CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Adopted by the Convention, March 3, 1879.
Ratified by the People, May 7, 1879.

PREAMBLE AND DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

PREAMBLE.

We, the people of the state of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this constitution.

Inalienable rights.

ARTICLE I.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

SECTION 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

Popular government.

SEC. 2. All political power is 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.

California an inseparable part of Union.

SEO. 3. The state of California is an inseparable part of the American Union, and the constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.

Religious worship and liberty of conscience.

SEC. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be guaranteed in this state; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness or juror on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience bereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.

Habeas corpus.

SEC. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its

suspension.

Bail-Excessive fines-Cruel and unusual punishments.

unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail

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shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted. Witnesses shall not be unreasonably detained, nor confined in any room where criminals are actually imprisoned.

Trial by jury.

SEC. 7. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate; but in civil actions three fourths of the jury may render a verdict. A trial by jury may be waived in all criminal cases not amounting to felony, by the consent of both parties, expressed in open court, and in civil actions by the consent of the parties, signified in such manner as may be prescribed by law. In civil actions and cases of misdemeanor, the jury may consist of twelve, or of any number less than twelve upon which the parties may agree in open

court.

Criminal prosecutions by information or indictment-Grand jury.

SEC. 8. Offenses heretofore required to be prosecuted by indictment shall be prosecuted by information, after examination and commitment by a magistrate, or by indictment, with or without such examination and commitment, as may be prescribed by law. A grand jury shall be drawn and summoned at least once a year in each county.

Liberty of speech and of the press-Law of libel.

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 criminal prosecutions 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. Indictments found, or information laid, for publications in newspapers shall be tried in the county where such newspapers have their publication office, or in the county where the party alleged to be libeled resided at the time of the alleged publication, unless the place of trial shall be changed for good cause. Popular assemblies.

SEC. 10. The people shall have the right to freely assemble together to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the legislature for redress of grievances.

General laws to have uniform operation.

SEC. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. Military power-Quartering of soldiers.

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 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 prescribed by law.

Rights of accused persons-Depositions in criminal cases.

SEC. 13. In criminal prosecutions, in any court whatever, the party accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial; to have the process of the court to compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and to appear and defend, in person and with counsel. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense; nor 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. The legislature shall have power to provide for the taking, in the

presence of the party accused and his counsel, of depositions of witnesses in criminal cases, other than cases of homicide, when there is reason to believe that the witness, from inability or other cause, will not attend at the trial.

Private property taken for public use.

SEC. 14. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation having been first made to, or paid into court for, the owner, and no right of way shall be appropriated to the use of any corporation other than municipal until full compensation therefor be first made in money or ascertained and paid into court for the owner, irrespective of any benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation, which compensation shall be ascertained by a jury, unless a jury be waived, as in other civil cases in a court of record, as shall be prescribed by law.

Imprisonment in civil cases.

SEC. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud, nor in civil actions for torts, except in cases of willful injury to person or property; and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.

Bills of attainder-Ex post facto laws-Laws impairing contracts.

SEO. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts shall ever be passed.

Rights of foreigners.

SEO. 17. Foreigners of the white race or of African descent, eligible to become citizens of the United States under the naturalization laws thereof, while bona fide residents of this state, shall have the same rights in respect to the acquisition, possession, enjoyment, transmission, and inheritance of property as native-born citizens.

Slavery.

SEO. 18. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this state.

Seizures and search-warrants.

SEO. 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.

Treason.

SEC. 20. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its 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.

Special privileges and immunities.

SEC. 21. No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted which may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the legislature; nor shall any citizen, or class of citizens, be granted privileges or immunities which, upon the same terms, shall not be granted to all citizens.

Constitutional provisions mandatory and prohibitory.

SEC. 22. The provisions of this constitution are mandatory and prohibitory, unless by express words they are declared to be otherwise.

Popular rights retained by people.

SEC. 23. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people.

No property qualification to vote or hold office.

SEO. 24. No property qualification shall ever be required for any person to vote or hold office.

ARTICLE II.

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.

Who entitled to vote.

SECTION 1. Every native male citizen of the United States, every male person who shall have acquired the rights of citizenship under or by virtue of the treaty of Querétaro, and every male naturalized citizen thereof, who shall have become such ninety days prior to any election, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the state one year next preceding the election, and of the county in which he claims his vote ninety days, and in the election precinct thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or may hereafter be authorized by law; provided, no native of China, no idiot, insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, and no person hereafter convicted of the embezzlement or misappropriation of public money, shall ever exercise the privileges of an elector in this state.

Privileges of electors.

SEC. 2. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of election, during their attendance at such election, going to and returning therefrom.

Militia duty on election day.

SEC. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the day of election, except in time of war or public danger.

Residence, when not gained or lost.

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 at any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any alms-house, or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison.

Ballot.

SEC. 5. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.

ARTICLE III.

Separation of departments.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

SECTION 1. The powers of the government of the state of California shall be divided into three separate departments-the legislative, 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 as in this constitution expressly directed or permitted.

ARTICLE IV.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Senate and assembly-Enacting clause of laws.

SECTION 1. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a senate and assembly, which shall be designated "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." Sessions of legislature-Limitation of pay and for introduction of bills.

SEC. 2. The sessions of the legislature shall commence at twelve o'clock M. on the first Monday after the first day of January next succeeding the election of its members, and, after the election held in the year eighteen hundred and eighty, shall be biennial, unless the governor shall, in the interim, convene the legislature by proclamation. No pay shall be allowed to members for a longer time than sixty days, except for the first session after the adoption of this constitution, for which they may be allowed pay for one hundred days. And no bill shall be introduced, in either house, after the expiration of ninety days from the commencement of the first session, nor after fifty days after the commencement of each succeeding session, without the consent of two thirds of the members thereof.

Election and terms of assemblymen.

SEO. 3. Members of the assembly shall be elected in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, at the time and in the manner now provided by law. The second election of members of the assembly, after the adoption of this constitution, shall be on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and eighty. Thereafter, members of the assembly shall be chosen biennially, and their term of office shall be two years; and each election shall be on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered by the legislature.

Election and terms of senators-Qualifications of senators and assemblymen.

SEC. 4. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years at the same time and places as members of the assembly, and no person shall be a member of the senate or assembly who has not been a citizen and inhabitant of the state three years, and of the district for which he shall be chosen one year, next before his election.

Number of senators and assemblymen-Classes of senators.

SEC. 5. The senate shall consist of forty members, and the assembly of eighty members, to be elected by districts, numbered as hereinafter provided. The seats of the twenty senators elected in the year eighteen hundred and eightytwo from the odd-numbered districts shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, so that one half of the senators shall be elected every two years; provided, that all the senators elected at the first election under this constitution shall hold office for the term of three years.

Senatorial and assembly districts.

SEC. 6. For the purpose of choosing members of the legislature, the state shall be divided into forty senatorial and eighty assembly districts, as nearly equal in population as may be, and composed of contiguous territory, to be called senatorial and assembly districts. Each senatorial district shall choose one senator, and each assembly district shall choose one member of assembly. The senatorial districts shall be numbered from one to forty, inclusive, in numerical order, and the assembly districts shall be numbered from one to eighty, in the same order, commencing at the northern boundary of the state, and ending at the southern boundary thereof. In the formation of such districts, no county, or city and county, shall be divided, unless it contain sufficient population within itself to form two or more districts; nor shall a part of any county, or of any city and county, be united with any other county, or city and county, in