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Contents
- Preliminary Material
- Main Text
- Part One The History of the North Dakota Constitution
- The History and Development of the North Dakota Constitution
- The Explorers
- The Natives Were There
- The Settlers Came
- The Army Ruled
- The Construction of the Railroads
- The Bonanza Farms
- The Creation of Dakota Territory
- A Few of the Prominent Citizens
- The Capital is Hijacked to Bismarck
- The Territorial Government
- The Farmers Organize
- The Creation of the Two Dakotas
- The Constitutional Convention
- North Dakota Politics
- The North Dakota Supreme Court
- The U.S. Constitution Versus the North Dakota State Constitution
- The Topography of the State
- The History and Development of the North Dakota Constitution
- Part Two The North Dakota Constitution and Commentary
- Preamble
- Art.I Declaration of Rights
- All Individuals … Have Certain Inalienable Rights
- All Political Power is Inherent in the People
- The Free Exercise and Enjoyment of Religious Profession and Worship … Shall be Forever Guaranteed
- Every Man May Freely Write, Speak and Publish
- Citizens Have a Right, … to Assemble Together
- Neither Slavery Nor Involuntary Servitude … Shall Ever be Tolerated in this State
- Every Citizen … Shall be Free to Obtain Employment
- The Right of the People to be Secure
- All Courts Shall Be Open
- No Person Shall, for a Felony, be Proceeded Against Criminally, Otherwise Than by Indictment
- All Persons Shall be Bailable by Sufficient Sureties, Unless for Capital Offenses
- The Party Accused Shall Have the Right to a Speedy and Public Trial
- s.12 .
- To Have the Process of the Court to Compel the Attendance of Witnesses in His Behalf
- To Appear and Defend in Person
- To Appear and Defend … with Counsel
- No Person Shall Be Twice Put in Jeopardy for the Same Offense
- Nor Be Compelled … to Be a Witness against Himself
- Nor Be Deprived of Life, Liberty, or Property without Due Process of Law
- s.12 .
- The Right of Trial by Jury (In Civil Cases)
- The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus Shall not be Suspended
- No Person Shall be Imprisoned for Debt
- Private Property Shall not be Taken … for Public Use Without Just Compensation
- Treason Against the State Shall Consist Only in Levying War Against It
- No Bill of Attainder … Shall Ever be Passed
- The Militia Shall be Subordinate to the Civil Power
- To Guard Against Transgressions of the Higher Powers
- No Special Privileges or Immunities Shall Ever be Granted Which May Not be Altered
- Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land
- This Constitution … [Is] Mandatory and Prohibitory
- Art.II Elective Franchise
- Art.III Powers Reserved to the People
- The People Reserve the Power to Propose and Enact Laws
- A Petition to Initiate or Refer a Measure Shall be Presented to the Secretary of State for Approval
- The Petition Shall be Circulated Only by Electors
- The Petition … [Must] be … Signed by Electors Equal in Number to Two Percent of the Resident Population
- An Initiative Petition Shall be Submitted Not Less than Ninety Days Before the Statewide Election
- The Secretary of State Shall Pass Upon Each Petition
- If a Majority of Votes Cast Upon [A] … Measure Are Affirmative, it Shall be Deemed Enacted
- A Constitutional Amendment May be Proposed by Initiative Petition
- Any Elected Official … Shall be Subject to Recall by Petition of Electors
- Art.IV Legislative Branch
- These Houses are Jointly Designated as the Legislative Assembly of the State of North Dakota
- The Legislative Assembly Shall Fix the Number of Senators and Representatives
- One-Half of the Members of … [Each House] as Nearly as is Practicable, are Elected Biennially
- Senators and Representatives … [Are] Elected for … Four Years
- Each Person Elected to the Legislative Assembly Must be … a Qualified Elector
- No Member May Hold Any Full-Time Appointive State Office Established by this Constitution
- Terms of Members of the Legislative Assembly Begin on the First Day of December Following Their Election
- The House of Representatives Shall Elect One of its Members to Act as Presiding Officer
- [Member] … of the Legislative Assembly Shall [Not] Offer or Promise to Give his Vote or Influence
- No Person Convicted of Bribery, … or Other Infamous Crime Shall be Eligible to the Legislative Assembly
- Governor Shall Issue Writs of Election to Fill Such Vacancies as May Occur in Either House
- Each House is the Judge of the Qualifications of its Members
- No Law May be Enacted Except by a Bill Passed by Both Houses
- All Sessions of the Legislative Assembly … Must be Open and Public
- Members of the Legislative Assembly are Immune From Arrest During Their Attendance at the Sessions
- Any Amendment to this Constitution May be Proposed in Either House of the Legislative Assembly
- Art.V Executive Branch
- The Executive Power is Vested in the Governor
- Electors … Shall Choose a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, … (And Other State Officers)
- Governor and the Lieutenant Governor Must be Elected on a Joint Ballot
- To Hold an Elective Office … a Person Must be a Qualified Elector of this State
- Qualified Electors Shall Choose the Elected State Officials
- Elected Officials … Shall Hold Office in the State Capitol
- The Governor is Commander-In-Chief of the State’s Military Forces
- The Governor May Fill a Vacancy in Any Office
- The Governor May Veto a Bill Passed by the Legislative Assembly
- A Governor Who Asks, [Or] Receives, … Any Bribe … Thereof Forfeits All Right to Hold … Any Office
- The Lieutenant Governor Shall Succeed to the Office of Governor When a Vacancy Occurs
- Lieutenant Governor Shall Serve as President of the Senate
- Art.VI Judicial Branch
- Judicial Power of the State is Vested in a Unified Judicial System
- The Supreme Court Shall … Have Appellate Jurisdiction
- Supreme Court Shall … Promulgate Rules of Procedure
- Supreme Court Shall not Declare … [A Law] Unconstitutional Unless … Four Members … So Decide
- When a Judgment … is Reversed, Modified, or Confirmed … the Reasons Shall be Concisely Stated in Writing
- Appeals Shall be Allowed From Decisions of Lower Courts
- The Justices … Shall be Chosen by the Electors of the State for Ten-Year Terms
- The District Court Shall Have Original Jurisdiction
- The State Shall be Divided Into Judicial Districts
- Supreme Court Justices and District Judges Shall be … Learned in the Law
- When any Justice or Judge Has a Conflict of Interest … The Chief Justice … Shall Assign a Judge
- Assembly May Provide for the Retirement, Discipline and Removal of Judges
- A Judicial Nominating Committee Must be Established
- Art.VII Political Subdivisions
- This Article is to Provide for Maximum Local Self-Government by all Political Subdivisions
- Assembly Shall Provide … for the Establishment and the Government of all Political Subdivisions
- Counties … Are Hereby Declared to be Counties of the State of North Dakota
- Assembly Shall Provide by Law for Relocating County Seats Within Counties
- No Portion of any County … Shall be Annexed … or Dissolved Unless A Majority of the Electors … Approve
- Assembly Shall Provide … for the Establishment … of Home Rule in Counties and Cities
- Assembly Shall … Provide by Law for Optional Forms of Government for Counties
- Each County Shall Provide for Law Enforcement, Administrative and Fiscal Services
- Questions of the Form of Government … May be Placed Upon the Ballot
- Agreements…. for Cooperative or Joint Administration … May be Made by Any Political Subdivision
- Art.VIII Education
- Art.IX Trust Lands
- All Proceeds of the Public Lands … Shall be and Remain a Perpetual Trust Fund
- Income of this Fund … Shall be … Used … for the Benefit of the Common Schools
- “The Board of University and School Lands”
- The Public Officers Designated by Law Shall Constitute Boards of Appraisal
- Assembly Shall Provide for the Sale of all School Lands
- All Sales … Shall be at Public Auction and to the Highest Bidder
- All Lands Received by the State … Shall be … Sold in the Same Manner and Under the Same Limitations
- Assembly Shall … Provide … for the Leasing of Lands Granted to the State
- No Law Shall … Be Passed … Granting … Any Privileges by Reason of the Occupation … of … Lands
- Assembly May Provide for the Sale … of all Public Lands … Granted by the United States to the State
- Assembly Shall Pass … Laws for the Safekeeping, Transfer, and Disbursement of the State School Funds
- The Following Public Institutions of the State are Permanently Located at the Places … Named
- The Following Pubic Institutions are Permanently Located as Provided
- Art.X Finance and Public Debt
- Assembly Shall be Prohibited From … Levying of a Tax on the Assessed Value of Real or Personal Property
- The Power of Taxation Shall Never be Surrendered
- Every Law Imposing a Tax Shall State Distinctly the Object of the Same
- All Taxable Property … Shall Be Assessed … [Where] it is Situated
- Taxes Shall be Uniform Upon the Same Class of Property
- Assembly May Provide for … an Annual Poll Tax
- Legislature May by Law Provide for … an Acreage Tax on Lands Within the State
- There Shall be … Levied … One Mill … Upon … Taxable Property [For] the … State Medical Center
- Motor Fuel Excise and License Taxation … Shall Be … Used Solely for Construction of … Public Highways
- All Public Moneys … Shall Be Paid Over … to the State Treasurer
- No Further Indebtedness Shall be Incurred by the State Unless Evidenced by a Bond Issue
- State May Issue Bonds … to Make Loans to … Construct … Power and Generating … Facilities
- Debt … Shall Never Exceed Five Per Centum Upon the Assessed Valuation of the Taxable Property
- Political Subdivision … [Must] Provide for … an Annual Tax … to Pay the Interest and … Principal
- No Bond … is Valid Unless … Issued Pursuant to Law and is Within the Debt Limit
- The State, Any County or City May Make Internal Improvements and May Engage in Any Industry
- Assembly … [May] Provide … for the … Operation of … Grain Elevators … in Minnesota or Wisconsin
- Assembly is Authorized … to Provide … for the … Operation of One or More Terminal Grain Elevators
- Not Less Than Fifteen Percent of the Tax … for Severing Coal Shall be Placed Into a Permanent Trust
- Assembly May Provide … for a Percentage … From Taxes … be … Credited to a Special Trust Fund
- Assembly May Provide for … Compensation to … Members of the Regular Active Duty Armed Forces
- Twenty Percent of the Revenue From Oil Extraction Taxes … Must be Allocated as Follows
- The Veterans’ Postwar Trust Fund Shall be a Permanent Trust Fund of the State of North Dakota
- Art.XI General Provisions
- The Name of the State Shall be “North Dakota”
- Natural Watercourses Shall Forever Remain the Property of the State for Mining, Irrigating and Manufacturing
- Members of the Legislative Assembly and Judicial Department…. Shall…. Take…. [An] Oath
- Meetings of Public or Governmental Bodies…. Supported in Whole or in Part by Public Funds … Shall be Open
- Records of Public … Bodies … Shall be Public Records, Open and Accessible for Inspection
- To Ensure Continuity of … Governmental Operations in Periods of Emergency … [Assembly] Shall [Act]
- The Governor and Other State and Judicial Officers … Shall be Liable to Impeachment
- Officers not Liable to Impeachment Shall be Subject to Removal for Misconduct
- No Officer Shall Exercise the Duties of his Office After he Shall Have Been Impeached
- No Person Shall be Tried on Impeachment Before he Shall Have Been Served a Copy Thereof
- The Militia … Shall Consist of all Able-Bodied Male Persons … Between the Ages of Eighteen and Forty-Five
- The Right of the Debtor to Enjoy the Comforts … of Life Shall be Recognized by Wholesome Laws
- Property of Any Woman … Shall be her Separate Property
- The Labor of Children Under Twelve Years of Age Shall be Prohibited in Mines, Factories and Workshops
- Assembly Shall not Authorize any Game of Chance … [Except For] Bona Fide Nonprofit … Organizations, Civic And Service Clubs
- The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches are Coequal Branches of Government
- Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing and the Taking of Game and Fish are a Valued Part of Our Heritage
- Art.XII Corporations Other Than Municipal
- The Assembly Shall Provide by General Laws for the Organization of all Corporations Hereafter Created
- Assembly Shall not Remit the Forfeiture of the Charter of Any Corporation Now Existing, Nor Alter or Amend the Same
- Exercise of the Right of Eminent Domain Shall Never be Abridged
- In All Elections for … Managers of a Corporation, Each Member … May Cast the Whole Number of his Votes for One Candidate
- Foreign Corporation … [Must Have] an Authorized Agent … Upon Whom Process May be Served
- No Corporation Shall Issue Stock or Bonds Except for Money, Labor Done, or Money or Property Actually Received
- No Law Shall be Passed … to Construct … a Street Railway … Without … the Consent of Local Authorities
- Every Railroad … Shall Have and Maintain a Public Office … in the State for the Transaction of its Business
- Assembly Shall … Enact Laws Regulating … The Rates of Charges for the Transportation of Passengers, … and Freight
- Security to the Full Amount Thereof Shall be Deposited … for the Redemption of Such Notes or Bills
- Controlling of the Price of Any Product of the Soil or Any Article of Manufacture of Commerce … is Prohibited
- Art.XIII Compact with the United States
- Jurisdiction … of this State Extends Over Those Reservations … Which … Jurisdiction is not Vested in the United States
- North Dakota Hereby Accepts the Several Grants of Land Granted by the United States to the State of North Dakota
- Provisions of the Enabling Act … are Continued in Effect as Though Fully Recited and Continue to be Irrevocable
- Transition Schedule
- Part One The History of the North Dakota Constitution
- Further Material
