Constitution of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
WE, the people of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and
religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and
establish this Constitution.
Article 1 DECLARATION
OF RIGHTS
That the general, great and essential
principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and
unalterably established, WE DECLARE THAT -
Inherent Rights of Mankind Section
1.
All men are born equally free and
independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among
which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring,
possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their
own happiness.
Political Powers Section
2.
All power is inherent in the people, and all
free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their
peace, safety and happiness. For the advancement of these ends they have
at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or
abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper.
Religious Freedom Section
3.
All men have a natural and indefeasible right
to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own
consciences; no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect or support
any place of worship or to maintain any ministry against his consent; no
human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the
rights of conscience, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any
religious establishments or modes of worship.
Religion Section
4.
No person who acknowledges the being of a God
and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his
religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of
trust or profit under this Commonwealth.
Elections Section
5.
Elections shall be free and equal; and no
power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free
exercise of the right of suffrage.
Trial by Jury Section
6.
Trial by jury shall be as heretofore, and the
right thereof remain inviolate. The General assembly may provide,
however, by law, that a verdict may be rendered by not less than
five-sixths of the jury in any civil case.
Freedom of Press and Speech; Libels
Section 7.
The printing press shall be free to every
person who may undertake to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or
any branch of government, and no law shall ever by made to restrain the
right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of
the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write
and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that
liberty. No conviction shall be had in any prosecution for the
publication of papers relating to the official conduct of officers or men
in public capacity, or to any other matter proper for public
investigation or information, where the fact that such publication was
not maliciously or negligently made shall be established to the
satisfaction of the jury; and in all indictments for libels the jury
shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the
direction of the court, as in other cases.
Security From Searches and Seizures
Section 8.
The people shall be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and possessions from unreasonable searches and seizures,
and no warrant to search any place or to seize any person or things shall
issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation subscribed by the affiant.
Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions
Section 9.
In all criminal prosecutions the accused hath
a right to be heard by himself and his counsel, to demand the nature and
cause of the accusation against him, to meet the witnesses face to face,
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and in
prosecutions by indictment or information, a speedy public trial by an
impartial jury of the vicinage; he cannot be compelled to give evidence
against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty or property,
unless by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land. The use of a
suppressed voluntary admission or voluntary confession to impeach the
credibility of a person may be permitted and shall not be construed as
compelling a person to give evidence against himself.
Initiation of Criminal Proceedings; Twice in
Jeopardy; Eminent Domain Section 10.
Except as hereinafter provided no person
shall, for any indictable offense, be proceeded against criminally by
information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger, or
by leave of the court for oppression or misdemeanor in office. Each of
the several courts of common pleas may, with the approval of the Supreme
Court, provide for the initiation of criminal proceedings therein by
information filed in the manner provided by law. No person shall, for the
same offense, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall private
property be taken or applied to public use, without authority of law and
without just compensation being first made or secured.
Courts to Be Open; Suits Against the
Commonwealth Section 11.
All courts shall be open; and every man for
an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation shall have
remedy by due course of law, and eight and justice administered without
sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought against the Commonwealth in
such manner, in such courts and in such cases as the Legislature may by
law direct.
Power of Suspending Laws Section 12.
No power of suspending laws shall be
exercised unless by the Legislature or by its authority.
Bail, Fines and Punishments Section
13.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted.
Prisoners to be Bailable; Habeas Corpus
Section 14.
All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient
sureties, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident of
presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall
not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public
safety may require it.
Special Criminal Tribunals Section
15.
No commission shall issue creating special
temporary criminal tribunals to try particular individuals or particular
classes of cases.
Insolvent Debtors Section 16.
The person of a debtor, where there is not
strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after
delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner
as shall be prescribed by law.
Ex Post Facto Laws; Impairment of Contracts
Section 17.
No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing
the obligation of contracts, or making irrevocable any grant of special
privileges or immunities, shall be passed.
Attainder Section 18.
No person shall be attained of treason or
felony by the Legislature.
Attainder Limited Section 19.
No attainder shall work corruption of blood,
nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the
Commonwealth.
Right of Petition Section 20.
The citizens have a right in a peaceable
manner to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those
invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other
proper purposes by petition, address or remonstrance.
Right to Bear Arms Section 21.
The right of the citizens to bear arms in
defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.
Standing Army; Military Subordinate to Civil
Power Section 22.
No standing army shall, in time of peace, be
kept up without the consent of the Legislature, and the military shall in
all cases and at all times be in strict subordination to the civil power.
Quartering of Troops Section 23.
No soldier shall in time of peace be
quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of
war but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Titles and Offices Section 24.
The Legislature shall not grant any title of
nobility of hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment
to which shall be for a longer term than during good behavior.
Reservation of Powers in People
Section 25.
To guard against the transgressions of the
high powers which we have delegated, we declare that everything in this
article is excepted out of the general powers of government and shall
forever remain inviolate.
No Discrimination by Commonwealth and Its
Political Subdivisions Section 26.
Neither the Commonwealth nor any political
subdivision thereof shall deny to any person the enjoyment of any civil
right, nor discriminate against any person in the exercise of any civil
right.
Natural Resources and the Public Estate
Section 27.
The people have a right to clean air, pure
water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and
esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural
resources are the common property of all the people, including
generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth
shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.
Prohibition Against Denial or Abridgment of
Equality of Rights Because of Sex Section 28.
Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex
of the individual.
Article II THE
LEGISLATURE
Legislative Power Section
1.
The legislative power of this Commonwealth
shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate
and a House of Representatives.
Election of Members; Vacancies
Section 2.
Members of the General Assembly shall be
chosen at the general election every second year. Their term of service
shall begin on the first day of December next after their election.
Whenever a vacancy shall occur in either House, the presiding officer
thereof shall issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy for the
remainder of the term.
Terms of Members Section
3.
Senators shall be elected for the term of
four years and Representatives for the term of two years.
Sessions Section
4.
The General Assembly shall be a continuing
body during the term for which its Representatives are elected. It shall
meet at twelve o'clock noon on the first Tuesday of January each year.
Special sessions shall be called by the Governor on petition of a
majority of the members elected to each House or may be called by the
Governor whenever in his opinion the public interest requires.
Qualifications of Members Section
5.
Senators shall be at least twenty-five years
of age and Representatives twenty-one years of age. They shall have been
citizens and inhabitants of the State four years, and inhabitants of
their respective districts one year next before their election (unless
absent on the public business of the United States or of this State) and
shall reside in their respective districts during their terms of service.
Disqualification to Hold Other Office
Section 6.
No Senator or Representative shall, during
the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under
this Commonwealth to which a salary, fee of perquisite is attached. No
member of Congress or other person holding any office (except of
attorney-at law or in the national guard or in a reserve component of the
armed forces of the United States) under the United States of this
Commonwealth to which a salary, fee or perquisite is attached shall be a
member of either House during his continuance in office.
Ineligibility by Criminal Convictions
Section 7.
No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement
of public moneys, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, shall be
eligible to the General Assembly, or capable of holding any office of
trust or profit in this Commonwealth.
Compensation Section
8.
The members of the General Assembly shall
receive such salary and mileage for regular and special sessions as shall
be fixed by law, and no other compensation whatever, whether for service
upon committee or otherwise. No member of either House shall during the
term for which he may have been elected, receive any increase of salary,
or mileage, under any law passed during such term.
Election of Officers; Judge of Election and
Qualifications of Members Section 9.
The Senate shall, at the beginning and close
of each regular session and at such other times as may be necessary,
elect one of its members President protempore, who shall perform the
duties of the Lieutenant Governor shall be vacant. The House of
Representatives shall elect one of its members as Speaker. Each House
shall choose its other officers, and shall judge of the election and
qualifications of its members.
Quorum Section 10.
A majority of each House shall constitute a
quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the
attendance of absent members.
Powers of Each House; Expulsion
Section 11.
Each House shall have power to determine the
rules of its proceedings and punish its members or other persons for
contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence, to enforce obedience to
its process, to protect its members against violence or offers of bribes
or private solicitation, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, to
expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause, and shall have
all other powers necessary for the Legislature of a free State. A member
expelled for corruption shall not thereafter be eligible to either House,
and punishment for contempt or disorderly behavior shall not bar an
indictment for the same offense.
Journals; Yeas and Nays Section 12.
Each House shall keep a journal of its
proceedings and from time to time publish the same, except such parts as
require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members on any question
shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journal.
Open Sessions Section 13.
The sessions of each House and of committees
of the whole shall be open, unless when the business is such as ought to
be kept secret.
Adjournments Section 14.
Neither House shall, without the consent of
the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than
that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Privileges of Members Section 15.
The members of the General Assembly shall in
all cases, except treason, felony, violation of their oath of office, and
breach of surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the sessions of their respective Houses and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House
they shall not be questioned in any other place.
Legislative Districts Section 16.
The Commonwealth shall be divided into fifty
senatorial and two hundred three representative districts, which shall be
composed of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in
population as practicable. Each senatorial district shall elect one
Senator, and each representative district one Representative. Unless
absolutely necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough,
township or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or
representative district.
Legislative Reapportionment Commission
Section 17.
(a) In each year following the year of the
Federal decennial census, a Legislative Reapportionment Commission shall
be constituted for the purpose of reapportioning the Commonwealth. The
commission shall act by a majority of its entire membership.
(b) The commission shall consist of five
members: four of whom shall be the majority and minority leaders of both
the Senate and the House of Representatives, or deputies appointed by
each of them, and a chairman selected as hereinafter provided. No later
than 60 days following the official reporting of the Federal decennial
census as required by Federal law, the four members shall be certified by
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives to the elections officer of the Commonwealth who under
law shall have supervision over elections. The four members within 45
days after their certification shall select the fifth member, who shall
serve as chairman of the commission, and shall immediately certify his
name to such elections officer. The chairman shall be a citizen of the
Commonwealth other than a local, State or Federal official; holding an
office to which compensation is attached. If the four members fail to
select the fifth member within the time prescribed, a majority of the
entire membership of the Supreme Court within thirty days thereafter
shall appoint the chairman as aforesaid and certify his appointment to
such elections officer. Any vacancy in the commission shall be filled
within fifteen days in the same manner in which such position was
originally filled.
(c) No later than ninety days after either
the commission has been duly certified or the population data for the
Commonwealth as determined by the Federal decennial census are available,
whichever is later in time, the commission shall file a preliminary
reapportionment plan with such elections officer. The commission shall
have thirty days after filling the preliminary plan to make corrections
in the plan. Any person aggrieved by the preliminary plan shall have the
same thirty-day period to file exceptions with the commission in which
case the commission shall thirty days after the date the exceptions were
filled to prepare and file with such elections officer a revised
reapportionment plan. If no exceptions are filled within thirty days, or
if filed and acted upon, the commission's plan shall be final and have
the force of law.
(d) Any aggrieved person may file an appeal
from the final plan directly to the Supreme Court within thirty days
after the filing thereof. If the appellant establishes that the final
plan is contrary to law, the Supreme Court shall issue an order remanding
the plan to the commission and directing the commission to reapportion
the Commonwealth in a manner not inconsistent with such order.
(e) When the Supreme Court has finally
decided an appeal or when the last day for filing an appeal has passed
with no appeal taken, the reapportionment plan shall have the force of
law and the districts therein provided shall be used thereafter in
elections to the General Assembly until the next reapportionment as
required under this section 17.
(f) The General Assembly shall appropriate
sufficient funds for the compensation and expenses of members and staff
appointed by the commission, and other necessary expenses. The members of
the commission shall be entitled to such compensation for their services
as the General Assembly from time to time shall determine but no part
thereof shall be paid until a preliminary plan is filed. If a preliminary
plan is filed but the commission fails to file a revised or final plan
within the time prescribed, the commission members shall forfeit all
right to compensation not paid.
(g) If a preliminary, revised or final
reapportionment plan is not filed by the commission within the time
prescribed by this section, unless the time be extended by the Supreme
Court for cause shown, the Supreme Court shall immediately proceed on its
own motion to reapportion the Commonwealth.
(h) Any reapportionment plan filed by the
commission, or ordered or prepared by the Supreme Court upon the failure
of the commission to act, shall be published by the elections officer
once in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each senatorial
and representative district. The publication shall contain a map of the
Commonwealth showing the complete reapportionment of the General Assembly
by districts, and a map showing the reapportionment districts in the area
normally served by the newspaper in which the publication is male. The
publication shall also state the population of the senatorial and
representative districts having the smallest and largest population and
the percentage variation of such districts from the average population
for senatorial and representative districts.
Article III
LEGISLATION
A. Procedure
Passage of Laws Section
1.
No law shall be passed except by bill, and no
bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House,
as to change its original purpose.
Reference to Committee; Printing
Section 2.
No bill shall be considered unless referred
to a committee, printed for the use of the members and returned
therefrom.
Form of Bills Section
3.
No bill shall be passed containing more than
one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except a
general appropriation bill or a bill codifying or compiling the law or a
part thereof.
Consideration of Bills Section
4.
Every bill shall be considered on three
different days in each House. All amendments made thereto shall be
printed for the use of the members before the final vote is taken on the
bill and before the final vote is taken, upon written request addressed
to the presiding officer of either House by at least twenty-five percent
of the members elected to that House, any bill shall be read at length in
that House. No bill shall become a law, unless on its final passage the
vote is taken by yeas and nays, the names of the persons voting for and
against it are entered on the journal, and a majority of the members
elected to each House is recorded thereon as voting in its favor.
Concurring in Amendments; Conference
Committee Reports Section 5.
No amendment to bills by one House shall be
concurred in by the other, except by the vote of a majority of the
members elected thereto, taken by yeas and nays, and the names of those
voting recorded upon the journals.
Revival and Amendment of Laws
Section 6.
No law shall be revived, amended, or the
provisions thereof extended or conferred, by reference to its title only,
but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended or conferred shall
be re-enacted and published at length.
Notice of Local and Special Bills
Section 7.
No local or special bill shall be passed
unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been
published in the locality where the matter or the thing to be effected
may be situated, which notice shall be at least thirty days prior to the
introduction into the General Assembly of such bill and in the manner to
be provided by law; the evidence of such notice having been published,
shall be exhibited in the General Assembly, before such act shall be
passed.
Signing of Bills Section
8.
The presiding officer of each House shall, in
the presence of the House over which he presides, sign all bills and
joint resolutions passed by the General Assembly, after their titles have
been publicly read immediately before signing; and the fact of signing
shall be entered on the journal.
Action on Concurrent Orders and Resolutions
Section 9.
Every order, resolution or vote, to which the
concurrence of both Houses may be necessary, except on the question of
adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor and before it shall take
effect be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be repassed by
two-thirds of both Houses according to the rules and limitations
prescribed in case of a bill.
Revenue Bills Section 10.
All bills for raising revenue shall originate
in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments as
in other bills.
Appropriation Bills Section 11.
The general appropriation bill shall embrace
nothing but appropriations for the executive, legislative and judicial
departments of the Commonwealth, for the public debt and for public
schools. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each
embracing but one subject.
Legislation Designated by Governor at
Special Sessions Section 12.
When the General Assembly shall be convened
in special session, there shall be no legislation upon subjects other
than those designated in the proclamation of the Governor calling such
session.
Vote Denied Members with Personal Interest
Section 12.
A member who has a personal or private
interest in any measure or bill proposed or pending before the General
Assembly shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a member,
and shall not vote thereon. B. Education
Public School System Section 14.
The General Assembly shall provide for the
maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public
education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.
Public School Money Not Available to
Sectarian Schools Section 15.
No money raised for the support of the public
schools of the Commonwealth shall be appropriated to or used for the
support of any sectarian school. C. National Guard
National Guard to be Organized and
Maintained Section 16.
The citizens of this Commonwealth shall be
armed, organized and disciplined for its defense when and in such manner
as may be directed by law. The General Assembly shall provide for
maintaining the National Guard by appropriations from the Treasury of the
Commonwealth, and may exempt from State military service persons having
conscientious scruples against bearing arms. D. Other Legislation
Specifically Authorized
Appointment of Legislative Officers and
Employees Section 17.
The General Assembly shall prescribe by law
the number, duties and compensation of the officers and employees of each
House, and no payment shall be made from the State Treasury, or be in any
way authorized, to any person, except to an acting officer or employee
elected or appointed in pursuance of law.
Compensation Laws Allowed to General
Assembly Section 18.
The General Assembly may enact laws requiring
the payment by employers, or employers and employees jointly, of
reasonable compensation for injuries to employees arising in the course
of their employment, and for occupational diseases of employees, whether
or not such injuries or diseases result in death, and regardless of fault
of employer or employee, and fixing the basis of ascertainment of such
compensation and the maximum and minimum limits thereof, and providing
special or general remedies for the collection thereof; but in no other
cases shall the General Assembly limit the amount to be recovered for
injuries resulting in death, or for injuries to persons or property, and
in case of death from such injuries, the right of action shall survive,
and the General Assembly shall prescribe for whose benefit such actions
shall be prosecuted. No act shall prescribe any limitations of time
within which suits may be brought against corporations for injuries to
persons or property, or for other causes different from those fixed by
general laws regulating actions against natural persons, and such acts
now existing are avoided.
Appropriations for Support of Widows and
Orphans of Persons Who Served in the Armed Forces Section 19.
The General Assembly may make appropriations
of money to institutions wherein the widows of persons who served in the
armed forces are supported or assisted, or the orphans of persons who
served in the armed forces are maintained and educated; but such
appropriations shall be applied exclusively to the support of such widows
and orphans.
Classification of Municipalities
Section 20.
The Legislature shall have power to classify
counties, cities, boroughs, school districts, and townships according to
population, and all laws passed relating to each class, and all laws
passed relating to, and regulating procedure and proceedings in court
with reference to, any class, shall be deemed general legislation within
the meaning of this Constitution.
Land Title Registration Section 21.
Laws may be passed providing for a system of
registering, transferring, insuring of and guaranteeing land titles by
the State, or by the counties thereof, and for settling and determining
adverse or other claims to and interest in lands the titles to which are
so registered, transferred, insured, and guaranteed; and for the creation
and collection of indemnity funds; and for carrying the system and powers
hereby provided for into effect by such existing courts as may be
designated by the Legislature. Such laws may provide for continuing the
registering, transferring, insuring, and guaranteeing such titles after
the first or original registration has been perfected by the court, and
provision may be made for raising the necessary funds for expenses and
salaries of officers, which shall be paid out of the treasury of the
several counties.
State Purchases Section 22.
The General Assembly shall maintain by law a
system of competitive bidding under which all purchases of materials,
printing, supplies or other personal property used by the government of
this Commonwealth shall so far as practicable be made. The law shall
provide that no officer or employee of the Commonwealth shall be in any
way interested in any purchase made by the Commonwealth under contract or
otherwise.
Change of Venue Section 23.
The power to change the venue in civil and
criminal cases shall be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such
manner as shall be provided by law.
Paying Out Public Moneys Section 24.
No money shall be paid out of the treasury,
except on appropriations made by law and on warrant issued by the proper
officers; but cash refunds of taxes, licenses, fees and other charges
paid or collected, but not legally due, may be paid, as provided by law,
without appropriation from the fund into which they were paid on warrant
of the proper officer.
Emergency Seats of Government
Section 25.
The General Assembly may provide, by law,
during any session, for the continuity of the executive, legislative, and
judicial functions of the government of the Commonwealth, and its
political subdivisions, and the establishment of emergency seats thereof
and any such laws heretofore enacted are validated. Such legislation
shall become effective in the event of an attack by an enemy of the
United States.
Extra Compensation Prohibited; Claims
Against the Commonwealth; Pensions Section 26.
No bill shall be passed giving any extra
compensation to any public officer, servant, employee, agent or
contractor after services shall be rendered or contract made, nor
providing for the payment of any claim against the Commonwealth without
previous authority of law. Provided, however, that nothing in this
Constitution shall be construed to prohibit the General Assembly from
authorizing the increase of retirement allowances or pensions of members
of a retirement or pension system now in effect or hereafter legally
constituted by the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, agencies or
instrumentalities, after the termination of the services of said member.
Changes in Term of Office or Salary
Prohibited Section 27.
No law shall extend the term of any public
officer, or increase or diminish his salary or emoluments, after his
election or appointment. E. Restrictions on Legislative Power
Change of Permanent Location of State
Capital Section 28.
No law changing the permanent location of the
Capital of the State shall be valid until the same shall have been
submitted to the qualified electors of the Commonwealth at a general
election and ratified and approved by them.
Appropriations for Public Assistance,
Military Service, Scholarships Section 29.
No appropriation shall be made for
charitable, educational or benevolent purposes to any person or community
nor to any denomination and sectarian institution, corporation or
association: Provided, that appropriations may be made for pensions of
gratuities for military service and to blind persons twenty-one years of
age and upwards and for assistance to mothers having dependent children
and to aged persons without adequate means of support and in the form of
scholarship grants or loans for higher educational purposes to residents
of the Commonwealth enrolled in institutions of higher learning except
that no scholarship, grants or loans for higher educational purposes
shall be given to persons enrolled in a theological seminary or school of
theology.
Charitable and Educational Appropriations
Section 30.
No appropriation shall be made to any
charitable or educational institution not under the absolute control of
the Commonwealth, other than normal schools established by law for the
professional training of teachers for the public schools of the State,
except by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House.
Delegation of Certain Powers Prohibited
Section 31.
The General Assembly shall not delegate to
any special commission, private corporation or association, any power to
make, supervise or interfere with any municipal improvement, money,
property or effects, whether held in trust or otherwise, or to levy taxes
or perform any municipal function whatever. Notwithstanding the foregoing
limitation or any other provision of the Constitution, the General
Assembly may enact laws which provide that the findings of panels or
commissions, selected and acting in accordance with law for the
adjustment or settlement of grievances or disputes or for collective
bargaining between policemen and firemen and their public employers shall
be binding upon all parties and shall constitute a mandate to the head of
the political subdivision which is the employer or to the appropriate
officer of the Commonwealth if the Commonwealth is the employer, with
respect to matters which can be remedied by administrative action, and to
the lawmaking body of such political subdivision or of the Commonwealth,
with respect to matters which require legislative action, to take the
action necessary to carry out such findings.
Certain Local and Special Laws
Section 32.
The General Assembly shall pass no local or
special law in any case which has been or can be provided for by general
law and specifically the General assembly shall not pass any local or
special law. 1. Regulating the affairs of counties, cities,
townships, wards, boroughs, or school districts. 2. Vacating
roads, town plats, streets or alleys. 3. Locating or changing
county seats, erecting new counties or changing county lines. 4.
Erecting new townships or boroughs, changing township lines, borough
limits or school districts. 5. Remitting fines, penalties and
forfeitures, or refunding moneys legally paid into the treasury.
6. Exempting property from taxation. 7. regulating labor, trade,
mining or manufacturing. 8. Creating corporations, or amending,
renewing or extending the charters thereof. Nor shall the General
Assembly indirectly enact any special or local law by the partial repeal
of a general law; but laws repealing local or special acts may be passed.
Article IV THE
EXECUTIVE
Executive Department Section
1.
The Executive Department of this Commonwealth
shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
Auditor General, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public
Instruction and such other officers as the General Assembly may from time
to time prescribe.
Duties of Governor; Election Procedure; Tie
or contest Section 2.
The supreme executive power shall be vested
in the Governor, who shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed; he shall be chosen on the day of the general election, by the
qualified electors of the Commonwealth, at the places where they shall
vote for Representatives. The returns of every election for Governor
shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to
the President of the Senate, who shall open and publish them in the
presence of the members of both Houses of the General Assembly. The
person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor, but if two
or more be equal and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen
Governor by the joint vote of the members of both Houses. Contested
elections shall be determined by a committee, to be selected from both
Houses of the General Assembly, and formed and regulated in such manner
as shall be directed by law. General Assembly. The person having the
highest number of votes shall be Governor, but if two or more be equal
and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint
vote of members of both Houses. Contested elections shall be determined
by a committee, to be selected from both Houses of the General Assembly,
and formed and regulated in such manner as shall be directed by law.
Terms of Office of Governor; Number of Terms
Section 3.
The Governor shall hold his office during
four years from the third Tuesday of January new ensuing his election.
Except for the Governor who may be in office when this amendment is
adopted, he shall be eligible to succeed himself for one additional term.
Lieutenant Governor Section
4.
A Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly
with the Governor by the casting by each voter of a single vote
applicable to both offices, for the same term, and subject to the same
provisions as the Governor; he shall be President of the Senate. As such,
he may vote in case of a tie on any question except the final passage of
a bill or joint resolution, the adoption of a conference report or the
concurrence in amendments made by the House of Representatives.
Attorney General Section
4.
1. An Attorney General shall be chosen by the
qualified electors of the Commonwealth on the day the general election is
held for the Auditor General and State Treasurer; he shall hold his
office during four years from the third Tuesday of January next ensuing
his election and shall not be eligible to serve continuously for more
than two successive terms; he shall be the chief law officer of the
Commonwealth and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as
may be imposed by law.
Qualifications of Governor, Lieutenant
Governor and Attorney General Section 5.
No person shall be eligible to the office of
Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General except a citizen of the
United States, who shall have attained the age of thirty years, and have
been seven years next preceding his election an inhabitant of this
Commonwealth, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of
the United States or of this Commonwealth. No person shall be eligible to
the office of Attorney General except a member of the bar of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania.
Disqualification for Offices of Governor,
Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General Section
6.
No member of Congress or person holding any
office (except of attorney-at-law or in the National Guard or in a
reserve component of the armed forces of the United States) under the
United States or this Commonwealth shall exercise the office of Governor,
Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General.
Military Power Section
7.
The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of
the military forces of the Commonwealth, except when they shall be called
into actual service of the United States.
Appointing Power Section
8.
(a) The Governor shall appoint a Secretary of
Education and such other officers as he shall be authorized by law to
appoint. The appointment of the Secretary of Education and of such other
officers as may be specified by law, shall be subject to the consent of
two-thirds or a majority of the members elected to the Senate as is
specified by law.
(b) The Governor shall fill vacancies in
offices to which he appoints by nominating to the Senate a proper person
to fill the vacancy within 90 days of the first day of the vacancy and
not thereafter. The Senate shall act on each executive nomination within
25 legislative days of its submission. If the Senate has not voted upon a
nomination within 15 legislative days following such submission, any five
members of the Senate may, in writing, request the presiding officer of
the Senate to place the nomination before the entire Senate body whereby
the nomination must be voted upon prior to the expiration of five
legislative days or 25 legislative days following submission by the
Governor, whichever occurs first. If the nomination is made during a
recess or after adjournment sine die, the Senate shall act upon it within
25 legislative days after its return or reconvening. If the Senate for
any reason fails to act upon a nomination submitted to it within the
required 25 legislative days, the nominee shall take office as if the
appointment had been consented to by the Senate. The Governor shall in a
similar manner fill vacancies in the offices of Auditor General, State
Treasurer, justice, judge, justice of the peace and in any other elective
office he is authorized to fill. In the case of a vacancy in an elective
office, a person shall be elected to the office on the next election day
appropriate to the office unless the first day of the vacancy is within
two calendar months immediately preceding the election day in which case
the election shall be held on the second succeeding election day
appropriate to the office.
(c) In acting on executive nominations, the
Senate shall sit with open doors. The votes shall be taken by yeas and
nays and shall be entered on the journal.
Pardoning Power; Board of Pardons
Section 9.
(a) In all criminal cases except impeachment,
the Governor shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, to grant
reprieves, commutation of sentences and pardons; but no pardon shall be
granted, nor sentence commuted, except on the recommendation in writing
of a majority of the Board of Pardons, after full hearing in open
session, upon due public notice. The recommendation, with the reasons
therefor at length, shall be delivered to the Governor and a copy thereof
shall be kept on file in the office of the Lieutenant Governor in a
docket kept for that purpose.
(b) The Board of Pardons shall consist of the
Lieutenant Governor who shall be chairman, the Attorney General and three
members appointed by the Governor with the consent of two-thirds or a
majority of the members elected to the Senate as is specified by law for
terms of six years. The three members appointed by the Governor shall be
residents of Pennsylvania and shall be recognized leaders in their
fields; one shall be a member of the bar, one a penologist, and the third
a doctor of medicine, psychiatrist or psychologist. The board shall keep
records of its actions, which shall at all times be open for public
inspection.
Information from Department Officials
Section 10.
The Governor may require information in
writing from the officers of the Executive Department, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices.
Messages to the General Assembly
Section 11.
He shall, from time to time, give to the
General Assembly information of the state of the Commonwealth, and
recommend to their consideration such measures as he may judge expedient.
Power to Convene and Adjourn the General
Assembly Section 12.
He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene
the General Assembly, and in case of disagreement between the two Houses,
with respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he
shall think proper, not exceeding four months. He shall have power to
convene the Senate in extraordinary session by proclamation for the
transaction of Executive business.
When Lieutenant Governor to Act as Governor
Section 13.
In the case of the death, conviction on
impeachment, failure to qualify or resignation of the Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor for the remainder of the term
and in the case of the disability of the Governor, the powers, duties and
emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor until
the disability is removed.
Vacancy in Office of Lieutenant Governor
Section 14.
In case of the death, conviction on
impeachment, failure to qualify or resignation of the Lieutenant
Governor, or in case he should become Governor under section 13 of this
article, the President pro tempore of the Senate shall become Lieutenant
Governor for the remainder of the term. In case of the disability of the
Lieutenant Governor, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office
shall devolve upon the President pro tempore of the Senate until the
disability is removed. Should there be no Lieutenant Governor, the
President pro tempore of the Senate shall become Governor if a vacancy
shall occur in the office of Governor and in case of the disability of
the Governor, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office shall
devolve upon the President pro tempore of the Senate until the disability
is removed. His seat as Senator shall become vacant whenever he shall
become Governor and shall be filled by election as any other vacancy in
Senate.
Approval of Bills; Vetoes Section
15.
Every bill which shall have passed both
Houses shall be presented to the Governor; if he approves he shall sign
it, but if he shall not approve he shall return it with his objections to
the House in which it shall have originated, which House shall enter the
objections at large upon their journal, and proceed to re-consider it. If
after such re-consideration, two-thirds of all the members elected to
that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent with the
objections to the other House by which likewise it shall be
re-considered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members elected
to that House it shall be a law; but in such cases the votes of both
Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members
voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each
House, respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor
within ten days after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall
be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General
Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it
shall be a law, unless he shall file the same, with his objections, in
the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and give notice thereof
by public proclamation within thirty days after such adjournment.
Partial Disapproval of Appropriation Bills
Section 16.
The Governor shall have power to disapprove
of any item of any bill, making appropriations of money, embracing
distinct items, and the part or parts of the bill approved shall be the
law, and the item or items of appropriation disapproved shall be void,
unless re-passed according to the rules and limitations prescribed for
the passage of other bills over the Executive veto.
Contested Elections of Governor, Lieutenant
Governor and Attorney General; When Succeeded Section 17.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
preside upon the trial of any contested election of Governor, Lieutenant
Governor or Attorney General and shall decide questions regarding the
admissibility of evidence, and shall, upon request of the committee,
pronounce his opinion upon other questions of law involved in the trial.
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General shall exercise the
duties of their respective offices until their successors shall be duly
qualified.
Terms of Office of Auditor General and State
Treasurer; Number of Terms; Eligibility of State Treasurer to become
Auditor General Section 18.
The terms of the Auditor General and of the
State Treasurer shall each be four years from the third Tuesday of
January next ensuing his election. They shall be chosen by the qualified
electors of the Commonwealth at general elections but shall not be
eligible to serve continuously for more than two successive terms. The
State Treasurer shall not be eligible to the office of Auditor General
until fours years after he has been State Treasurer.
State Seal; Commissions Section 19.
The present Great Seal of Pennsylvania shall
be the seal of the State. All commissions shall be in the name and by
authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be sealed with the
State seal and signed by the Governor.
Article V THE
JUDICIARY
Unified Judicial System Section
1.
The judicial power of the Commonwealth shall
be vested in a unified judicial system consisting of the Supreme Court,
the Superior Court, the Commonwealth Court, courts of common pleas,
community courts, municipal and traffic courts in the City of
Philadelphia, such other courts as may be provided by law and justices of
the peace. All courts and justices of the peace and their jurisdiction
shall be in this unified judicial system.
Supreme Court Section
2.
The Supreme Court
(a) shall be the highest court of the
Commonwealth and in this court shall be reposed the supreme judicial
power of the Commonwealth;
(b) shall consist of seven justices, one of
whom shall be the justice; and
(c) shall have such jurisdiction as shall be
provided by law.
Superior Court Section
3.
The Superior Court shall be a statewide
court, and shall consist of the number of judges, which shall be not less
than seven judges, and have such jurisdiction as shall be provided by
this Constitution or by the General Assembly. One of its judges shall be
the president judge.
Commonwealth Court Section
4.
The Commonwealth Court shall be a statewide
court, and shall consist of the number of judges and have such
jurisdiction as shall be provided by law. One of its judges shall be the
president judge.
Courts of Common Pleas Section
5.
There shall be one court of common pleas for
each judicial district
(a) having such divisions and consisting of
such number of judges as shall be provided by law, one of whom shall be
the president judge; and
(b) having unlimited original jurisdiction in
all cases except as may otherwise be provided by law.
Community Courts; Philadelphia Municipal
Court and Traffic Court Section 6.
(a) in any judicial district a majority of
the electors voting thereon may approve the establishment or
discontinuance of a community court. Where a community court is approved,
one community court shall be established; its divisions, number of judges
and jurisdiction shall be as provided by law.
(b) The question whether a community court
shall be established or discontinued in any judicial district shall be
placed upon the ballot in a primary election by petition which shall be
in the form prescribed by the officer of the Commonwealth who under law
shall have supervision over elections. The petition shall be filed with
that officer and shall be signed by a number of electors equal to five
percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for the office
occupied by a single official for which the highest number of votes was
cast in that judicial district at the last preceding general or municipal
election. The manner of signing such petitions, the time of circulating
them, the affidavits of the persons circulating them and all other
details not contained herein shall be governed by the general laws
relating to elections. The question shall not be placed upon the ballot
in a judicial district more than once in any five-year period.
(c) In the City of Philadelphia there shall
be a municipal Court and a traffic court. The number of judges and the
jurisdiction of each shall be as provided by law. These courts shall
exist so long as a community court has not been established or in the
event one has been discontinued under this section.
Justices of the Peace; Magisterial Districts
Section 7.
(a) In any judicial district, other than the
City of Philadelphia, where a community court has not been established or
where one has been discontinued there shall be one justice of the peace
in each magisterial district. The jurisdiction of the justice of the
peace shall be as provided by law.
(b) The General Assembly shall by law
establish classes of magisterial districts solely on the basis of
population and population density and shall fix the salaries to be paid
justices of the peace in each class. The number and boundaries of
magisterial districts of each class within each judicial district shall
be established by the Supreme Court or by the courts of common pleas
under the direction of the Supreme Court as required for the efficient
administration of justice within each magisterial district.
Other Courts Section
8.
The General Assembly may establish additional
courts or divisions of existing courts, as needed, or abolish any
statutory court or division thereof.
Right of Appeal Section
9.
There shall be a right of appeal in all cases
to a court of record from a court not of record; and there shall also be
a right of appeal from a court of record or from an administrative agency
to a court of record or to an appellate court, the selection of such
court to be as provided by law; and there shall be such other rights of
appeal as may be provided by law.
Judicial Administration Section 10.
(a) The Supreme Court shall exercise general
supervisory and administrative authority over all the courts and justices
of the peace, including authority to temporarily assign judges and
justices of the peace from one court or district to another as it deems
appropriate.
(b) The Supreme Court shall appoint a court
administrator and may appoint such subordinate administrators and staff
as may be necessary and proper for the prompt and proper disposition of
the business of all courts and justices of the peace.
(c) The Supreme Court shall have the power to
prescribe general rules governing practice, procedure and the conduct of
all courts, justices of the peace and all officers serving process or
enforcing orders, judgments or decrees of any court or justice of the
peace, including the power to provide for assignments and reassignment of
classes of actions or classes of appeals among the several courts as the
needs of justice shall require, and for admission to the bar and to
practice law, and the administration of all courts and supervision of all
officers of the Judicial Branch, if such rules are consistent with this
Constitution and neither abridge, enlarge nor modify the substantive
rights of any litigant, nor affect the right of the General Assembly to
determine the jurisdiction of any court or justice of the peace, nor
suspend nor alter any statute of limitation or repose. All laws shall be
suspended to the extent that they are inconsistent with rules prescribed
under these provisions.
(d) The Chief Justice and president judges of
all courts with seven or less judges shall be the justice or judge
longest in continuous service on their respective courts; and in the
event of his resignation from this position the justice or judge next
longest in continuous service shall be the Chief Justice or president
judge. The president judges of all other courts shall be selected for
five-year terms by the members of their respective courts, except that
the president judge of the traffic court in the City of Philadelphia
shall be appointed by the Governor. A chief Justice or president judge
may resign such position and remain a member of the court. In the event
of a tie vote for office of president judge in a court which elects its
president judge, the Supreme Court shall appoint as president judge one
of the judges receiving the highest number of votes.
(e) Should any two or more justices or judges
of the same court assume office at the same time, they shall cast lots
forthwith for priority of commission, and certify the results to the
Governor who shall issue their commissions accordingly.
Judicial Districts; Boundaries
Section 11.
The number and boundaries of judicial
districts shall be changed by the General Assembly only with the advice
and consent of the Supreme Court.
Qualifications of Justices, Judges and
Justices of the Peace Section 12.
(a) Justices, judges and justices of the
peace shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Justices and judges, except
the judges of traffic court in the City of Philadelphia, shall be members
of the bar of the Supreme Court. Justices and judges of statewide courts,
for a period of one year preceding their election or appointment and
during their continuance in office, shall reside within the Commonwealth.
Other judges and justices of the peace, for a period of one year
preceding their election or appointment and during their continuance in
office, shall reside with their respective districts, except as provided
in this article for temporary assignments.
(b) Judges of the traffic court in the City
of Philadelphia and justices of the peace shall be members of the bar of
the Supreme Court or shall complete a course of training and instruction
in the duties of their respective offices and pass an examination prior
to assuming office. Such courses and examinations shall be as provided by
law.
Election of Justices, Judges and Justices of
the Peace; Vacancies Section 13.
(a) Justices, judges and justices of the
peace shall be elected at the municipal election next preceding the
commencement of their respective terms of office by the electors of the
Commonwealth or the respective districts in which they are to serve.
(b) A vacancy in the office of justice, judge
or justice of the peace shall be filled by appointment by the Governor.
The appointment shall be with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the
members elected to the Senate, except in the case of justices of the
peace which shall be by a majority. The person so appointed shall serve
for a term ending on the first Monday of January following the next
municipal election more than ten months after the vacancy occurs or for
the remainder of the unexpired term whichever is less, except in the case
of persons selected as additional judges to the Superior Court, where the
General Assembly may stagger and fix the length of the initial terms of
such additional judges by reference to any of the first, second and third
municipal elections more than ten months after the additional judges are
selected. The manner by which any additional judges are selected shall be
provided by this section for the filling of vacancies in judicial
offices.
(c) The provisions of section thirteen (b)
shall not apply either in the case of a vacancy to be filled by retention
election as provided in section fifteen (b), or in the case of a vacancy
created by failure of a justice or judge to file a declaration for
retention election as provided in section fifteen
(b) in the case of a vacancy occurring at the
expiration of an appointive term under section thirteen (b), the vacancy
shall be filled by election as provided in section thirteen (a).
(d) At the primary election in 1969, the
electors of the Commonwealth may elect to have the justices and judges of
the Supreme, Superior, Commonwealth and all other statewide courts
appointed by the Governor from a list of persons qualified for the
offices submitted to him by the Judicial Qualifications Commission. If a
majority vote of those voting on the question is in favor of this method
of appointment, then whenever any vacancy occurs thereafter for any
reason in such court, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment
in the manner prescribed in this subsection. Such appointment shall not
require the consent of the Senate.
(e) Each justice or judge appointed by the
Governor under section thirteen
(d) shall hold office for an initial term
ending the first Monday of January following the next municipal election
more than twenty-four months following the appointment.
Judicial Qualifications Commission
Section 14.
(a) Should the method of judicial selection
be adopted as provided in section thirteen (d), there shall be a Judicial
Qualifications Commission, composed of four non-lawyer electors appointed
by the Governor and three non-judge members of the bar of the Supreme
Court appointed by the Supreme Court. No more than four members shall be
of the same political party. The members of the commission shall serve
for terms of seven years, with one member being selected each year. The
commission shall consider all names submitted to it and recommend to the
Governor not fewer than ten nor more than twenty of those qualified for
each vacancy to be filled.
(b) During his term, no member shall hold a
public office or public appointment for which he receive compensation,
nor shall he hold office in a political party or political organization.
(c) A vacancy on the commission shall be
filled by the appointment authority for the balance of the term.
Tenure of Justices, Judges and Justices of
the Peace Section 15.
(a) The regular term of office of justices
and judges shall be ten years and the regular term of office for judges
of the municipal court and traffic court in the City of Philadelphia and
of justices of the peace shall be six years. The tenure of any justice or
judge shall not be affected by changes in judicial districts or by
reduction in the number of judges.
(b) A justice or judge elected under section
thirteen (a), appointed under section thirteen (d) or retained under this
section fifteen (b) may file a declaration of candidacy for retention
election with the officer of the Commonwealth who under law shall have
supervision over elections on or before the first Monday of January of
the year preceding the year in which his term of office expires. If no
declaration of candidacy for retention election with the officer of the
Commonwealth who under law shall have supervision over elections on or
before the first Monday of January of the year preceding the year in
which his term of office expires. If no declaration is filed, a vacancy
shall exist upon the expiration of the term of office of such justice of
judge, to be filled by election under section thirteen (a) or by
appointment under section thirteen (d) if applicable. If a justice or
judge files a declaration, his name shall be submitted to the electors
without party designation, on a separate judicial ballot or in a separate
column on voting machines, at the municipal election immediately
preceding the expiration of the term of office of the justice or judge,
to determine only the question whether he shall be retained in office. If
a majority is against retention, a vacancy shall exist upon the
expiration of his term of office, to be filled by appointment under
section thirteen (b) or under section thirteen (d) if applicable. If a
majority favors retention, the justice or judge shall serve for the
regular term of office provided herein, unless sooner removed or retired.
At the expiration of each term a justice or judge shall be eligible for
retention as provided herein subject only to the retirement provisions of
this article.
Compensation and Retirement of Justices,
Judges and Justices of the Peace Section 16.
(a) Justices, judges and justices of the
peace shall be compensated by the Commonwealth as provided by law. Their
compensation shall not be diminished during their terms of office, unless
by law applying generally to all salaried officers of the Commonwealth.
(b) Justices, judges and justices of the
peace shall be retired upon attaining the age of seventy years. Former
and retired justices, judges and justices of the peace shall receive such
compensation as shall be provided by law. No compensation shall be paid
to any justice, judge or justice of the peace who is suspended or removed
from office under section eighteen of this article or under Article VI.
(c) A former or retired justice or judge may,
with his consent, be assigned by the Supreme Court on temporary judicial
service as may be prescribed by rule of the Supreme Court.
Prohibited Activities Section 17.
(a) Justices and judges shall devote full
time to their judicial duties, and shall not engage in the practice of
law, hold office in a political party or political organization, or hold
an office or position of profit in the government of the United States,
the Commonwealth or any municipal corporation or political subdivision
thereof, except in the armed service of the United States or the
Commonwealth.
(b) Justices and judges shall not engage in
any activity prohibited by law and shall not violate any canon of legal
or judicial ethics prescribed by the Supreme Court. Justices of the peace
shall be governed by rules or canons which shall be prescribed by the
Supreme Court.
(c) No justice, judge or justice of the peace
shall be paid or accept for the performance of any judicial duty or for
any service connected with his office, any fee, emolument of perquisite
other than the salary and expenses provided by law.
(d) No duties shall be imposed by law upon
the Supreme Court or any of the justices thereof or the Superior Court or
any of the judges thereof, except such as are judicial, nor shall any of
them exercise any power of appointment except as provided in this
Constitution.
Suspension, Removal, Discipline and
Compulsory Retirement Section 18.
(a) There shall be a Judicial Inquiry and
Review Board having nine members as follows: three judges of the courts
of common pleas from different judicial districts and two judges of the
Superior Court, all of whom shall be selected by the Supreme Court; and
two non-judge members of the bar of the Supreme Court and two non-lawyer
electors, all of whom shall be selected by the Governor.
(b) The members shall serve for terms of four
years, provided that a member, rather than his successor, shall continue
to participate in any hearing in progress at the end of his term. A
vacancy on the board shall be filled by the respective appointing
authority for the balance of the term. The respective appointing
authority may remove a member only for cause. No member shall serve more
than four consecutive years; he may be reappointed after a lapse of one
year. Annually the members of the board shall elect a chairmen. The board
shall act only with the concurrence of a majority of its members.
(c) A member shall not hold office in a
political party or political organization. Members, other than judges,
shall be compensated for their services as the Supreme Court shall
prescribe. All members shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily
incurred in the discharge of their official duties.
(d) Under the procedure prescribed herein,
any justice or judge may be suspended, removed from office or otherwise
disciplined for violation of section seventeen of this article,
misconduct in office, neglect of duty, failure to perform his duties, or
conduct which prejudices the proper administration of justice or brings
the judicial office into disrepute, and may be retired for disability
seriously interfering with the performance of his duties.
(e) The board shall keep informed as to
matters relating to grounds for suspension, removal, discipline, or
compulsory retirement of justices or judges. It shall receive complaints
or reports, formal or informal, from any source pertaining to such
matters, and shall make such preliminary investigations as it deems
necessary.
(f) The board, after such investigation, may
order a hearing concerning the suspension, removal, discipline or
compulsory retirement of a justice or judge. The board's orders for
attendance of or testimony by witnesses or for the production of
documents at any hearing or investigation shall be enforceable by
contempt proceedings.
(g) If, after hearing, the board finds good
cause therefor, it shall recommend to the Supreme Court the suspension,
removal, discipline or compulsory retirement of the justice or judge.
(h) The Supreme Court shall review the record
of the board's proceedings on the law and facts and may permit the
introduction of additional evidence. It shall order suspension, removal,
discipline or compulsory retirement, or wholly reject the recommendation,
as it finds just and proper. Upon on order for compulsory retirement, the
justice or judge shall be retired with the same rights and privileges
were he retired under section sixteen of this article. Upon an order for
suspension or removal, the justice or judge shall be suspended or removed
from office, and his salary shall cease from the date of such order. All
papers filed with and proceedings before the board shall be confidential
but upon being filed by the board in the Supreme Court, the record shall
lose its confidential character. The filing of papers with and the giving
of testimony before the board shall be privileged.
(i) No justice or judge shall participate as
a member of the board or of the Supreme Court in any proceeding involving
his suspension, removal, discipline or compulsory retirement.
(j) The Supreme Court shall prescribe rules
of procedure under this section.
(k) The Supreme Court shall prescribe rules
of procedure for the suspension, removal, discipline and compulsory
retirement of justices of the peace.
(l) A justice, judge or justice of the peace
convicted of misbehavior in office by a court, disbarred as a member of
the bar of the Supreme Court or removed under this section eighteen shall
forfeit automatically his judicial office and thereafter be ineligible
for judicial office.
(m) A justice or judge who shall file for
nomination for or election to any public office other than a judicial
office shall forfeit automatically his judicial office.
(n) This section is in addition to and not in
substitution for the provisions for impeachment for misbehavior in office
contained in Article VI. No justice, judge or justice of the peace
against whom impeachment proceedings are pending in the Senate shall
exercise any of the duties of his office until he has been acquitted.
COURTS OTHER THAN IN THE CITY OF
PHILADELPHIA AND ALLEGHENY COUNTY
The Supreme Court Section
1.
The Supreme Court shall exercise all the
powers and, until otherwise provided by law, jurisdiction now vested in
the present Supreme Court and, until otherwise provided by law, the
accused in all cases of felonious homicide shall have the right of appeal
to the Supreme Court.
The Superior Court Section
2.
Until otherwise provided by law, the Superior
Court shall exercise all the jurisdiction now vested in the present
Superior Court. The present terms of all judges of the Superior Court
which would otherwise expire on the first Monday of January in an
odd-numbered year shall be extended to expire in the even- numbered year
next following.
Commonwealth Court Section
3.
The Commonwealth Court shall come into
existence on January 1, 1970. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
this article, the General Assembly shall stagger the initial terms of
judges of the Commonwealth Court.
The Courts of Common Pleas Section
4.
Until otherwise provided by law, the several
courts of common pleas shall exercise the jurisdiction now vested in the
present courts of common pleas. The courts of oyer and terminer and
general jail delivery, quarter sessions of the peace, and orphans courts
are abolished and the several courts of common pleas shall also exercise
the jurisdiction of these courts. Orphans' courts in judicial districts
having separate orphans' courts shall become orphans' court divisions of
the courts of common pleas and the court of common pleas in those
judicial districts shall exercise the jurisdiction presently exercised by
the separate orphans' courts through their respective orphans' court
division.
Orphans' Court Judges Section
5.
In those judicial districts having separate
orphans' courts, the present judges thereof shall become judges of the
orphans' court division of the court of common pleas and the present
president judge shall become the president judge of the orphans' court
division of the court of common pleas for the remainder of his term
without diminution in salary.
Courts of Common Pleas in Multi-County
Judicial Districts Section 6.
Courts of common pleas in multi-county
judicial districts are abolished as separate courts and are hereby
constituted as branches of the single court of common pleas established
under this article in each such judicial district.
Community Courts Section
7.
In a Judicial district which establishes a
community court, a person serving as a justice of the peace at such time:
(a) May complete his term exercising the
jurisdiction provided by law with the compensation provided by law, and
(b) Upon completion of his term, his office
is abolished and no judicial function of the kind heretofore exercised by
a justice of the peace shall thereafter be exercised other than by the
community court.
JUSTICES, JUDGES AND JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
Justices, Judges and Justices of the Peace
Section 8.
Notwithstanding any provision in the article,
a present justice, judge or justice of the peace may complete his term of
office.
Associate Judges Section
9.
The office of associate judge not learned in
the law is abolished, but a present associate judge may complete his
term.
Retention Election of Present Justices and
Judges Section 10.
A present judge who was originally elected to
office and seeks retention in 1969 municipal election and is otherwise
eligible may file his declaration of candidacy by February 1, 1969.
Selection of President Judges
Section 11.
(a) Except in the City of Philadelphia,
section ten (d) of the article shall become effective upon the expiration
of the term of the present president judge, or upon earlier vacancy.
(b)Notwithstanding section ten (d) of the
article the president judge of the Superior Court shall be the judge
longest in continuous service on such court if such judge was a member of
such court on the first Monday of January 1977. If no such judge exists
or is willing to serve as president judge shall be selected as provided
by this article.
MAGISTRATES, ALDERMEN AND JUSTICES OF THE
PEACE AND MAGISTERIAL DISTRICTS OTHER THAN IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
Magistrates, Aldermen and Justices of the
Peace Section 12.
An alderman, justice of the peace or
magistrate:
(a) May complete his term, exercising the
jurisdiction provided by law and with the method of compensation provided
by law prior to the adoption of this article;
(b) Shall be deemed to have taken and passed
the examination required by this article for justices of the peace if he
has completed one full term of office before creation of a magisterial
district, and
(c) At the completion of his term, his office
is abolished.
(d) Except for officers completing their
terms, after the first MOnday in January, 1970, no judicial function of
the kind heretofore exercised by these officers, by majors and like
officers in municipalities shall be exercised by any officer other than
the one justice of the peace elected or appointed to serve in that
magisterial district.
Magisterial Districts Section 13.
So that the provisions of this article
regarding the establishment of magisterial districts and the instruction
and examination of justices of the peace may be self-executing, until
otherwise provided by law in a manner agreeable to this article, the
following provisions shall be in force:
(a) The Supreme Court or the courts of common
pleas under the direction of the Supreme Court shall fix the number and
boundaries of magisterial districts of each class within each judicial
district by January 1, 1969, and these magisterial districts, except
where a community court has been adopted, shall come into existence on
January 1, 1970, the justices of the peace thereof to be elected at the
municipal election in 1969. These justices of the peace shall retain no
fine, costs or any other sum that shall be delivered into their hands for
the performance of any judicial duty or for any service connected with
their offices, but shall remit the same to the Commonwealth, county,
municipal subdivision, school district or otherwise as may be provided by
law.
(b) Classes of magisterial districts.
(i) Magisterial districts of the first class
shall have a population density of more than five thousand persons per
square mile and a population of not less than sixty-five thousand
persons.
(ii) Magisterial districts of the second
class shall have a population density of between one thousand and five
thousand persons per square mile and a population of between twenty
thousand persons and sixty-five thousand persons.
(iii) Magisterial districts of the third
class shall have a population density of between two hundred and one
thousand persons per square mile and a population of between twelve
thousand persons and twenty thousand persons.
(iv) Magisterial districts of the fourth
class shall have a population density of between seventy and two hundred
persons per square mile and a population of between seven thousand five
hundred persons and twelve thousand persons.
(v) Magisterial districts of the fifth class
shall have a population density of under seventy persons per square mile
and a population of between four thousand persons and seven thousand five
hundred persons.
(c) Salaries of justices of the peace. The
salaries of the justices of the peace shall be as follows:
(i) In first class magisterial districts,
twelve thousand dollars per year.
(ii) In second class magisterial districts,
ten thousand dollars per year.
(iii) In third class magisterial districts,
eight thousand dollars per year.
(iv) In fourth and fifth class magisterial
districts, five thousand dollars per year.
(v) The salaries here fixed shall be paid by
the State Treasurer and for such payment this article and schedule shall
be sufficient warrant.
(d) Course of training, instruction and
examination. The course of training and instruction and examination in
civil and criminal law and procedure for a justice of the peace shall be
devised by the Department of Public Instruction, and it shall administer
this course and examination to insure that justices of the peace are
competent to perform their duties.
Magisterial Districts Section 14.
Effective immediately upon establishment of
magisterial districts and until otherwise prescribed the civil and
criminal procedural rules relating to venue shall apply to magisterial
districts; all proceedings before aldermen, magistrates and justices of
the peace shall be brought in and only in a magisterial district in which
occurs an event which would give rise to venue in a court of record; the
court of common pleas upon its own motion or on application at any stage
of proceedings shall transfer any proceeding in any magisterial district
to the justice of the peace for the magisterial district in which proper
venue lies.
PROTHONOTARIES AND CLERKS OTHER THAN IN THE
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
Prothonotaries, Clerks of Courts, Clerks of
Orphans' Courts Section 15.
Until otherwise provided by law, the offices
of prothonotary and clerk of courts shall become the offices of
prothonotary and clerk of courts of the court of common pleas of the
judicial district, and in multi-county judicial districts of their
county's branch of the court of common pleas, and the clerk of the
orphans' court in a judicial district now having a separate orphans'
court shall become the clerk of the orphans' court division of the court
of common pleas, and these officers shall continue to perform the duties
of the office and to maintain and be responsible for the records, books
and dockets as heretofore. In judicial districts where the clerk of the
orphans' court is not the register of wills, he shall continue to perform
the duties of the office and to maintain and be responsible for the
records, books and dockets as heretofore until otherwise provided by law.
THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
Courts and Judges Section 16.
Until otherwise provided by law:
(a) The court of common pleas shall consist
of a trial division, orphans' court division and family court division.
(b) The judges of the court of common pleas
shall become judges of the trial division of the court of common pleas
provided for in this article and their tenure shall not otherwise be
affected.
(c) The judges of the county court shall
become judges of the family court division of the court of common pleas
and their tenure shall not otherwise be affected.
(d) The judges of the orphans' court shall
become judges of the orphans' court division of the court of common pleas
and their tenure shall not otherwise be affected.
(e) As designated by the Governor, twenty-two
of the present magistrates shall become judges of the municipal court and
six shall become judges of the traffic court, and their tenure shall not
otherwise be affected.
(f) One of the judges of the court of common
pleas shall be president judge and he shall be selected in the manner
provided in section ten (d) of this article. He shall be the
administrative head of the court and shall supervise the court's judicial
business.
(g) Each division of the court of common
pleas shall be presided over by an administrative judge, who shall be one
of its judges and shall be elected for a term of five years by a majority
vote of the judges of that division. He shall assist the president judge
in supervising the judicial business of the court and shall be
responsible to him. Subject to the foregoing, the judges of the court of
common pleas shall prescribe rules defining the duties of the
administrative judges. The president judge shall have the power to assign
judges from each division to each other division of court when required
to expedite the business of the court.
(h) Until all members of the municipal court
are members of the bar of the Supreme Court, the president judge of the
court of common pleas shall appoint one of the judges of the municipal
court as president judge for a five-year term or at the pleasure of the
president judge of the court of common pleas. The president judge of the
municipal court shall be eligible to succeed himself as president judge
for any number of terms and shall be the administrative head of that
court and shall supervise the judicial business of the court. He shall
promulgate all administrative rules and regulations and make all judicial
assignments. The president judge of the court of common pleas may assign
temporarily judges of the municipal court who are members of the bar of
the Supreme Court to the court of common pleas when required to expedite
the business of the court.
(i) The Governor shall appoint one of the
judges of the traffic court as president judge for a term of five years
or at the pleasure to the Governor. The president judge of the traffic
court shall be eligible to succeed himself as president judge for any
number of terms, shall be the executive and administrative head of the
traffic court, and shall supervise the judicial business of the court,
shall promulgate all administrative rules and regulations, and shall make
all judicial assignments.
(j) The exercise of all supervisory and
administrative powers detailed in this section sixteen shall be subject
to the supervisory and administrative control of the Supreme Court.
(k) The prothonotary shall continue to
exercise the duties of that office for the trial division of the court of
common pleas and for the municipal court.
(l) The clerk of quarter sessions shall
continue to exercise the duties of that office for the trial division of
the court of common pleas and for the municipal court.
(m) That officer serving as clerk to the
county court shall continue to exercise the duties of that office for the
family division of the court of common pleas.
(n) The register of wills shall serve ex
officio as clerk of the orphans' court division of the court of common
pleas.
(o) The court of common pleas shall have
unlimited original jurisdiction in all cases except those cases assigned
by this schedule to the municipal court and to the traffic court. The
court of common pleas shall have all the jurisdiction now vested in the
court of common pleas, the court of oyer and terminer and general jail
delivery, courts of quarter sessions of the peace, orphans' court, and
county court. Jurisdiction in all of the foregoing cases shall be
exercised through the trial division of the court of common pleas except
in those cases which are assigned by this schedule to the orphans' court
and family court divisions of the court of common pleas. The court of
common pleas through the trial division shall also hear and determine
appeals from the municipal court and traffic court.
(p) The court of common pleas through the
orphans' court division shall exercise the jurisdiction heretofore
exercised by the orphans' court.
(q) The court of common pleas through the
family court division of the court of common pleas shall exercise
jurisdiction in the following matters:
(i) Domestic Relations: desertion or
nonsupport of wives, children and indigent parents, including children
born out of wedlock; proceedings for custody of children; divorce and
annulment and property matters relating thereto.
(ii) Juvenile Matters: dependent, delinquent
and neglected children and children under eighteen years of age,
suffering from epilepsy, nervous or mental defects, incorrigible, runaway
and disorderly minors eighteen to twenty years of age and preliminary
hears in criminal cases where the victim is a juvenile.
(iii) Adoptions and Delayed Birth
Certificates
(r) The municipal court shall have
jurisdiction in the following matters.
(i) Committing magistrates' jurisdiction in
all criminal matters.
(ii) All summary offenses, except those under
the motor vehicle laws.
(iii) All criminal offenses for which no
prison term may be imposed or which are punishable by a term of
imprisonment of not more than two years, and indictable offenses under
the motor vehicle laws for which no prison term may be imposed or
punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than three years. In
these cases, the defendant shall have no right of trial by jury in that
court, but he shall have the right of appeal for trial de novo including
the right to trial by jury to the trial division of the court of common
pleas. Until there are a sufficient number of judges who are members of
the bar of the Supreme Court serving in the municipal court to handle
such matters, the trial division of the court of common pleas shall have
concurrent jurisdiction over such matters, the assignment of cases to the
respective courts to be determined by rule prescribed by the president
judge of the court of common pleas.
(iv) Matters arising under the Landlord and
Tenant Act of 1951.
(v) All civil claims involving less than five
hundred dollars. In these cases, the parties shall have no right of trial
by jury in that court but shall have a right of appeal for a trial de
novo including the right to trial by jury to the trial division of the
court of common pleas, it being the purpose of this subsection to
establish an expeditious small claims procedure whereby it shall not be
necessary for the litigants to obtain council. This limited grant of
civil jurisdiction shall be co-extensive with the civil jurisdiction of
the trial division of the court of common pleas.
(vi) As commissioners to preside at
arraignments, fix and accept bail, issue warrants and perform duties of a
similar nature. The grant of jurisdiction under clauses (iii) and (v) of
this subsection may be exercised only by those judges who are members of
the bar of the Supreme Court.
(s) The traffic court shall have exclusive
jurisdiction of all summary offenses under the motor vehicle laws.
(t) the courts of oyer and terminer and
general jail delivery, quarter sessions of the peace, the county court,
the orphans' court and the ten separate courts of common pleas are
abolished and their jurisdiction and powers shall be exercised by the
court of common pleas provided for in this article through the divisions
established by this schedule.
(u) The office of magistrate, the board of
magistrates and the present traffic court are abolished.
(v) Those judges appointed to the municipal
court in accordance with subsection (e) of this section who are not
members of the bar of the Supreme Court shall be eligible to complete
their present terms and to be elected to and serve for one additional
term, but not thereafter.
(w) The causes, proceedings, books, dockets
and records of the abolished courts shall become those of the court or
division thereof to which, under this schedule, jurisdiction of the
proceedings or matters concerned has been transferred, and that court or
division thereof shall determine and conclude such proceedings as if it
had assumed jurisdiction in the first instance.
(x) The present president judges of the
abolished courts and chief magistrate shall continue to receive the
compensation to which they are now entitled as president judges and chief
magistrate until the end of their present terms as president judges and
chief magistrate respectively.
(y) The offices of prothonotary and register
of wills in the City of Philadelphia shall no longer be considered
constitutional offices under this article, but their powers and functions
shall continue as at present until these offices are covered in the Home
Rule Charter by a referendum in the manner provided by law.
(z) If a community court is established in
the City of Philadelphia, a person serving as a judge of the municipal or
traffic court at that time:
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (v) of this section, may complete his term exercising the
jurisdiction provided by law and with the compensation provided by law;
and
(ii) At the completion of his term, his
office is abolished and no jurisdiction of the kind exercised by those
officers immediately after the effective date of this article and
schedule shall thereafter be exercises other than by the community court.
ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Courts Section 17.
Until otherwise provided by law:
(a) The court of common pleas shall consist
of a trial division, an orphans' court division and a family court
division; the courts of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery and
quarter sessions of the peace, the county court, the orphans' court, and
the juvenile court are abolished and their present jurisdiction shall be
exercised by the court of common pleas. Until otherwise provided by rule
of the court of common pleas and, except as otherwise provided in this
schedule,the court of common pleas shall exercise the jurisdiction of the
present court of common pleas and the present county court through the
trial division. Until otherwise provided by rule of the court of common
pleas, the jurisdiction of the present orphans' court, except as
otherwise provided in this schedule, shall be exercised by the court of
common pleas through the orphans' court division.
(b) Until otherwise provided by rule of the
court of common pleas, the court of common pleas shall exercise
jurisdiction in the following matters through the family court division:
(i) Domestic Relations: Desertion or
nonsupport or nonsupport of wives, children and indigent parents,
including children born out of wedlock; proceedings, including habeas
corpus, for custody of children; divorce and annulment and property
matters relating thereto.
(ii) Juvenile Matters: All matters now within
the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
(iii) Adoptions and Delayed Birth
Certificates.
Judges Section 18.
Until otherwise provided by law, the present
judges of the court of common pleas shall continue to act as the judges
of that court; the present judges of the county court shall become judges
of the court of common pleas; the present judges of the orphans' court
shall become judges of the orphans' court division of the court of common
pleas; the present judges of the juvenile court shall become judges of
the family court division of the court of common pleas.
President Judges Section 19.
The present president judge of the court of
common pleas may complete his term as president judge; the present
president judge of the orphans' court shall be the president judge of the
orphans' court division of the court of common pleas for the remainder of
his term as president judge, and the present president judge of the
county court shall be the president judge of the family court division of
the court of common pleas for the remainder of his term as president
judge, all these without diminution of salary as president judge. The
president judge of the trial division shall be selected pursuant to
section twenty of this schedule.
President Judges; Court Division
Section 20.
Until otherwise provided by law, the trial
division, the orphans' court division and the family court division of
the court of common pleas shall each be presided over by a president
judge, who shall be one of the judges of such division and shall be
elected for a term of five years by a majority vote of the judges of that
division. He shall assist the president judge of the court of common
pleas in supervising the judicial business of the court and shall be
responsible to him. Subject to the foregoing, the judges of the court of
common pleas shall prescribe rules defining the duties of the president
judges. The president judge of the court of common pleas shall have the
power to assign judges from one division to another division of the court
when required to expedite the business of the court. The exercise of
these supervisory and administrative powers, however, shall be subject to
the supervisory and administrative powers of the Supreme Court.
THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH
Inferior Courts Section 21.
Upon the establishment of magisterial
districts pursuant to this article and schedule, and unless otherwise
provided by law, the police magistrates, including those serving in the
traffic court, the housing court and the city court shall continue as at
present. Such magistrates shall be part of the unified judicial system
and shall be subject to the general supervisory and administrative
authority of the Supreme Court. Such magistrates shall be subject to the
provisions of this article and schedule regarding educational
requirements and prohibited activities of justices of the peace.
CAUSES, PROCEEDINGS, BOOKS AND RECORDS
Causes, Proceedings, Books and Records
Section 22.
All causes and proceedings pending in any
abolished court or office of the justice of the peace shall be determined
and concluded by the court to which jurisdiction of the proceedings has
been transferred under this schedule and all books, dockets and records
of any abolished court or office of the justice of the peace shall become
those of the court to which, under this schedule, jurisdiction of the
proceedings concerned has been transferred.
COMMISSION AND BOARD
Judicial Qualifications Commission
Section 23.
The selection of the first members of the
Judicial Qualifications Commission provided for in section fourteen (a)
of this article shall be made as follows: The Governor shall appoint the
four non-lawyer members for terms of, respectively, one year, three
years, five years and seven years, no more than two of whom shall be
members of the same political party. The Supreme Court shall appoint the
three non-judge members of the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
for terms, respectively, of two years, four years and six years, no more
than two of whom shall be members of the same political party.
Judicial Inquiry and Review Board
Section 24.
The selection of the first members of the
Judicial Inquiry and Review Board shall be made as follows: one judge of
the Superior Court, one non-judge member of the bar of the Supreme Court,
and one non-lawyer member shall be selected for two-year terms; one judge
of the Superior Court, one non-judge member of the bar of the Supreme
Court, and one non-lawyer member shall be selected for four years terms;
one judge of the court of common pleas shall be selected for a term of
two years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four
years.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Dispensing with Trial by Jury
Section 25.
Until otherwise provided by law, the parties,
by agreement filed, may in any civil case dispense with trial by jury,
and submit the decision of such case to the court having jurisdiction
thereof, and such court shall hear and determine the same; and the
judgment thereon shall be subject to writ of error as in other cases.
Writs of Certiorari Section 26.
Unless and until changed by rule of the
Supreme Court, in addition to the right of appear under section nine of
this article, the judges of the courts of common pleas, within their
respective judicial districts, shall have power to issue writs of
certiorari to the municipal court in the City of Philadelphia, justices
of the peace and inferior courts not of record and to cause their
proceedings to be brought before them, and right and justice to be done.
Judicial Districts Section 27.
Until changed in accordance with section
eleven of this article, the number and boundaries of judicial districts
shall remain as at present.
Referendum Section 28.
The officer of the Commonwealth who under law
shall have supervision over elections shall cause the question provided
for in section thirteen (d) of this article to be placed on the ballot in
the 1969 primary election throughout the Commonwealth.
Persons Specially Admitted by Local Rules
Section 29.
Any person now specially admitted to practice
may continue to practice in the court of common pleas or in that division
of the court of common pleas and the municipal court in the City of
Philadelphia which substantially includes the practice for which such
person was previously specially admitted.
Article VI PUBLIC
OFFICERS
Section of Officers Not Otherwise Provided
for in Constitution Section 1.
All officers, whose selection is not provided
for in this Constitution, shall be elected or appointed as may be
directed by law.
Incompatible Offices Section
2.
No member of Congress from this State, nor
any person holding or exercising any office or appointment of trust or
profit under the United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise
any office in this State to which a salary, fees or perquisites shall be
attached. The General Assembly may be law declare what offices are
incompatible.
Oath of Office Section
3.
Senators, Representatives and all judicial,
State and county officers shall, before entering on the duties of their
respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation
before a person authorized to administer oaths. "I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the
United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will
discharge the duties of my office with fidelity." The oath or affirmation
shall be administered to a member of the Senate or to a member of the
House of Representatives in the hall of the House to which he shall have
been elected. Any person refusing to take the oath or affirmation shall
forfeit his office.
Power of Impeachment Section
4.
The House of Representatives shall have the
sole power of impeachment.
Trial of Impeachments Section
5.
All impeachments shall be tried by the
Senate. When sitting for that purpose the Senators shall be upon oath or
affirmation. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of
two-thirds of the members present.
Officers Liable to Impeachment
Section 6.
The Governor and all other civil officers
shall be liable to impeachment for any misbehavior in office, but
judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from
office and disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under
this Commonwealth. The person accused, whether convicted or acquitted,
shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment and
punishment according to law.
Removal of Civil Officers Section
7.
All civil officers shall hold their offices
on the condition that they behave themselves well while in office, and
shall be removed on conviction of misbehavior in office or of any
infamous crime. Appointed civil officers, other than judges of the courts
of record, may be removed at the pleasure of the power by which they
shall have been appointed. All civil officers elected by the people,
except the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, members of the General
Assembly and judges of the courts of record, shall be removed by the
Governor for reasonable cause, after due notice and full hearing, on the
address of two-thirds of the Senate.
Article VII ELECTIONS
Qualifications of Electors Section
1.
Every citizen 21 years of age, possessing the
following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at all elections
subject, however, to such laws requiring and regulating the registration
of electors as the General Assembly may enact. 1. He or she shall have
been a citizen of the United States at least one month. 2. He or she
shall have resided in the State ninety (90) days immediately preceding
the election. 3. He or she shall have resided in the election district
where he or she shall offer to vote at least sixty (60) days immediately
preceding the election, except that if qualified to vote in an election
district prior to removal of residence, he or she may, if a resident of
Pennsylvania, vote in the election district from which he or she removed
his or her residence within sixty (60) days preceding the election.
General Election Day Section
2.
The general election shall be held biennially
on the Tuesday next following the first Monday of November in each even-
numbered year, but the General Assembly may be law fix a different day,
two-thirds of all the members of each House consenting thereto: Provided,
that such election shall always be held in an even-numbered year.
Municipal Election Day; Offices to Be Filled
on Election Days Section 3.
All judged elected by the electors of the
State at large may be elected at either a general or municipal election,
as circumstances may require. All elections for judges of the courts for
the several judicial districts, and for county, city, ward, borough, and
township officers, for regular terms of service, shall be held on the
municipal election day; namely, the Tuesday next following the first
Monday of November in each odd-numbered year, but the General Assembly
may by law fix a different day, two-thirds of all the members of each
House consenting thereto: Provided, That such elections shall be held in
an odd-numbered year: Provided further, That all judges for the courts of
the several judicial districts holding office at the present time, whose
terms of office may end in an odd-numbered year, shall continue to hold
their offices until the first Monday of January in the next succeeding
even-numbered year.
Method of Elections; Secrecy in Voting
Section 4.
All elections by the citizens shall be by
ballot or by such other method as may be prescribed by law; Provided,
That secrecy in voting be preserved.
Electors Privileged from Arrest
Section 5.
Electors shall in all cases except treason,
felony and breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest
during their attendance on elections and in going to and returning
therefrom.
Election and Registration Laws
Section 6.
All laws regulating the holding of elections
by the citizens, or for the registration of electors, shall be uniform
throughout the State, except that laws regulating and requiring the
registration of electors may be enacted to apply to cities only, provided
that such laws be uniform for cities of the same class, and except
further, that the General Assembly shall by general law, permit the use
of voting machines, or other mechanical devices for registering or
recording and computing the vote, at all elections or primaries, in any
county, city, borough, incorporated town or township of the Commonwealth,
at the option of the electors of such county, city, borough, incorporated
town or township, without being obliged to require the use of such voting
machines or mechanical devices in any other county, city, borough,
incorporated town or township, under such regulations with reference
thereto as the General Assembly may from time to time prescribe. The
General Assembly may, from time to time, prescribe the number and duties
of election officers in any political subdivision of the Commonwealth in
which voting machines or other mechanical devices authorized by this
section may be used.
Bribery of Electors Section
7.
Any person who shall give, or promise or
offer to give, to an elector, any money, reward or other valuable
consideration for his vote at an election, or for withholding the same,
or who shall give or promise to give such consideration to any other
person or party for such elector's vote for the withholding thereof, and
any elector who shall receive or agree to receive, for himself or for
another, any money, reward or other valuable consideration for his vote
at an election, or for withholding the same, shall thereby forfeit the
right to vote at such election, and any elector whose right to vote shall
be challenged for such cause before the election officers, shall be
required to swear or affirm that the matter of the challenge is untrue
before his vote shall be received.
Witnesses in Contested Elections
Section 8.
In trials of contested elections and in
proceedings for the investigation of elections, no person shall be
permitted to withhold his testimony upon the ground that it may criminate
himself or subject him to public infamy; but such testimony shall not
afterwards be used against him in any judicial proceedings except for
perjury in giving such testimony.
Fixing Election Districts Section
9.
Townships and wards of cities or boroughs
shall form or be divided into election districts of compact and
contiguous territory and their boundaries fixed and changed in such
manner as may be provided by law.
Viva Voce Elections Section 10.
All elections by persons in a representative
capacity shall be viva voce or by automatic recording device publicly
indicating how each person voted.
Election Officers Section 11.
District election boards shall consist of a
judge and two inspectors, who shall be chosen at municipal elections for
such terms as may be provided by law. Each elector shall have the right
to vote for the judge and one inspector, and each inspector shall appoint
one clerk. The first election board for any new district shall be
selected, and vacancies in election boards filled, as shall be provided
by law. Election officers shall be privileged from arrest upon days of
election, and while engaged in making up and transmitting returns, except
upon warrant of a court of record or judge thereof, for an election
fraud, for felony, or for wanton breach of the peace. In cities they may
claim exemption from jury during their terms of service.
Disqualifications for Service as Election
Officer Section 12.
No person shall be qualified to serve as an
election officer who shall hold, or shall within two months have held any
office, appointment or employment in or under the government of the
United States, or of this State, or of any city, or county, or of any
municipal board, commission or trust in any city, save only notaries
public and persons in the National Guard or in a reserve component of the
armed forces of the United States; nor shall any election officer be
eligible to any civil office to be filled at an election at which he
shall serve, save only to such subordinate municipal or local offices,
below the grade of city or county offices, as shall be designated by
general law.
Contested Elections Section 13.
The trial and determination of contested
elections of electors of President and Vice-President, members of the
General Assembly, and of all public officers, whether State, judicial,
municipal or local, and contests involving questions submitted to the
electors at any election shall be by the courts of law, or by one or more
of the law judges thereof. The General Assembly shall, by general law,
designate the courts and judges by whom the several classes of election
contests shall be tried and regulate the manner of trial and all matters
incident thereto; but no such law assigning jurisdiction, or regulating
its exercise, shall apply to any contest arising out of an election held
before its passage.
Absentee Voting Section 14.
The Legislature shall, by general law,
provide a manner in which, and the time and place at which, qualified
electors who may, on the occurrence of any election, be absent from the
State or county of their residence, because their duties, occupation or
business require them to be elsewhere or who, on the occurrence of any
election, are unable to attend at their proper polling places because of
illness or physical disability or who will not attend a polling place
because of the observance of a religious holiday or who cannot vote
because of election day duties, in the case of a county employee, may
vote, and for the return and canvass of their votes in the election
district in which they respectively reside.
Article VIII TAXATION
AND FINANCE
Uniformity of Taxation Section
1.
All taxes shall be uniform, upon the same
class of subjects, within the territorial limits of the authority levying
the tax, and shall be levied and collected under general laws.
Exemptions and Special Provisions
Section 2.
(a) The General Assembly may by law exempt
from taxation:
(i) Actual places of regularly states
religious worship:
(ii) Actual places of burial, when used or
held by a person or organization deriving no private or corporate profit
therefrom and no substantial part of whose activity consists of selling
personal property in connection therewith;
(iii) That portion of public property which
is actually and regularly used for public purposes;
(iv) That portion of the property owned and
occupied by any branch, post or camp of honorably discharged servicemen
or servicewomen which is actually and regularly used for benevolent,
charitable or patriotic purposes; and
(v) Institutions of purely public charity,
but in the case of any real property tax exemptions only that portion of
real property of such institution which is actually and regularly used
for the purposes of the institution.
(b) The General Assembly may, by law:
(i) Establish standards and qualifications
for private forest reserves, agriculture reserves, and land actively
devoted to agriculture use, and make special provision for the taxation
thereof;
(ii) Establish as a class or classes of
subjects of taxation the property or privileges of persons who, because
of age, disability, infirmity or poverty are determined to be in need of
tax exemption or of special tax provisions, and for any such class or
classes and standards and qualifications,and except as herein provided
may impose taxes, grant exemptions, or make special tax provisions in
accordance therewith. No exemption or special provision shall be made
under this clause with respect to taxes upon the sale or use of personal
property, and no exemption from any tax upon real property shall be
granted by the General Assembly under this clause unless the General
Assembly shall provide for the reimbursement of local taxing authorities
by or through the Commonwealth for revenue losses occasioned by such
exemption;
(iii) Establish standards and qualifications
by which local taxing authorities may make uniform special tax provisions
applicable to a taxpayer for a limited period of time to encourage
improvement of deteriorating property or areas by an individual,
association or corporation, or to encourage industrial development by a
non- profit corporation; and
(iv) Make special tax provisions on any
increase in value of real estate resulting from residential construction.
Such special tax provisions shall be applicable for a period not to
exceed two years.
(v) Establish standards and qualifications by
which local taxing authorities in counties of the first and second class
make uniform special real property tax provisions applicable to taxpayers
who are long-time owner-occupants as shall be defined by the General
Assembly of residences in areas where real property values have risen
markedly as a consequence of the refurbishing or renovating of other
deteriorating residences or the construction of new residences.
(c) Citizens and residents of this
Commonwealth, who served in any war or armed conflict in which the United
States was engaged and were honorably discharged or released under
honorable circumstances from active service, shall be exempt from the
payment of all real property taxes upon the residence occupied by the
said citizens and residents of this Commonwealth imposed by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any of its political subdivisions if, as
a result of military service, they are blind, paraplegic or double or
quadruple amputees or have a service-connected disability declared by the
United States Veterans' Administration or its successor to be a total or
100% permanent disability, and if the State Veterans' Commission
determines that such persons are in need of the tax exemptions granted
herein. This exemption shall be extended to the unmarried surviving
spouse upon the death of an eligible veteran provided that the State
Veterans' Commission determines that such person is in need of the
exemption.
Reciprocal Exemptions Section
3.
Taxation laws may grant exemptions or rebates
to residents, or estates of residents, of other States which grant
similar exemptions or rebates to residents, or estates of residents, of
Philadelphia.
Public Utilities Section
4.
The real property of public utilities is
subject to real estate taxes imposed by local taxing authorities. Payment
to the Commonwealth of gross receipts taxes or other special taxes in
replacement of gross receipts taxes by a public utility and the
distribution by the Commonwealth to the local taxing authorities of the
amount as herein provided shall, however, be in lieu of local taxes upon
its real property which is used or useful in furnishing its public
utility service. The amount raised annually by such gross receipts or
other special taxes shall not be less than the gross amount of real
estate taxes which the local taxing authorities could have imposed upon
such real property but for the exemption herein provided. This gross
amount shall be determined in the manner provided by law. An amount
equivalent to such real estate taxes shall be distributed annually among
all local taxing authorities in the proportion which the total tax
receipts of each local taxing authority bear to the total tax receipts of
all local taxing authorities, or in such other equitable proportions as
may be provided by law. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
any law which presently subjects real property of public utilities to
local real estate taxation by local taxing authorities shall remain in
full force and effect.
Exemption from Taxation Restricted
Section 5.
All laws exempting property from taxation,
other than the property above enumerated, shall be void.
Taxation of Corporations Section
6.
The power to tax corporations and corporate
property shall not be surrendered or suspended by any contract or grant
to which the Commonwealth shall be a party.
Commonwealth Indebtedness Section
7.
(a) No debt shall be incurred by or on behalf
of the Commonwealth except by law and in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(1) Debt may be incurred without limit to
suppress insurrection, rehabilitate areas affected by man-made or natural
disaster, or to implement unissued authority approved by the electors
prior to the adoption of this article.
(2) The Governor, State Treasurer and Auditor
General, acting jointly, may
(i) issue tax anticipation notes having a
maturity within the fiscal year of issue and payable exclusively from
revenues received in the same fiscal year, and (ii) incur debt for the
purpose of refunding other debt, if such refunding debt matures within
the term of the original debt.
(3) Debt may be incurred without limit for
purposes specifically itemized in the law authorizing such debt, if the
question whether the debt shall be incurred has been submitted to the
electors and approved by a majority of those voting on the question.
(4) Debt may be incurred without the approval
of the electors for capital projects specifically itemized in a capital
budget, if such debt will not cause the amount of all net debt
outstanding to exceed one and three-quarters times the average of the
annual tax revenues deposited in the previous five fiscal years as
certified by the Auditor General. For the purposes of this subsection,
debt outstanding shall not include debt incurred under clauses (1) and
(2) (i), or debt incurred under clause (2) (ii) if the original debt
would not be so considered, or debt incurred under subsection (3) unless
the General Assembly shall so provide in the law authorizing such debt.
(b) All debt incurred for capital projects
shall mature within a period not to exceed the estimated useful life of
the projects as stated in the authorizing law, and when so stated shall
be conclusive. All debt, except indebtedness permitted by clause (2) (i),
shall be amortized in substantial and regular amounts, the first of which
shall be due prior to the expiration of a period equal to one-tenth the
term of the debt.
(c) As used in this section, debt shall mean
the issued and outstanding obligations of the Commonwealth and shall
include obligations of its agencies or authorities to the extent they are
to be repaid from lease rentals or other charges payable directly or
indirectly from revenues of the Commonwealth. debts shall not include
either (1) that portion of obligations to be repaid from charges made to
the public for the use of the capital projects financed, as determined by
the Auditor General, or (2) obligations to be repaid from lease rentals
or other charges payable by a school district or other local taxing
authority, (3) obligations to be repaid by agencies or authorities
created for the joint benefit of the Commonwealth and one or more other
State governments.
(d) If sufficient funds are not appropriated
for the timely payment of the interest upon and installments of principal
of all debt, the State Treasurer shall set apart from the first revenues
thereafter received applicable to the appropriate fund a sum sufficient
to pay such interest and installments of principal, and shall so apply
the money so set apart. The State Treasurer may be required to set aside
and apply such revenues at the suit of any holder of Commonwealth
obligations.
Commonwealth Credit Not to Be Pledged
Section 8.
The credit of the Commonwealth shall not be
pledged or loaned to any individual, company, corporation or association
nor shall the Commonwealth become a joint owner or stockholder in any
company, corporation or association.
Municipal Debt Not to be Assumed by
Commonwealth Section 9.
The Commonwealth shall not assume the debt,or
any part thereof, of any county, city,borough, incorporated town,
township or any similar general purpose unit of government unless such
debt shall have been incurred to enable the Commonwealth to suppress
insurrection or to assist the Commonwealth in the discharge of any
portion of its present indebtedness.
Audit Section 10.
The financial affairs of any entity funded or
financially aided by the Commonwealth, and all departments, boards,
commissions, agencies, instrumentalities, authorities and institutions of
the Commonwealth, shall be subject to audits made in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standards. Any Commonwealth officer whose
approval is necessary for any transaction relative to the financial
affairs of the Commonwealth shall not be charged with the function of
auditing that transaction after its occurrence.
Gasoline Taxes and Motor License Fees
Restricted Section 11.
(a) All proceeds from gasoline and other
motor fuel excise taxes, motor vehicle registration fees and license
taxes, operators' license fees and other excise taxes imposed on products
used in motor transportation after providing therefrom for (a) cost of
administration and collection, (b) payment of obligations incurred in the
construction and reconstruction of public highways and bridges shall be
appropriated by the General Assembly to agencies of the State or
political subdivisions thereof; and used solely for construction,
reconstruction, maintenance and repair of and safety on public highways
and bridges and costs and expenses incident thereto, and for the payment
of obligations incurred for such purposes, and shall not be diverted by
transfer or otherwise to any other purpose, except that loans may be made
by the State from the proceeds of such taxes and fees for a single period
not exceeding eight months, but no such loan shall be made within the
period of one year from any preceding loan, and every loan made in any
fiscal year shall be repayable within one month after the beginning of
the next fiscal year.
(b) All proceeds from aviation fuel excise
taxes, after providing therefrom for the cost of administration and
collection, shall be appropriated by the General Assembly to agencies of
the State or political subdivisions thereof and used solely for: the
purchase, construction, reconstruction, operation and maintenance of
airports and other air navigation facilities; aircraft accident
investigation; the operation, maintenance and other costs of aircraft
owned or leased by the Commonwealth; any other purpose reasonable related
to air navigation including but not limited to the reimbursement of
airport property owners for property tax expenditures; and costs and
expenses incident thereto and for the payment of obligations incurred for
such purposes, and shall not be diverted by transfer or otherwise to any
other purpose.
Governor's Budgets and Financial Plan
Section 12.
Annually, at the times set by law, the
Governor shall submit to the General Assembly:
(a) A balanced operating budget for the
ensuing fiscal year setting forth in detail (i) proposed expenditures
classified by department or agency and by program and (ii) estimated
revenues from all sources. If estimated revenues and available surplus
are less than proposed expenditures, the Governor shall recommend
specific additional sources of revenue sufficient to pay the deficiency
and the estimated revenue to be derived from each source;
(b) A capital budget for the ensuing fiscal
year setting forth in detail proposed expenditures to be financed from
the proceeds of obligations of the Commonwealth or of its agencies or
authorities or from operating funds; and
(c) A financial plan for not less than the
next succeeding five fiscal years, which plan shall include for each such
fiscal year:
(i) Projected operating expenditures
classified by department or agency and by program, in reasonable detail,
and estimated revenues, by major categories, from existing and additional
sources, and
(ii) Projected expenditures for capital
projects specifically itemized by purpose, and the proposed sources of
financing each.
Appropriations Section 13.
(a) Operating budget appropriations made by
the General Assembly shall not exceed the actual and estimated revenues
and surplus available in the same fiscal year.
(b) The General Assembly shall adopt a
capital budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
Surplus Section 14.
All surplus of operating funds at the end of
the fiscal year shall be appropriated during the ensuing fiscal year by
the General Assembly.
Project "70" Section 15.
In addition to the purposes stated in Article
VIII, section seven of this Constitution, the Commonwealth may be
authorized by law to create debt and to issue bonds to the amount of
$70,000,000 for the acquisition of land for State parks, reservoirs and
other conservation and recreation and historical preservation purposes,
and for participation by the Commonwealth with political subdivisions in
the acquisition of land for parks, reservoirs and other conservation and
recreation and historical preservation purposes, subject to such
conditions and limitations as the General Assembly may prescribe.
Land and Water Conservation and Reclamation
Fund Section 16.
In addition to the purposed stated in Article
VIII, section seven of this Constitution, the Commonwealth may be
authorized by law to create a debt and issue bonds in the amount of
$500,000,000 for a Land and Water Conservation and reclamation Fund to be
used for the conservation and reclamation of land and water resources of
the Commonwealth, including the elimination of acid mine drainage,
sewage, and other pollution from the streams of the Commonwealth, the
provision of State financial assistance to political subdivisions and
municipal authorities of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the
construction of sewage treatment plants,t he restoration of abandoned
strip-mined areas, the control and extinguishment of surface and
underground mine fires, the alleviation and prevention of subsidence
resulting from mining operations, and the acquisition of additional lands
and the reclamation and development of part and recreational lands
acquired pursuant to the authority of Article VII, section 15 of this
Constitution, subject to such conditions and liabilities as the General
Assembly may prescribe.
Special Emergency Legislation
Section 17.
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this
Constitution to the contrary, the General Assembly shall have the
authority to enact laws providing for tax rebates, credits exemptions,
grants-in-aid, State supplementations, or otherwise provide special
provisions for individuals, corporations, associations or nonprofit
institutions, including nonpublic schools (whether sectarian or
nonsectarian) in order to alleviate the danger, damage, suffering or
hardship faced by such individuals, corporations, associations,
institutions or nonpublic schools as a result of Great Storms or Floods
of September 1971, of June 1972, or of 1974, or of 1975 or of 1976.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article
III, section 29 subsequent to a Presidential declaration of an emergency
or of a major disaster in any part of this Commonwealth, the General
Assembly shall have the authority by a vote of two-thirds of all members
elected to each House to make appropriations limited to moneys required
for Federal emergency or major disaster relief. This subsection may apply
retroactively to any Presidential declaration of an emergency or of a
major disaster in 1976 or 1977.
Article IX LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Local Government Section
1.
The General Assembly shall provide by general
law for local government within the Commonwealth. Such general law shall
be uniform as to all classes of local government regarding procedural
matters.
Home Rule Section
2.
Municipalities shall have the right and power
to frame and adopt home rule charters. Adoption, amendment or repeal of a
home rule charter shall be by referendum. The General Assembly shall
provide the procedure by which a home rule charter may be framed and its
adoption, amendment or repeal presented to these electors. If the General
Assembly does not so provide, a home rule charter or a procedure for
framing and presenting a home rule charter may presented to the electors
by initiative or by the governing body of the municipality. A
municipality which has a home rule charter may exercise any power or
perform any function not denied by this Constitution, by its home rule
charter or by the General Assembly at any time.
Optional Plans Section
3.
Municipalities shall have the right and power
to adopt optional forms of government as provided by law. The General
Assembly shall provide optional forms of government for all
municipalities. An optional form of government shall be presented to the
electors by initiative, by the governing body of the municipality, or by
the General Assembly. Adoption or repeal of an optional form of
government shall be by referendum.
County Government Section
4.
County officers shall consist of
commissioners, controllers, or auditors, district attorneys, public
defenders, treasurers, sheriffs, registers of wills, recorders of deeds,
prothonotaries, clerks of the courts, and such others as may from time to
time be provided by law. County officers, except for public defenders who
shall be appointed as shall be provided by law, shall be elected at the
municipal elections and shall hold their offices for the term of four
years, beginning on the first Monday of January next after their
election, and until their successors shall be duly qualified; all
vacancies shall be filled in such a manner as may be provided by law.
County officers shall be paid only by salary as provided by law for
services performed for the county or any other governmental unit. Fees
incidental to the conduct of any county office shall be payable directly
to the county or the Commonwealth, or as otherwise provided by law. Three
county commissioners shall be elected in each county. In the election of
these officers each qualified elector shall vote for no more than two
persons, and the three persons receiving the highest number of votes
shall be elected. Provisions for county government in this section shall
apply to every county except a county which has adopted a home rule
charter or an optional form of government. One of the optional forms of
county government provided by law shall include the provisions of this
section.
Intergovernmental Cooperation
Section 5.
A municipality by act of its governing body
may, or upon being required by initiative and referendum in the area
affected shall, cooperate or agree in the exercise of any function, power
or responsibility with, or delegate or transfer any function, power or
responsibility to, one or more other governmental unit including other
municipalities or districts, the Federal government, any other state or
its governmental units, or any newly created governmental unit.
Area Government Section
6.
The General Assembly shall provide for the
establishment and dissolution of government of areas involving two or
more municipalities or parts thereof.
Area-wide Powers Section
7.
The General Assembly may grant powers to area
governments or to municipalities within a given geographical area in
which there exists intergovernmental cooperation or area government and
designate the classes of municipalities subject to such legislation.
Consolidation, Merger or Boundary Change
Section 8.
Uniform Legislation. -- The General Assembly
shall, within two years following the adoption of this article, enact
uniform legislation establishing the procedure for consolidation, merger
or change of the boundaries of municipalities. Initiative. -- The
electors of any municipality shall have the right, by initiative and
referendum, to consolidate, merge and change boundaries by a majority
vote of those voting thereon in each municipality, without the approval
of any governing body. Study. -- The General Assembly shall designate an
agency of the Commonwealth to study consolidation, merger and boundary
changes, advise municipalities on all problems which might be connected
therewith, and initiate local referendum. Legislative Power. -- Nothing
herein shall prohibit or prevent the General Assembly from providing
additional methods for consolidation, merger or change of boundaries.
Appropriation for Public Purposes
Section 9.
The General Assembly shall not authorize any
municipality or incorporated district to become a stockholder in any
company, association or corporation, or to obtain or appropriate money
for, or to loan its credit to, any corporation, association, institution
or individual. The General Assembly may provide standards by which
municipalities or school districts may give financial assistance or lease
property to public service, industrial or commercial enterprises if it
shall find that such assistance or leasing is necessary to the health,
safety or welfare of the Commonwealth or any municipality or school
district. Existing authority of any municipality or incorporated district
to obtain or appropriate money for, or to loan its credit to, any
corporation, association, institution or individual, is preserved.
Local Government Debt Section 10.
Subject only to the restrictions imposed by
this section, the General Assembly shall prescribe the debt limits of all
units of local government including municipalities and school districts.
For such purposes, the debt limit base shall be a percentage of the total
revenue, as defined by the General Assembly, of the unit of local
government computed over a specific period immediately preceding the year
of borrowing. The debt limit to be prescribed in every such case shall
exclude all indebtedness (1) for any project to the extent that it is
self-liquidating or self-supporting or which has heretofore been defined
as self- liquidating or self-supporting, or (2) which has been approved
by referendum held in such manner sa shall be provided by law. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to the City or County of
Philadelphia. Any unit of local government, including municipalities and
school districts, incurring any indebtedness, shall at or before the time
of so doing adopt a covenant, which shall be binding upon it so long as
any such indebtedness shall remain unpaid, to make payments out of its
sinking fund or any other of its revenues or funds at such time and in
such annual amounts specified in such covenant as shall be sufficient for
the payment of the interest thereon and the principal thereof when due.
Local Reapportionment Section 11.
Within the year following that in which the
Federal decennial census is officially reported as required by Federal
law, and at such other times as the governing body of any municipality
shall deem necessary, each municipality having a governing body not
entirely elected at large shall be reapportioned, by its governing body
or as shall otherwise be provided by uniform law, into districts which
shall be composed of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in
population as practicable, for the purpose of describing the districts
for those not elected at large.
Philadelphia Debt Section 12.
The debt of the City of Philadelphia may be
increased in such amount that the total debt of said city shall not
exceed thirteen and one-half percent of the average of the annual
assessed valuations of the taxable realty therein, during the ten years
immediately preceding the year in which such increase is made, but said
city shall not increase its indebtedness to an amount exceeding three
percent upon such average assessed valuation of realty, without the
consent of the electors thereof at a public election held in such manner
as shall be provided by law. In ascertaining the debt-incurring capacity
of the City of Philadelphia at any time, there shall be deducted from the
debt of said city so much of such debt as shall have been incurred, or is
about to be incurred, and the proceeds thereof expended, or about to be
expended, upon any public improvement, or in construction, purchase or
condemnation of any public utility, or part thereof, or facility
therefor, if such public improvement or public utility, or part thereof,
or facility therefor, may reasonable be expected to yield revenue in
excess of operating expenses sufficient to pay the interest and sinking
fund charges thereon. The method of determining such amount, so to be
deducted, shall be as now prescribed, or which may hereafter be
prescribed by law. In incurring indebtedness for any purpose the City of
Philadelphia may issue its obligations maturing not later than fifty
years from the date thereof, with provision for a sinking fund to be in
equal or graded annual or other periodical installments. Where any
indebtedness shall be or shall have been incurred by said City of
Philadelphia for the purpose of the construction or improvement of public
works or utilities of any character, from which income or revenue is to
be derived by said city, or for the reclamation of land to be used in the
construction of wharves or docks owned or to be owned by said city, such
obligations may be in an amount sufficient to provide for, and may
include the amount of the interest and sinking fund charges accruing and
which may accrue thereon throughout the period of construction, and until
the expiration of one year after the completion of the work for which
said indebtedness shall have been incurred. No debt shall be incurred by,
or on behalf of, the County of Philadelphia.
Abolition of County Offices in Philadelphia
Section 13.
(a) In Philadelphia all county offices are
hereby abolished, and the city shall henceforth perform all functions of
county government within its area through officers selected in such
manner as may be provided by law.
(b) Local and special laws, regulating the
affairs of the City of Philadelphia and creating offices or prescribing
the powers and duties of officers of the City of Philadelphia, shall be
valid notwithstanding the provisions of section thirty-two of Article III
of this Constitution.
(c) All laws applicable to the County of
Philadelphia shall apply to the City of Philadelphia.
(d) The City of Philadelphia shall have,
assume and take over all powers, property, obligations and indebtedness
of the County of Philadelphia.
(e) The provisions of section two of this
article shall apply with full force and effect to the functions of the
county government hereafter to be performed by the city government.
(f) Upon adoption of this amendment all
county officers shall become officers of the City of Philadelphia, and
until the General Assembly shall otherwise provide, shall continue to
perform their duties and be elected, appointed, compensated and organized
in such manner as may be provided by the provisions of this Constitution
and the laws of the Commonwealth in effect at the time this amendment
becomes effective, but such officers serving when this amendment becomes
effective shall be permitted to complete their terms.
Definitions Section 14.
As used in this article, the following words
shall have the following meanings: "Municipality" means a county,
city, borough, incorporated town, township or any similar general purpose
unit of government which shall hereafter be created by the General
Assembly. "Initiative" means the filing with the applicable
election officials at least ninety days prior to the next primary or
general election of a petition containing a proposal for referendum
signed by electors comprising five percent of the number of electors
voting for the office of Governor in the last gubernatorial general
election in each municipality or area affected. The applicable election
official shall place the proposal on the ballot in a manner fairly
representing the content of the petition for decision by referendum at
said election. Initiative on a similar question shall not be submitted
more than once in five years. No enabling law shall be required for
initiative. "Referendum" means approval of a question placed on
the ballot, by initiative or otherwise, by a majority vote of the
electors voting thereon.
Article X PRIVATE
CORPORATIONS
Certain Unused Charters Void Section
1.
The charters and privileges granted prior to
1874 to private corporations which had not been organized in good faith
and commenced business prior to 1874 shall be void.
Certain Charters to Be Subject to the
Constitution Section 2.
Private corporations which have accepted or
accept the Constitution of this Commonwealth or the benefits of any law
passed by the General Assembly after 1873 governing the affairs of
corporations shall hold their charters subject to the provisions of the
Constitution of this Commonwealth.
Revocation, Amendment and Repeal of Charters
and Corporation Laws Section 3.
All charters of private corporations and all
present and future common or statutory law with respect to the formation
or regulation of private corporations or prescribing powers, rights,
duties or liabilities of private corporations or their officers,
directors or shareholders may be revoked, amended or repealed.
Compensation for Property Taken by
Corporations Under Right of Eminent Domain Section
4.
Municipal and other corporations invested
with the privilege of taking private property for public use shall make
just compensation for property taken, injured or destroyed by the
construction or enlargement of their works, highways or improvements and
compensation shall be paid or secured before the taking, injury or
destruction.
Article XI AMENDMENTS
Proposal of Amendments by the General
Assembly and Their Adoption Section 1.
Amendments to this Constitution may be
proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives; and if the same shall
be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each House, such
proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with
the yeas and nays taken thereon, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth
shall causes the same to be published three months before the next
general election, in at least two newspapers in every county in which
such newspapers shall be published; and if, in the General Assembly next
afterwards chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed
to by a majority of the members elected to each House, the Secretary of
the Commonwealth shall cause the same again to be published in the manner
aforesaid; and such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted
to the qualified electors of the State in such manner, and at such time
at least three months after being so agreed to by the two Houses, as the
General Assembly shall prescribe; and, if such amendment or amendments
shall be approved by a majority of those voting thereon, such amendment
or amendments shall become a part of the Constitution; but no amendment
or amendments shall be submitted oftener than once in five years. When
two or more amendments shall be submitted they shall be voted upon
separately.
(a) In the event a major emergency threatens
or is about to threaten the Commonwealth and if the safety or welfare of
the Commonwealth required prompt amendment of this Constitution, such
amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of
Representatives at any regular or special session of the General
Assembly, and if agreed to by at least two-thirds of the members elected
to each House, a proposed amendment shall be entered on the journal of
each House with the yeas and nays taken thereon and the official in
charge of statewide elections shall promptly publish such proposed
amendment in at least two newspapers in every county in which such
newspapers are published. Such amendment shall then be submitted to the
qualified electors of the Commonwealth in such manner, and at such time,
at least one month after being agreed to by both Houses as the General
assembly prescribes.
(b) If an emergency amendment is approved by
a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon, it shall become part
of this constitution. When two or more emergency amendments are submitted
they shall be voted on separately.
SCHEDULES TO CONSTITUTION OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Schedule 1. Adopted with the
Constitution 2. Amendments of November 2, 1909
SCHEDULE NO. 1 (ADOPTED WITH THE
CONSTITUTION)
That no inconvenience may arise from the
changes in the Constitution of the Commonwealth, and in order to carry
the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared, that:
When to Take Effect Section
1.
This Constitution shall take effect on the
first day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four, for all purposes not otherwise provided for therein.
Former Laws Remain in Force Section
2.
All laws in force in this Commonwealth at the
time of the adoption of this Constitution not inconsistent therewith, and
all rights, actions, prosecutions and contracts shall continue as if this
Constitution had not been adopted.
Election of Senators Section
3.
At the General election in the years one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four and one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five, Senators shall be elected in all districts where there
shall be vacancies. Those elected in the year one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-four shall serve for two years, and those elected in the year
one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five shall serve for one year.
Senators now elected and those whose terms are unexpired shall represent
the districts in which they reside until the end of the terms for which
they were elected.
Election of Senators (continued)
Section 4.
At the general election in the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, Senators shall be elected from
even- numbered districts to serve for two years, and from odd-numbered
districts to serve for four years.
Election of Governor Section
5.
The first election of Governor under this
Constitution shall be at the general election in the year one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five, when a Governor shall be elected for
three years; and the term of the Governor elected in the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight and of those thereafter elected
shall be for four years, according to the provisions of this
constitution.
Election of Lieutenant Governor
Section 6.
At the general election in the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, a Lieutenant Governor shall be
elected according to the provisions of this Constitution.
Secretary of Internal Affairs
Section 7.
The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall be
elected at the first general election after the adoption of this
Constitution; and, when the said officer shall be duly elected and
qualified, the office of Surveyor General shall be abolished. The
Surveyor General in office at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution shall continue in office until the expiration of the term
for which he was elected.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Section 8.
When the Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall be duly qualified the office of Superintendent of Common Schools
shall cease.
Eligibility of Present Officers
Section 9.
Nothing contained in this Constitution shall
be construed to render any person now holding any State office for a
first official term ineligible for re-election at the end of such term.
Judges of Supreme Court Section 10.
The judges of the Supreme Court in office
when this Constitution shall take effect shall continue until their
commissions severally expire. Two judges in addition to the number now
composing the said court shall be elected at the first general election
after the adoption of this Constitution.
Courts of Record Section 11.
All courts of record and all existing courts
which are not specified in this Constitution shall continue in existence
until the first day of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five, without abridgement of their present jurisdiction, but
no longer. The court of the first criminal jurisdiction for the counties
of Schuylkill, Lebanon and Dauphin is hereby abolished, and all causes
and proceedings pending therein in the county of Schuylkill shall be
tried and disposed of in the courts of oyer and terminer and quarter
sessions of the peace of said county.
Register's Courts Abolished Section
12.
The register's courts now in existence shall
be abolished on the first day of January next succeeding the adoption of
this Constitution.
Judicial Districts Section 13.
The General Assembly shall, at the next
session after the adoption of this Constitution, designate the several
judicial districts as required by this Constitution. The judges in
commission when such designation shall be made shall continue during
their unexpired terms judges of the new districts in which they reside;
but, when there shall be two judges residing in the same district, the
president judge shall elect to which district he shall be assigned, and
the additional law judge shall be assigned to the other district.
Decennial Adjustment of Judicial Districts
Section 14.
The General Assembly shall, at the next
succeeding session after each decennial census and not oftener, designate
the several judicial districts as required by this Constitution.
Judges in Commission Section 15.
Judges learned in the law of any court of
record holding commissions in force at the adoption of this Constitution
shall hold their respective offices until the expiration of the terms for
which they were commissioned, and until their successors shall be duly
qualified. The Governor shall commission the president judge of the court
of first criminal jurisdiction for the counties of Schuylkill, Lebanon
and Dauphin as a judge of the court of common pleas of Schuylkill county,
for the unexpired term of his office.
President Judges; Casting Lots; Associate
Judges Section 16.
After the expiration of the term of any
president judge of any court of common pleas, in commission at the
adoption of this Constitution, the judge of such court learned in the law
and oldest in commission shall be the president judge thereof; and when
two or more judges are elected at the same time in any judicial district
they shall decide by lot which shall be president judge; but when the
president judge of a court shall be re-elected he shall continue to be
president judge of that court. Associate judges not learned in the law,
elected after the adoption of this Constitution, shall be commissioned to
hold their offices for the term of five years from the first day of
January next after their election.
Compensation of Judges Section 17.
The General Assembly, at the first session
after the adoption of this Constitution, shall fix and determine the
compensation of the judges of the Supreme Court and of the judges of the
several judicial districts of the Commonwealth; and the provisions of the
fifteenth section of the article on Legislation shall not be deemed
inconsistent herewith. Nothing contained in this Constitution shall be
held to reduce the compensation now paid to any law judge of this
Commonwealth now in commission.
Courts of Philadelphia and Allegheny
Counties; Organization in Philadelphia Section 18.
The courts of common pleas in the counties of
Philadelphia and Allegheny shall be composed of the present judges of the
district court and court of common pleas of said counties until their
offices shall severally end, and of such other judges as may from time to
time be selected. For the purpose of first organization in Philadelphia
the judges of the court number one shall be Judges Allison, Pierce and
Paxson; of the court number two, Judges Hare, Mitchell and one other
judge to be elected; of the court number three, Judges Ludlow, Finletter
and Lynd; and of the court number four, Judges Thayer, Briggs and one
other judge to be elected. The judge first named shall be the president
judge of said courts respectively, and thereafter the president judge
shall be the judge oldest in commission; but any president judge,
re-elected in the same court or district, shall continue to be president
judge thereof. The additional judges for courts numbers two and four
shall be voted for and elected at the first general election after the
adoption of this Constitution, in the same manner as the two additional
judges of the Supreme Court, and they shall decide by lot to which court
they shall belong. Their term of office shall commence on the first
Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.
Organization of Courts in Allegheny County
Section 19.
In the county of allegheny, for the purpose
of first organization under this Constitution, the judge of the court of
common pleas, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be
the judges of the court number one, and the judges of the district court,
at the same date, shall be the judges of the common pleas number two. The
president judges of the common pleas and district court shall be
president judge of said courts number one and two, respectively, until
their offices shall end; and thereafter the judge oldest in commission
shall be president judge; but any president judge re-elected in the same
court, or district, shall continue to be president judge thereof.
When Re-Organization of Courts to Take
Effect Section 20.
The organization of the courts of common
pleas under this Constitution for the counties of Philadelphia and
Allegheny shall take effect on the first Monday of January, one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five, and existing courts in said counties
shall continue with their present power and jurisdiction until that date,
but no new suits shall be instituted in the courts of nisi prius after
the adoption of this Constitution.
Causes Pending in Philadelphia; Transfer of
Records Section 21.
The causes and proceeding pending in the
court of nisi prius, court of common pleas, and district court in
Philadelphia shall be tried and disposed of in the court of common pleas.
The records and dockets of said courts shall be transferred to the
prothonotary's office of said county.
Causes Pending in Allegheny County
Section 22.
The causes and proceedings pending in the
court of common pleas in the county of Allegheny shall be tried and
disposed of in the court number one; and the causes and proceedings
pending in the district court shall be tried and disposed of in the court
number two.
Prothonotary of Philadelphia County
Section 23.
The prothonotary of the court of common pleas
of Philadelphia shall be first appointed by the judges of said court on
the first Monday of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five, and the present prothonotary of the district court in said
county shall be the prothonotary of the said court of common pleas until
said date when his commission shall expire, and the present clerk of the
court of oyer and terminer and quarter sessions of the peace in
Philadelphia shall be the clerk of such court until the expiration of his
present commission on the first Monday of December, in the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Aldermen Section 24.
In cities containing over fifty thousand
inhabitants, except Philadelphia, all aldermen in office at the time of
adoption of this Constitution shall continue in office until the
expiration of their commissions, and at the election for city and ward
officers in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five one
alderman shall be elected in each ward as provided in this Constitution.
Magistrates in Philadelphia Section
25.
In Philadelphia magistrates in lieu of
alderman shall be chosen, as required in this Constitution, at the
election in said city for city ward officers in the year one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five; their term of office shall commence on
the first Monday of April succeeding their election. The terms of office
of aldermen in said city holding or entitled to commissions at the time
of the adoption of this Constitution shall not be affected thereby.
Term of Present Officers Section 26.
All persons in office in this Commonwealth at
the time of the adoption of this Constitution, and at the first election
under it, shall hold their respective offices until the term for which
they have been elected or appointed shall expire, and until their
successors shall be duly qualified, unless otherwise provided in this
Constitution.
Oath of Office Section 27.
The seventh article of this Constitution
prescribing an oath of office shall take effect on and after the first
day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
County Commissioners and Auditors
Section 28.
The terms of office of county commissioners
and county auditors, chosen prior to the year one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five, which shall not have expired before the first Monday of
January in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, shall
expire on that day.
Compensation of Present Officers
Section 29.
All State, county, city, ward, borough and
township officers in office at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution, whose compensation is not provided for by salaries alone,
shall continue to receive the compensation allowed them by law until the
expiration of their respective terms of office.
Renewal of Oath of Office Section
30.
All State and judicial officers heretofore
elected, sworn, affirmed, or in office when this Constitution shall take
effect, shall severally, within one month after such adoption, take and
subscribe an oath, or affirmation to support this Constitution.
Enforcing Legislation Section 31.
The General Assembly at its first session, or
as soon as may be after the adoption of this Constitution, shall pass
such laws as may be necessary to carry the same into full force and
effect.
An Ordinance Declared Valid Section
32.
The ordinance passed by this Convention,
entitled "An ordinance for submitting the amended Constitution of
Pennsylvania to vote of the electors thereof," shall be held to be valid
for all the purposes thereof.
City Commissioners of Philadelphia
Section 33.
The words "county commissioners," wherever
used in this Constitution and in any ordinance accompanying the same,
shall be held to include the commissioners for the city of Philadelphia.
SCHEDULE NO. 2 (AMENDMENTS OF
NOVEMBER 2, 1909)
Adoption. The provisions of Schedule No. 2
were adopted November 2, 1909, P.L. 948, J.R.1. Partial Repeal of
Schedule. See section 2 of Proposal No. 7 of 1968 in the appendix to the
Constitution for provisions relating to the partial repeal of Schedule
No. 2.
Adjustments of Terms of Public Officers
Section 1.
That no inconvenience may arise from the
changes in the Constitution of the Commonwealth, and in order to carry
the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared that - In
the came of officers elected by the people, all terms of office fixed by
act of Assembly at an odd number of years shall each be lengthened one
year, but the Legislature may change the length of the term, provided the
terms for which such officers are elected shall always be for an even
number of years. The above extension of official terms shall not
affect officers elected at the general election of one thousand nine
hundred and eight; nor any city, ward, borough, township, or election
division officers, whose terms of office, under existing law, end in the
year one thousand nine hundred and ten. In the year one thousand
nine hundred and ten the municipal election shall be held on the third
Tuesday of February as heretofore; but all officers chosen at that
election to an office the regular term of which is two years, and also
all election officers and assessors chosen at that election, shall serve
until the first Monday of December in the year one thousand nine hundred
and eleven. All officers chosen at that election to offices the term of
which is now four years, or is make four years by the operation of these
amendments or this schedule, shall serve until the first Monday of
December in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirteen. All justices
of the peace, magistrates, and aldermen, chosen at that election, shall
serve until the first Monday of December in the year one thousand nine
hundred and fifteen. After the year nineteen hundred and ten, and until
the Legislature shall otherwise provide, all terms of city, ward,
borough, township, and election division officers shall begin on the
first Monday of December in an odd-numbered year. All city, ward,
borough, and township officers holding office at the date of the approval
of these amendments, whose terms of office may end in the year one
thousand nine hundred and eleven, shall continue to hold their offices
until the first Monday of December of that year. All judges of
the courts for the several judicial districts, and also all county
officers, holding office at the date of the approval of these amendments,
whose terms of office may end in the year one thousand nine hundred and
eleven, shall continue to hold their offices until the first Monday of
January, one thousand and hundred and twelve.
APPENDIX Supplementary Provisions of
Constitutional Amendments 1967, May 16, P.L. 1044, J.R.4
Schedule. Terms of State Treasurer and
Auditor General
That no inconvenience may arise from changes
in Article IV of the Constitution of this Commonwealth, it is hereby
declared that the State Treasurer and Auditor General first elected after
this amended article becomes effective shall serve terms beginning the
first Tuesday in May next following their election and expiring four
years from the third Tuesday in January next ensuing their election.
Explanatory Note. Joint Resolution No. 4
added section 18 and made other changes in Article IV.
1968, April 23, P.L. APP.3, PROP. NO.1
Schedule. Effective Date of Amendment
The foregoing amendment to Article II of the
Constitution of Pennsylvania if approved by the electorate voting on
April 23, 1968, shall become effective the year following that in which
the next Federal decennial census is officially reported as required by
Federal Law.
Explanatory Note. Proposal No. 1 amended and
consolidated sections 16 and 17 into section 16 of Article II.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.3, PROP. NO.2
Schedule. Effective Date of Amendment
The foregoing amendment to Article II of the
Constitution of Pennsylvania if approved by the electorate voting on
April 23, 1968, shall become effective the year following that in which
the next Federal decennial census is officially reported as required by
Federal law.
Explanatory Note. Proposal No. 2 amended and
renumbered section 18 to section 17 of Article II.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.5, PROP. NO.3
Repeals Section
4.
Effective when the last bonds have been
issued under their authority, sections 24 and 25 of Article VII of the
Constitution of Pennsylvania are hereby repealed.
References in Text. Sections 24 and 25 were
renumbered section 15 and 16, respectively, of Article VII by Proposed
No. 5 of 1968.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.7, PROP. NO.4
Effective Date of Amendments Section
3.
The following schedule is adopted: Sections
10, 12, 13 and 14 of Article VII shall take effect as soon as possible,
but no later than July 1, 1970.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.9, PROP. NO.5
Effective Date of Amendments Section
4.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect as soon as
possible, but no later than July 1, 1970. Section 4 shall take effect
July 1, 1970, unless the General Assembly earlier provides enabling
legislation in accordance therewith.
References in Text. Proposal No. 5 amended
section 1, added sections 2 and 4 and renumbered or amended other
sections of Article VIII.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.11, PROP. NO.6
Effective Date and Interpretation of
Amendments Section 3.
This new article and the repeal of existing
sections shall take effect on the date of approval by the electorate,
except that the following sections shall take effect on the effective
date of legislation adopted pursuant to the sections or the date
indicated below, whichever shall first occur. The first, third
and fourth paragraphs of section 8 shall take effect two years after the
effective date. The second sentence of section 1, the fourth sentence of
section 2, all of section 3, the third paragraph of section 4, and the
first paragraph of section 10 shall take effect four years after the
effective date. The second sentence of section 1 and the first paragraph
of section 8 on Uniform Legislation shall be construed so as to be
consistent with the jurisdiction of this Convention.
Explanatory Note. Proposal No. 6 added
present Article IX and repealed sections in Articles VII, XII, XIV, and
XV.
1968, APRIL 23, P.L.APP.16, PROP. NO. 7
Repeals Section
2.
Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania
is repealed in its entirety, and those provisions of Schedules No. 1 and
No. 2 are repealed to the extent they are inconsistent with this article
and attached schedule.
Explanatory Note. Proposal No. 7 added
present Article V.
1972, NOVEMBER 7, 1ST SP.SESS, P.L. 1970,
J.R.1
Preamble Section
1.
Millions of Pennsylvanians have suffered
greatly from the ravages of the most disastrous flood in the history of
the Commonwealth. This flood has left devastation in its wake. Thousands
of people have been left homeless and countless industrial and commercial
establishments and public facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
It is imperative that the victims of this disaster immediately receive
the fullest possible aid from both the public and private sectors in
order to clean up and rebuild the affected areas of the commonwealth.
In addition, many Pennsylvanians suffer greatly as a result of the
Great Storm or Flood of September, 1971. The General Assembly
desired to alleviate such storm or economic deprivation caused by the
flood, but is limited in its efforts by rigid restrictions in the
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The safety and welfare
of the Commonwealth requires prompt amendment to the Constitution of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The following amendment to the
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is proposed in
accordance with the emergency provisions contained in subsections (a) and
(b) of section 1 of the eleventh article thereof:
That Article VIII of the Constitution of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be amended by adding a new section to read:
Explanatory Note: Joint Resolution No. 1
added section 17 of Article VIII.
1975, NOVEMBER 4, P.L. 622, J.R.2
Preamble Section
1.
Many Pennsylvanians have suffered greatly
from the ravages of great storms or floods in the last few years. The
great storms or floods of 1974 and 1975 are additional major disasters
causing loss of life and great damage and destruction to property of
individuals, industrial and commercial establishments and public
facilities. It is imperative that the victims of these disasters
immediately receive the fullest possible aid from both the public and
private sectors in order to clean up and rebuild the affected areas of
the Commonwealth and that persons in the Commonwealth be eligible for the
maximum available aid from the government of the United States.
The General Assembly desires to alleviate such storm or economic
deprivation caused by the floods but is limited in its efforts by rigid
restrictions in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
safety and welfare of the Commonwealth requires prompt amendment to the
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The following
amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is
proposed in accordance with the emergency provisions contained in
subsections (a) and (b) of section 1 of the eleventh article thereof:
That section 17 of Article VIII of the
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to be amended to read:
1977, NOVEMBER 8, P.L.362, J.R.2
Preamble
Many Pennsylvanians have suffered greatly
from the ravages of Great Storms and Floods in recent years. The Great
Storms or Floods of 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977 were additional major
disasters causing loss of life and great damage and destruction to
property of individuals, industrial and commercial establishments and
public facilities. It is imperative that the victims of these
disasters receive the fullest possible aid from both the Federal
Government and the Commonwealth in order to accomplish a speedy recovery.
The Congress of the United States, through enactment of the
Disaster Relief Act of 1974, Public Law 93-288, has authorized the making
of certain disaster relief grants. The General Assembly wishes to make
such Federal disaster relief grants, or other grants made available from
Federal programs hereafter enacted, available to eligible individuals and
families in order to alleviate the deprivation caused by storms or floods
which have occurred in the past and seeks to address those emergencies of
future years. However, the General Assembly is limited by rigid
restrictions in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
safety and welfare of the Commonwealth requires the prompt amendment to
the Constitution to aid those already inflicted by the Great Storms of
1976 or 1977 and any future emergency that may strike Commonwealth
citizens. Therefore, the following amendment to the Constitution
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is proposed in accordance with the
emergency provisions of Article XI thereof: That section 17 of
Article VIII be amended to read:
1978, MAY 16, 1977 P.L. 365, J.R.4
Vacancy in Existing Office of Attorney
General
Upon approval of this amendment by the
electors, there shall be a vacancy in the office of Attorney General
which shall be filled a provided herein.
Explanatory Note. Joint Resolution No. 4
added section 4.1 and amended sections 5, 6, 8 and 17 of Article 14.
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