California Constitution

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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 The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which was ratified on May 7, 1879.^[1] The result of Progressive mistrust of elected officials, the 1879 constitution is the third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]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Signatories of the 1849 Constitution 2 Differences from other constitutions 3 Amendments and revisions 4 California Constitutional Convention 5 Notes 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 8.1 Full text 8.2 Additional information

[edit] 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 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 Louisiana's.^[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]

[edit] Signatories 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 Hugo Reid J. A. Sutter Henry A. Tefft Jacob R. Snyder Winfield Scott Sherwood William E. Shannon

Pedro Sainsevain Abel Stearns John C. Shaw William M. Steuart Robert Semple M. G. Vallejo Joseph Hobson Thomas L. Vermeule H. W. Halleck Joel P. Walker

Lansford W. Hastings Oliver M. Wozencroft John McHenry Hollingsworth James McHall Jones Thomas Oliver Larkin Francis J. Lippitt Benjamin S. Lippincott Benjiman F. Moore Morton Matthew McCarver

[edit] 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]

[edit] Amendments and revisions

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^[update], 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.^{[citation needed]} 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. Opponents argued that Proposition 8 constituted a revision, and was thus beyond the scope of the initiative process. However, the California Supreme Court eventually ruled that it was in fact an amendment, and within the rights of the voters to add to the constitution.

[edit] California Constitutional Convention

In response to a budgetary crisis, several prominent individuals and political organizations are calling for a new constitution.^[21] The Bay Area Council, a public-policy advocacy organization, issued a press release in August 2008 to launch the idea,^[22] and co-sponsored a symposium on the subject on February 24, 2009.^[23]

A coalition calling itself "Repair California" was formed in 2009 to continue the push for a California constitutional convention.^[24] The group plans to submit its proposed measures to the Attorney General by September 25, 2009.^[25] This is the first step in the process, after which signatures are solicited from voters.^[25] The plan is to obtain the two-thirds majority vote in the legislature and place a new constitution on the ballot for the November 2010 election.^[25]

Repair California states that a consensus is emerging to reform these areas:^[25]

• The structure of governance, particularly the legislative and executive branches

• The processes for initiatives and referenda

• Campaign finance

• Term limits

• Changing to the two-thirds requirement for passing a budget

• Revenue distribution, particularly between localities and the state

The California Action Network^[26] filed two Initiative Constitutional Amendments on June 24, 2009. On August 14, 2009, the California Attorney General issued legal titles and summaries of both proposals, and that same day, the Secretary of State Certified both the initiatives of the California Action Network, to start the signature drive to qualify for the November 2nd, 2010 State Ballot. The California Action Network has until January 11, 2010 to file their petitions with at least 694,354 valid voter signatures on each petition. The filings will take place in each County of California on the same day, as required by law. The California Attorney General titled the California Action Network's first Initiative (09-0018): CHANGES CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW VOTERS TO CALL A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION WITH AN INITIATIVE. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. The California Attorney General titled the California Action Network's second Initiative (09-0019): CALLS A CONVENTION TO DRAFT NEW STATE CONSTITUTION. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

A third group, California Forward, is working on a limited set of issues based solutions very similar to the Bay Area Council's efforts with their group Repair California. There are another five to fifteen groups who have single issue proposals.^{[citation needed]} California Forward's set of initiatives must pass as a complete set, or that effort fails, according to California Forward.^{[citation needed]}

Repair California proposed a constitutional convention with a limited scope and said it would maintain substantial portions of the current constitution. The California Action Network Initiatives open up the complete constitution to allow the elected delegates to draft a new State Constitution.^{[citation needed]} The California Action Network initiatives provide for the election of Convention Delegates, whereas to Repair California's proposals which are based on a grand jury selection of delegates that selects the delegates by lottery rather than by vote. No new constitution will replace the existing constitution until after the voters have a chance to study the work, and then ratify or reject the convention's draft new constitution.^{[citation needed]}

California Action Network Propositions will open up all existing 35 Articles with no clear amendments for a thorough re-write. The Elected Convention Delegates will Draft an New State Constitution from scratch. This is called a "clean sheet of paper approach". The goal is to slim down the current tome into an elegant short set of Articles that frame a well structured government, and then include all the various topics as amendments, modeled on the classic United States Constitution. The Unites States Constitution has 7 Articles and 26 Clear Amendments. This "full scope" approach to a constitutional convention, was endorsed by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday August 15, 2009^[27]. Under the California Action Network propositions, Articles 36 and 37 (created by the ballot initiatives calling the convention) will also be open to change, as the Initiatives call for a New Constitution. All delegates will be elected by the people of California, five per each Assembly district. The California Action Network Initiatives passed review from the Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Director of Finance Office, and the Joint Legislative Finance Committee of the State Senate and State Assembly before being certified by the California Secretary of State. The existing Constitution and state government would remain intact until after the voters ratify the new constitution.

The California Action Network Initiatives set the location of the Convention at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove. These Initiatives also sequester the elected delegates until the new Constitution is complete to eliminate any interference by paid lobbyists and special interest advocates. The initiatives provide the Convention with subpoena power and specifies the non-voting Presiding Officer be the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. The initiatives require the participation of the California Supreme Court in an advisory capacity and a full legal staff to serve the Convention and Convention Committees.^{[citation needed]}

The full scope Convention is intended to preserve the parts of the current Constitution that are working and to restructure and modernize the other parts. A story in the New Yorker magazine discussed some of the issues involved and suggested a need for reform.^[28]

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Government of California
• Politics of California

[edit] 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 2008-11-19 

[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: California Constitution

[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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