilities, exceed the sum of three hundred thousand dollars, except in case of war, to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, unless the same shall be authorized by some law for some single object or work, to be distinctly specified therein, which law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans, for the payment of the interest of such debt or liability, as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of such debt or liability within twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof, and shall be irrepealable until the principal and interest thereon shall be paid and discharged; but no such law shall take effect until, at a general election, it shall have been submitted to the people, and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election; and all money raised by authority of such law, shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt thereby created; and such law shall be published in at least one newspaper in each judicial district, if one be published therein, throughout the state, for three months next preceding the election at which it is submitted to the people. (1)

ARTICLE IX.

EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. The legislature shall provide for the election, by the people, of a superintendent of public instruction, who shall hold his office for three years, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and who shall receive such compensation as the legislature may direct.

SEC. 2. The legislature shall encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual,

(1) The entire state debt over three hundred thousand dollars, declared unconstitutional. People v. Johnson, Oct. T. 1856. Nougues v. Douglass, Jan. T. 1857.

« PreviousContinue »