California Constitution
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The California Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 by the California Republic prior to California's attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which was ratified on May 7, 1879.[1]
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[edit] Amendments and revisions
In response to widespread public disgust with the powerful railroads which controlled California's politics and economy at the start of the 20th century, Progressive politicians pioneered the concept of aggressively amending the state constitution by initiative in order to remedy perceived evils.[2] From 1911, the height of the U.S. Progressive Era, to 1986, the California Constitution was amended over 460 times.[3] The constitution gradually became increasingly bloated, leading to abortive efforts towards a third constitutional convention in 1897, 1914, 1919, 1930, 1934, and 1947.[4] By 1962 the constitution had grown to 75,000 words, which at that time was longer than any other state constitution but Louisiana.[5] That year, the electorate approved the creation of a California Constitution Revision Commission, which worked on a comprehensive revision of the constitution from 1964 to 1976. The electorate ratified the Commission's revisions in 1966, 1970, 1972, and 1974, but rejected the 1968 revision, whose primary substantive effect would have been to make the state's superintendent of schools into an appointed rather than an elected official.[6] In the end, the Commission managed to remove about 40,000 words from the constitution.[7]
[edit] Differences from other constitutions
Unlike most constitutions, the California Constitution is quite long at 110 pages. The length has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as lack of faith in elected officials and the fact that most initiatives take the form of a constitutional amendment.[8] Several amendments involved the authorization of the creation of state government agencies, including the State Compensation Insurance Fund and the State Bar of California; the purpose of such amendments was to insulate the agencies from being attacked as an unconstitutionally broad exercise of police power.
Unlike other state constitutions, the California Constitution strongly protects the corporate existence of cities and counties and grants them broad plenary home rule powers.[9] By specifically enabling cities to pay counties to perform governmental functions for them, Section 8 of Article XI resulted in the rise of the contract city.[10]
Many of the individual rights clauses in the state constitution have been construed as providing rights broader than the Bill of Rights in the federal constitution.[11] Two excellent examples are the Pruneyard Shopping Center case, and the first decision in America in 1972 finding the death penalty unconstitutional, California v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628, which also noted that under the state constitution, a stronger protection applies than the U.S. Constition's 8th Amendment, which prohibits punishments which are cruel and unusual, the state constitution prohibits punishments which are cruel or unusual.
[edit] Original Signers of the 1849 Constitution
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Constitutions of the U.S. States and Territories
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| States | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming |
| Territories | American Samoa • Guam • Northern Mariana Islands • Puerto Rico • United States Virgin Islands |
[edit] References
- ^ Joseph R. Grodin, Calvin R. Massey, and Richard B. Cunningham, The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993), 8 and 16.
- ^ 16-17.
- ^ Grodin, 21.
- ^ Grodin, 18-19.
- ^ Grodin, 19.
- ^ Grodin, 20.
- ^ Grodin, 19.
- ^ Grodin, 14-15.
- ^ Grodin, 170-192.
- ^ Grodin, 193.
- ^ Grodin, 37.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Full text
- Search State Constitution searchable index
- California State Archives - 1849 State Constitution (text)
[edit] Additional information
- California Policy Seminar brief: The Revision of the California Constitution
- California Performance Review
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