Constitution of the State of California (1849)
Proclamation to the People of California
THE delegates of the people assembled in Convention have formed a
Constitution, which is now presented for your ratification. The time
and manner of voting on this Constitution, and of holding the first
general election, are clearly set forth in the Schedule; the whole
subject is therefore left for your unbiased and deliberate
consideration.
The Prefect (or person exercising the functions of that office) of
each District will designate the places for opening the polls, and
give due notice of the election, in accordance with the provisions
of the Constitution and the Schedule.
The people are now called upon to form a government for themselves,
and to designate such officers as they desire to make and execute
the laws. That their choice may be wisely made, and that the
government so organized may secure the permanent welfare and
happiness of the people of the new State, is the sincere and earnest
wish of the present Executive, who, if the Constitution be ratified,
will, with pleasure, surrender his powers to whomsoever the people
may designate as his successor.
Given at Monterey, California, this 12th Day of October, A. D. 1849.
B. RILEY, Bvt. Brigadier General U. S. A., and Governor of
California.
Official: H. W. HALLECK, Brev. Captain and Secretary of State.
Preamble
WE, the People of California, grateful to Almighty God for our
freedom: in order to secure its blessings, do establish this
Constitution--
Article I. Declaration of Rights.
Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain
unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending
life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and
pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Sec. 2. All political power in inherent in the people. Government is
instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people;
and they have the right to alter or reform the same, whenever the
public good may require it.
Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and
remain inviolate for ever; but a jury trial may be waived by the
parties, in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law.
Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be
allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent
to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious
belief; but the liberty of conscience, hereby secured, shall not be
so construed as to acts of licentiousness, or justify practices
inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State.
Sec. 5. The privilege of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
may require its suspension.
Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted, nor
shall witnesses be unreasonably detained.
Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties; unless
for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption
great.
Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise
infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of
militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in
time of war, or which this State may keep with the consent of
Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny under the
regulation of the Legislature), unless on presentment or indictment
of a grand jury; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party
accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with
counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice
put in jeopardy for the same offence; nor shall he be compelled, in
any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken without just compensation.
Sec. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that
right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty
of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on
indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the
jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as
libelous is true, and was published with good motives and for
justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall
have the right to determine the law and the fact.
Sec. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble
together, to consult for the common good, to instruct their
representatives, and to petition the Legislature for redress of
grievances.
Sec. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform
operation.
Sec. 12. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No
standing army shall be kept up by this State in time of peace; and
in time of war no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a
longer time than two years.
Sec. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any
house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except
in the manner to be prescribed by law.
Sec. 14. Representation shall be according to population.
Sec. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, in any civil action
on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud; and no person
shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.
Sec. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing
the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.
Sec. 17. Foreigners who are, or may hereafter become bona fide
residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to
the possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property, as native
born citizens.
Sec. 18. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the
punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.
Sec. 19. The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable seizures and
searches, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to
be seized.
Sec. 20. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war
against it, adhering to it enemies, or giving them aid and comfort.
No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of
two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
Sec. 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair
or deny others retained by the people.
Article II. Right of Suffrage.
Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, and every
white male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a
citizen of the United States, under the treaty of peace exchanged
and ratified at Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of the age
of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State six
months next preceding the election, and the county or district in
which he claims his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at
all elections which are now or hereafter may be authorized by law:
Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to
prevent the Legislature, by a two thirds concurrent vote, from
admitting to the right of suffrage, Indians or the descendants of
Indians, in such special cases as such a proportion of the
legislative body may deem just and proper.
Sec. 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of the
election, during their attendance at such election, going to and
returning therefrom.
Sec. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the
day of election, except in time of war or public danger.
Sec. 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have
gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence
while employed in the service of the United States; nor while
engaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the
United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any
seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse, or other
asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison.
Sec. 5. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any
infamous crime, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.
Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.
Article III. Distribution of Powers.
The powers of Government of the
State of California shall be divided into three separate
departments: the Legislative, the Executive, and Judicial; and no
person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one
of these departments, shall exercise any functions appertaining to
either of the others, except in the cases hereinafter expressly
directed or permitted.
Article IV. Legislative Department.
Sec. 1. The Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a
Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated as the Legislature of
the State of California; and the enacting clause of every law shall
be as follows: ``The People of the State of California, represented
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows.''
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 for 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 Constitution 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
appointed 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 they 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 elections 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 secresy.
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.
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 concurrences of two thirds of
the members present.
Sec. 19. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State,
Comptroller, 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 office as may be filled by elections by the
people.
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 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 this title; but in such
case, the act revised, or section amended, shall be re-enacted and
published at length.
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 authorized.
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 and
hundred 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 and made, be fixed by the Legislature,
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 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. 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 into circulation any
bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper,
or the paper of any bank, to circulate as money.
Sec. 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 vive voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal.
Article V. Executive Department
Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in
a Chief Magistrate, who shall be called the Governor of the State of
California.
Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at
the time and place 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 at 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 the 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 the 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 conviction, for all offences 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
Legislature, 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 great 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 Governor, and countersigned
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 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 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 the military force of the
State.
Sec. 18. A Secretary of State, a Comptroller, 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 Lieutenant Governor.
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 Comptroller, 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,
Comptroller, 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.
Sec. 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 qualified 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.
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 or questions
of law alone. 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.
Sec. 7. The Legislature shall provide for the election by the
electors(?) of a Clerk of the Supreme Court and County Clerks,
District Attorneys, Sheriffs, 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
Sessions with such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature shall
prescribe, and he shall perform such other duties as shall be
required by law.
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 jurisdiction,
except in such special cases.
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 by 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 the Justices' Courts to the County Court.
Sec. 15. The Justices of the Supreme Court, and Judges of the
District Courts, shall severally, at stated times during their
continuance 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 nor
diminished during the term for which they shall be 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 may 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;'' all the prosecutions shall be conducted in the name
and by the authority of the same.
Article VII. Militia.
Sec. 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 Legislature 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 invasions
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 pay and discharge the principle 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 specified 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.
Article IX. Education.
Sec. 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, scientific, moral, and agricultural
improvement. The proceeds of all land that may be granted by the
United States to this State for the support of schools, which may be
sold or disposed of, and the five hundred thousand acres of land
granted to the new States, under an act of Congress distributing the
proceeds of the public lands among the several States of the Union,
approved A. D. 1841; and all estates of deceased persons who may
have died without leaving a will, or heir, and also such per cent as
may be granted by Congress on the sale of lands in this State, shall
be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with
all the rents of the unsold lands, and such other means as the
Legislature may provide, shall be inviolably appropriated to the
support of common schools throughout the State.
Sec. 3. The Legislature shall provide for a system of common
schools, by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each
district at least three months in every year, and any school
neglecting to keep and support such a school may be deprived of its
proportion of the interest of the public fund during such neglect.
Sec. 4. The Legislature shall take measures for the protection,
improvement, or other disposition of such lands as have been, or may
hereafter be reserved or granted by the United States, or any person
or persons, to the State for the use of a University; and the funds
accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other
source for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent
fund, the interest of which shall be applied to the support of said
University, with such branches as the public convenience may demand,
for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, as may be
authorized by the terms of such grant. And it shall be the duty of
the Legislature, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for
the improvement and permanent security of the funds of said
University.
Article X.
Mode of Amending and Revising the Constitution.
Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution, may be
proposed in the Senate or Assembly; and if the same shall be agreed
to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses,
such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their
journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the
Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published for three
months next preceding the time of making such choice. And if, in the
Legislature next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or
amendments shall agreed to by a majority of all the members elected
to each house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to
submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in such
manner and at such time as the Legislature shall prescribe; and if
the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, by
a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the
Legislature voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall
become part of the Constitution.
Sec. 2. And if, at any time, two thirds of the Senate and Assembly
shall think it necessary to revise or change this entire
Constitution, they shall recommend to the electors at the next
election for members of the Legislature to vote for or against the
convention; and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors
voting at such election have voted in favor of calling a convention,
the Legislature shall, at its next session, provide by law for
calling a convention, to be holden within six months after the
passage of such law; and such convention shall consist of a number
of members not less than that of both branches of the Legislature.
Article XI. Promiscuous Provisions.
Sec. 1. The first session of the Legislature shall be held at the
Pueblo de San Jose; which place shall be the permanent seat of
government, until removed by law: Provided, however, that two thirds
of all the members elected to each house of the Legislature shall
concur in the passage of such law.
Sec. 2. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption of
this Constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or
accept a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, either
within this State or out of it; or who shall act as second, or
knowingly aid or assist in any manner those thus offending, shall
not be allowed to hold any office of profit or to enjoy the right of
suffrage under this Constitution.
Sec. 3. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive and
judicial, except such inferior officers as may be by law exempted,
shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices,
take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:
``I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will
support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution
of the State of California, and that I will faithfully discharge the
duties of the office of , according to the best of my
ability.''
And no other oath, declaration, or test, shall be required as a
qualification for any office or public trust.
Sec. 4. The Legislature shall establish a system of county and town
governments, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable
throughout the State.
Sec. 5. The Legislature shall have power to provide for the election
of a board of supervisors in each county; and these supervisors
shall jointly and individually perform such duties as may be
prescribed by law.
Sec. 6. All officers whose election or appointment is not provided
for by this Constitution, and all officers whose offices may
hereafter be created by law, shall be elected by the people, or
appointed as the Legislature may direct.
Sec. 7. When the duration of any office is not provided for by this
Constitution, it may be declared by law, and if not so declared,
such office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority
making the appointment; nor shall the duration of any office, not
fixed by this Constitution, ever exceed four years.
Sec. 8. The fiscal year shall commence on the 1st day of July.
Sec. 9. Each county, town, city, and incorporated village, shall
make provision for the support of its own officers, subject to such
restrictions and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe.
Sec. 10. The credit of the State shall not, in any manner, be given
or loaned to or in aid of any individual, association, or
corporation; nor shall the State directly or indirectly become a
stockholder in any association or corporation.
Sec. 11. Suits may be brought against the State in such manner, and
in such courts, as shall be directed by law.
Sec. 12. No contract of marriage, if otherwise duly made, shall be
invalidated for want of conformity to the requirements of any
religious sect.
Sec. 13. Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the State.
All property in this State shall be taxed in proportion to its
value, to be ascertained as directed by law; but assessors and
collectors of town, county, and State taxes, shall be elected by the
qualified electors of the district, county, or town, in which the
property taxed for State, county, or town purposes is situated.
Sec. 14. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned or
claimed by marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise,
or descent, shall be her separate property; and laws shall be passed
more clearly defining the rights of the wife, in relation as well to
her separate property, as to that held in common with her husband.
Laws shall also be passed providing for the registration of the
wife's separate property.
Sec. 15. The Legislature shall protect by law, from forced sale, a
certain portion of the homestead and other property of all heads of
families.
Sec. 16. No perpetuities shall be allowed, except for eleemosynary
purposes.
Sec. 17. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office
of profit in this State, who shall have been convicted of having
given, or offered a bribe, to procure his election or appointment.
Sec. 18. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, serving on
juries, and from the right of suffrage, those who shall hereafter be
convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes. The
privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating
elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue
influence thereon form power, bribery, tumult, or other improper
practice.
Sec. 19. Absence from this State on business of the State, or of the
United States, shall not affect the question of residence of any
person.
Sec. 20. A plurality of the votes given at an election shall
constitute a choice, where not otherwise directed in this
Constitution.
Sec. 21. All laws, decrees, regulations, and provisions, which from
their nature require publication, shall be published in English and
Spanish.
Article XII. Boundary.
The Boundary of the State of California shall be as follows:
Commencing at the point of intersection of 42d degree of north
latitude with the 120th degree of longitude west from Greenwich, and
running south on the line of said 120th degree of west longitude
until it intersects the 39th degree of north latitude; thence
running in a straight line in a south-easterly direction to the
River Colorado, at a point where it intersects the 35th degree of
north latitude; thence down the middle of the channel of the said
river, to the boundary line between the United States and Mexico, as
established by the treaty of May 30th, 1848; thence running west and
along said boundary line to the pacific Ocean, and extending therein
three English miles; thence running in a northwesterly direction and
following the direction of the Pacific Coast to the 42d degree of
north latitude, thence on the line of said 42d degree of north
latitude to the place of beginning. Also all the islands, harbors,
and bays, along and adjacent to the Pacific Coast.
SCHEDULE.
Sec. 1. All rights, prosecutions, claims, and contracts, as well of
individuals as of bodies corporate, and all laws in force at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution, and not inconsistent
therewith, until altered or repealed by the Legislature, shall
continue as if the same had not been adopted.
Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide for the removal of all causes
which may be pending when this Constitution goes into effect, to
courts created by the same.
Sec. 3. In order that no inconvenience may result to the public
service, from the taking effect of this Constitution no office shall
be superseded thereby, nor the laws relative to the duties of the
several officers be changed, until the entering into office of the
new officers to be appointed under this Constitution.
Sec. 4. The provisions of this Constitution concerning the term of
residence necessary to enable persons to hold certain offices
therein mentioned, shall not be held to apply to officers chosen by
the people at the first election, or by the Legislature at its first
session.
Sec. 5. Every citizen of California, declared a legal voter by this
Constitution, and every citizen of the United States, a resident of
this State on the day of election, shall be entitled to vote at the
first general election under this Constitution, and on the question
of the adoption thereof.
Sec. 6. This constitution shall be submitted to the people, for
their ratification or rejection, at the general election to be held
on Tuesday, the thirteenth of November next. The Executive of the
existing Government of California is hereby requested to issue a
proclamation to the people, directing the Prefects of the several
districts, or in case of vacancy, the Sub-prefects, or senior Judge
of first Instance, to cause such election to be held, the day
aforesaid, in the respective districts. The election shall be
conducted in the manner which was prescribed for the election of
Delegates to this Convention except that the prefect, Sub-Prefect,
or senior Judge of first Instance, ordering such election in each
district, shall have power to designate any additional number of
places for opening the polls, and that, in every place of holding
the election, a regular poll-list shall be kept by the judges and
inspectors of election. It shall also be the duty of these judges
and inspectors of election, on the day aforesaid, to receive the
votes of the electors qualified to vote at such election. Each voter
shall express his opinion, by depositing in the ballot-box a ticket,
whereon shall be written, or printed , ``For the Constitution,'' or
``Against the Constitution,'' or some such words as will distinctly
convey the intention of the voter. These Judges and Inspectors shall
also receive the votes for the several officers to be voted for at
the said election as herein provided. At the close of the election,
the Judges and Inspectors shall carefully count each ballot, and
forthwith make duplicate returns thereof to the Prefect, Sub-
Prefect, or senior Judge of first Instance, as the case may be, of
their respective districts; and said Prefect, Sub-Prefect, or senior
Judge of first Instance shall transmit one of the same, by the most
safe and rapid conveyance, to the Secretary of State. Upon the
receipt of said returns, or on the tenth day of December next, if
the returns be not sooner received, it shall be the duty of a board
of canvassers, to consist of the Secretary of State, one of the
Judges of the Superior Court, the Prefect, Judge of first Instance,
and an Alcalde of the District of Monterey, or any three of the
aforementioned officers, in the presence f all who shall choose to
attend, to compare the votes given at said election, and to
immediately publish an abstract of the same in one or more of the
newspapers of California. And the Executive will also, immediately
after ascertaining that the Constitution has been ratified by the
people, make proclamation of the fact; and thenceforth this
Constitution shall be ordained and established as the Constitution
of California.
Sec. 7. If this Constitution shall be ratified by the people of
California, the Executive of the existing Government is hereby
requested immediately after the same shall be ascertained, in the
manner herein directed, to cause a fair copy thereof to be forwarded
to the president of the United States, in order that he may lay it
before the Congress of the United States.
Sec. 8. At the general election aforesaid, viz. the thirteenth day
of November next, there shall be elected a Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, Members of the Legislature, and also two Members of
Congress.
Sec. 9. If this Constitution shall be ratified by the people of
California, the Legislature shall assemble at the seat of Government
on the fifteenth day of December next, and in order to complete the
organization of that body, the Senate shall elect a President pro
tempore, until the Lieutenant Governor shall be installed into
office.
Sec. 10. On the organization of the Legislature, it shall be the
duty of the Secretary of State, to lay before each House, a copy of
the abstract made by the board of canvassers, and if called for, the
original returns of election, in order that each House may judge of
the correctness of the report of said board of canvassers.
Sec. 11. The Legislature, at its first session, shall elect such
officers as may be ordered by this Constitution, to be elected by
that body, and within four days after its organization, proceed to
elect two Senators to the Congress of the United States. But no law
passed by this Legislature shall take effect until signed by the
Governor after his installation into office.
Sec. 12. The Senators and Representatives to the Congress of the
United States, elected by the Legislature and People of California,
as herein directed, shall be furnished with certified copies of this
Constitution, when ratified, which they shall lay before the
Congress of the United States, requesting, in the name of the People
of California, the admission of the State of California into the
American Union.
Sec. 13. All officers of this State, other than members of the
Legislature, shall be installed into office on the fifteenth day of
December next, or as soon thereafter as practicable.
Sec. 14. Until the Legislature shall divide the State into counties,
and senatorial and assembly districts, as directed by this
Constitution, the following shall be the apportionment of the two
houses of the Legislature, viz. the districts of San Diego and Los
Angeles, shall jointly elect two senators; the districts of Santa
Barbara and San Luis Obispo, shall jointly elect one senator; the
district of Monterey, one senator; the district of San Jose, one
senator; the district of San Francisco, two senators; the district
of Sonoma, one senator; the district of Sacramento, four senators;
and the district of San Joaquin, four senators. And the district of
San Diego shall elect one member of assembly; the district of Los
Angeles, two members of assembly; the district of Santa Barbara, two
members of assembly; the district of San Luis Obispo, one member of
assembly; the district of Monterey, two members of assembly; the
district of San Jose, three members of assembly; the district of San
Francisco, five members of assembly; the district of Sonoma, two
members of assembly; the district of Sacramento, nine members of
assembly; and the district of San Joaquin, nine members of assembly.
Sec. 15. Until the Legislature shall otherwise direct, in accordance
with the provisions of this Constitution, the salary of the Governor
shall be ten thousand dollars per annum; and the salary of the
Lieutenant Governor shall be double the pay of a State senator; and
the pay of members of the Legislature shall be sixteen dollars per
diem, while in attendance, and sixteen dollars for every twenty
miles' travel by the usual route from their residences, to the place
of holding the session of the Legislature, and in returning
therefrom. And the Legislature shall fix the salaries of all
officers, other than those elected by the people, at the first
election.
Sec. 16. The limitation of the powers of the Legislature, contained
in Article 8th of this Constitution, shall not extend to the first
Legislature elected under the same, which is hereby authorized to
negotiate for such amount as may be necessary to pay the expenses of
the State Government.
R. SEMPLE,
President of the Convention, and Delegate from Benicia.
Wm. G. Marcy, Secretary.
J. Aram,
C. T. Botts,
E. Brown,
J. A. Carrillo
J. M. Covarrubias
E. O. Crosby,
P. De La Guerra,
L. Dent,
M. Dominguez,
K. H. Dimmick,
A. J. Ellis,
S. C. Foster,
E. Gilbert,
W. M. Gwin,
H. W. Halleck
Julian Hanks,
L. W. Hastings,
Henry Hill,
J. Hobson,
J. McH. Hollingsworth,
J. D. Hoppe,
J. M. Jones,
T. O. Larkin,
Francis J. Lippitt,
B. S. Lippincott,
M. M. McCarver,
John McDougall,
B. F. Moore,
Myron Norton,
P. Ord,
Miguel Pedrorena,
A. M. Pico,
R. M. Price,
Hugo Reid,
Jacinto Rodriguez,
Pedro Sansevaine,
W. E. Shannon,
W. S. Sherwood,
J. R. Snyder,
A. Stearns,
W. M. Steuart,
J. A. Sutter,
Henry A. Tefft,
S. L. Vermeule,
M. G. Vallejo,
J. Walker,
O. M. Wozencraft.