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California Constitution
California Constitution
amended or revised over 500 times.[5] The constitution gradually became increasingly bloated, leading to abortive efforts towards a third constitutional convention in 1897, 1914, 1919, 1930, 1934, and 1947.[6] By 1962 the constitution had grown to 75,000 words, which at that time was longer than any other state constitution but Alabama.[7] 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.[8] The Commission ultimately removed about 40,000 words from the constitution.[7]
The 1849 Constitution was signed in Colton Hall in Monterey. The Constitution of the State of California 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 The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which was ratified on May 7, 1879.[1] The result of Progressive mistrust of elected officials, the 1879 constitution is the third longest in the world (behind those of Alabama and India),[2] and has been described as "the perfect example of what a constitution ought not to be".[3]
Signers of the 1849 Constitution
• Joseph Aram • Charles T. Botts • Elam Brown • Jose Antonio Carrillo • Jose Manuel Covarrubias • Elisha Oscar Crosby • Lewis Dent • Kimball Hale Dimmick • Manuel Dominguez • Alfred James Ellis • Stephen C. Foster • Edward Gilbert • Pablo de la Guerra • William M. Gwin • Julian Hanks • Henry Hill • Jacob David Hoppe • John McDougall • Myron Norton • Pacificus Ord • Miguel de Pedrorena • Rodman M. Price • Antonio Ma. Pico • Jacinto Rodriguez • Hugh Reid • J. A. Sutter • Henry A. Tefft • Jacob R. Snyder • Winfield Scott Sherwood • William E. Shannon
History
The constitution has undergone numerous changes since its original drafting. It was rewritten from scratch several times prior to the drafting of the 1849 constitution, which has itself been amended or revised (see below) 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 Era politicians pioneered the concept of aggressively amending the state constitution by initiative in order to remedy perceived evils.[4] From 1911, the height of the U.S. Progressive Era, to 1986, the California Constitution was
• Pedro Sainse • Abel Stearn • John C Shaw • William M. Ste • Robert Semple • M. G. Vallejo • Joseph Hobson • Thoma Verme • H. W. Halleck • Joel P. Walker
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California Constitution
Differences from other constitutions
The California Constitution is one of the longest in the world.[2] The length has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as lack of faith in elected officials and the fact that many initiatives take the form of a constitutional amendment.[9] 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 or inherent judicial power.[10] Unlike other state constitutions, the California Constitution strongly protects the corporate existence of cities and counties and grants them broad plenary home rule powers.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] Two excellent examples include (1) the Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins case involving an implied right to free speech in private shopping centers, and (2) 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. Constitution’s 8th Amendment, which prohibits punishments which are cruel and unusual, the state constitution prohibits punishments which are cruel or unusual. Two universities are expressly mentioned in the constitution: the University of California and Stanford University. UC is one of only nine state-run public universities in the United States whose independence from political interference is expressly guaranteed by the state constitution.[14] Since 1900, Stanford has enjoyed the benefit of a constitutional clause shielding Stanford-owned property from taxes as long as it is used for educational purposes.[15]
Amendments and revisions
See also: California ballot proposition The constitution of California distinguishes between constitutional amendments and revisions, the latter of which is considered to be a "substantial change to the entire constitution, rather than ... a less extensive change in one or more of its provisions".[16] Both require passage of a California ballot proposition by voters, but they differ in how they may be proposed. An amendment may be placed on the ballot by either a two-thirds vote in the California State Legislature or signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, among the lowest thresholds for similar measures of any U.S. state.[17] As of 2008, this was 694,354 signatures[18] compared to an estimated 2007 population of 36,553,215.[19] Revisions originally required a constitutional convention but today may be passed with the approval of both two-thirds of the legislature and a majority of voters; while simplified since its beginnings, the revision process is considered more politically charged and difficult to successfully pass than an amendment.[20] The exact distinction between an amendment and a revision has never been clear, as highlighted by Proposition 8 in 2008. Passed as an initiative amendment in response to the California Supreme Court’s finding that same-sex marriage was allowed under the constitution, the proposition defined marriage as between a man and a woman. However, there is an ongoing court battle over the constitutionality of the amendment, which opponents argue is a revision rather than an amendment.[21]
Notes
[1] Grodin 8, 16. [2] ^ Janiskee, Brian; Ken Masugi (2007-07-27). "2". Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 27. ISBN 0742548368. http://books.google.com/ books?id=srZnCmkFiEMC&pg=PA27&vq=sprawl&s [3] Wilson and Ebbbert via Korey 11. Korey states, "The convention did succeed in producing what one writer has called ’a document that was the perfect example
2
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of what a constitution ought not to be.’" The work cited is Wilson and Ebbert, California’s Legislature. [4] Grodin 16-17. [5] Grodin 21. [6] Grodin 18-19. [7] ^ Grodin 19. [8] Grodin 20 [9] Grodin 14-15. [10] Grodin 267. [11] Grodin 170-192. [12] Grodin 193. [13] Grodin 37. [14] Grodin 156. [15] Grodin 311. [16] Lee 1. [17] Grodin 1, 3. [18] "How to Qualify an Initiative". Elections & Voter Information. California Secretary of State. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ elections_h.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-20. [19] "Annual Population Estimates 2000 to 2007". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/ NST-ann-est.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-20. [20] Lee 7. [21] "California’s Legal Trouble". The New York Times. 2008-11-24. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/ opinion/25tue4.html?ref=opinion. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
California Constitution
References
• Grodin, Joseph R.; Massey, Calvin R.; Cunningham, Richard B. (1993), The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, ISBN 031327228X • Korey, John L. (2002), California Government (Third ed.), Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0618122842 • Lee, Eugene C. (1991), "The Revision of California’s Constitution" (PDF), CPS Brief (California Policy Seminar) 3, No. 3, http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/documents/ caconst.pdf, retrieved on 2008-11-19
See also
• Government of California • Politics of California
External links
Full text
• Text of the Constitution as of 1879 (PDF file, 1.6 MB) • Search State Constitution searchable index • California State Archives - 1849 State Constitution (text)
Additional information
• California Policy Seminar brief: The Revision of the California Constitution • California Performance Review
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