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NORTH
DAKOTA
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NORTH
DAKOTA
PREAMBLE
We, the people of North Dakota, grateful
to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and
religious liberty, do ordain and
establish this constitution.
ARTICLE I
DECLARATION OF
RIGHTS
Section 1.
All individuals are by nature equally
free and independent and have certain
inalienable rights, among which are those
of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring,
possessing and protecting property and
reputation; pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness;
and to keep and bear arms for the defense
of their person, family, property, and the state, and for
lawful hunting, recreational, and other
lawful purposes, which shall not be infringed.
Section 2.
All political power is inherent in the
people. Government is instituted for the
protection, security and benefit of the
people, and they have a right to alter or reform the same
whenever the public good may require.
Section 3.
The free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship, without
discrimination or preference shall be
forever guaranteed in this state, and no person shall be
rendered incompetent to be a witness or
juror on account of his opinion on matters of religious
belief; but the liberty of conscience
hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of
licentiousness, or justify practices
inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.
Section 4.
Every man may freely write, speak and
publish his opinions on all subjects,
being responsible for the abuse of that
privilege. In all civil and criminal trials for libel the truth
may be given in evidence, and shall be a
sufficient defense when the matter is published with
good motives and for justifiable ends;
and the jury shall have the same power of giving a general
verdict as in other cases; and in all
indictments or informations 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.
Section 5.
The citizens have a right, in a peaceable
manner, to assemble together for
the common good, and to apply to those
invested with the powers of government for the redress
of grievances, or for other proper
purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.
Section 6.
Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, unless for the punishment of crime,
shall ever be tolerated in this state.
Section 7.
Every citizen of this state shall be free
to obtain employment wherever
possible, and any person, corporation, or
agent thereof, maliciously interfering or hindering in any
way, any citizen from obtaining or
enjoying employment already obtained, from any other
corporation or person, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 8.
The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers and
effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures shall not be violated; and no warrant shall
issue but upon probable cause, supported
by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place
to be searched and the persons and things
to be seized.
Section 9.
All courts shall be open, and every man
for any injury done him in his lands,
goods, person or reputation shall have
remedy by due process of law, and right and justice
administered without sale, denial or
delay. Suits may be brought against the state in such
manner, in such courts, and in such
cases, as the legislative assembly may, by law, direct.
Section 10.
Until otherwise provided by law, no
person shall, for a felony, be proceeded
against criminally, otherwise than by
indictment, 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. In all other cases,
offenses shall be prosecuted criminally
by indictment or information. The legislative assembly
may change, regulate or abolish the grand
jury system.
Section 11.
All persons shall be bailable by
sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses
when the proof is evident or the
presumption great. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel
or unusual punishments be inflicted. Witnesses shall
not be unreasonably detained, nor be
confined in any room where criminals are actually
imprisoned.
Section 12.
In criminal prosecutions in any court
whatever, the party accused shall have
the right to a speedy and public trial;
to have the process of the court to compel the attendance of
witnesses in his behalf; and to appear
and defend in person and with counsel. No person shall
be twice put in jeopardy for the same
offense, nor be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
Section 13.
The right of trial by jury shall be
secured to all, and remain inviolate. A
person accused of a crime for which he
may be confined for a period of more than one year has
the right of trial by a jury of twelve.
The legislative assembly may determine the size of the jury
for all other cases, provided that the
jury consists of at least six members. All verdicts must be
unanimous.
Section 14.
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.
Section 15.
No person shall be imprisoned for debt
unless upon refusal to deliver up his
estate for the benefit of his creditors,
in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; or in cases of
tort; or where there is strong
presumption of fraud.
Section 16.
Private property shall not be taken or
damaged for public use without just
compensation having been first made to,
or paid into court for the owner, unless the owner
chooses to accept annual payments as may
be provided for by law. No right of way shall be
appropriated to the use of any
corporation until full compensation therefor be first made in money
or ascertained and paid into court for
the owner, unless the owner chooses annual payments as
may be provided by law, irrespective of
any benefit from any improvement proposed by such
corporation. Compensation shall be
ascertained by a jury, unless a jury be waived. When the
state or any of its departments, agencies
or political subdivisions seeks to acquire right of way, it
may take possession upon making an offer
to purchase and by depositing the amount of such
offer with the clerk of the district
court of the county wherein the right of way is located. The clerk
shall immediately notify the owner of
such deposit. The owner may thereupon appeal to the
court in the manner provided by law, and
may have a jury trial, unless a jury be waived, to
determine the damages, which damages the
owner may choose to accept in annual payments
as may be provided for by law. Annual
payments shall not be subject to escalator clauses but
may be supplemented by interest earned.
Section 17.
Treason against the state shall consist
only in levying war against it,
adhering to its enemies or giving them
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason
unless on the evidence of two witnesses
to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
Section 18.
No bill of attainder, ex post facto law,
or law impairing the obligations of
contracts shall ever be passed.
Section 19.
The military shall be subordinate to the
civil power. No standing army shall
be maintained by this state in time of
peace, and no soldiers shall, in time of peace, be quartered
in any house without the consent of the
owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner
prescribed by law.
Section 20.
To guard against 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.
Section 21.
No special privileges or immunities shall
ever be granted which may not be
altered, revoked or repealed by the
legislative assembly; nor shall any citizen or class of citizens
be granted privileges or immunities which
upon the same terms shall not be granted to all
citizens.
Section 22.
All laws of a general nature shall have a
uniform operation.
Section 23.
The state of North Dakota is an
inseparable part of the American union and
the Constitution of the United States is
the supreme law of the land.
Section 24.
The provisions of this constitution are
mandatory and prohibitory unless, by
express words, they are declared to be
otherwise.
ARTICLE II
ELECTIVE FRANCHISE
Section 1.
The general election of the state shall
be held biennially as provided by law.
Every citizen of the United States, who
has attained the age of eighteen years and who is
a North Dakota resident, shall be a
qualified elector. When an elector moves within the state, he
shall be entitled to vote in the precinct
from which he moves until he establishes voting residence
in another precinct. The legislative
assembly shall provide by law for the determination of
residence for voting eligibility, other
than physical presence. No elector shall lose his residency
for voting eligibility solely by reason
of his absence from the state.
The legislative assembly shall provide by
law for secrecy in voting, for absentee voting,
for administration of elections and for
the nomination of candidates.
Section 2.
No person who has been declared mentally
incompetent by order of a court
or other authority having jurisdiction,
which order has not been rescinded, shall be qualified to
vote. No person convicted of a felony
shall be qualified to vote until his or her civil rights are
restored.
ARTICLE III
POWERS RESERVED TO
THE PEOPLE
Section 1.
While the legislative power of this state
shall be vested in a legislative
assembly consisting of a senate and a
house of representatives, the people reserve the power to
propose and enact laws by the initiative,
including the call for a constitutional convention; to
approve or reject legislative Acts, or
parts thereof, by the referendum; to propose and adopt
constitutional amendments by the
initiative; and to recall certain elected officials. This article is
self-executing and all of its provisions
are mandatory. Laws may be enacted to facilitate and
safeguard, but not to hamper, restrict,
or impair these powers.
Section 2.
A petition to initiate or to refer a
measure shall be presented to the secretary
of state for approval as to form. A
request for approval shall be presented over the names and
signatures of twenty-five or more
electors as sponsors, one of whom shall be designated as
chairman of the sponsoring committee. The
secretary of state shall approve the petition for
circulation if it is in proper form and
contains the names and addresses of the sponsors and the
full text of the measure.
Section 3.
The petition shall be circulated only by
electors. They shall swear thereon
that the electors who have signed the
petition did so in their presence. Each elector signing a
petition shall also write in the date of
signing and his post-office address. No law shall be
enacted limiting the number of copies of
a petition. The copies shall become part of the original
petition when filed.
Section 4.
The petition may be submitted to the
secretary of state if signed by electors
equal in number to two percent of the
resident population of the state at the last federal decennial
census.
Section 5.
An initiative petition shall be submitted
not less than ninety days before the
statewide election at which the measure
is to be voted upon. A referendum petition may be
submitted only within ninety days after
the filing of the measure with the secretary of state. The
submission of a petition shall suspend
the operation of any measure enacted by the legislative
assembly except emergency measures and
appropriation measures for the support and
maintenance of state departments and
institutions. The submission of a petition against one or
more items or parts of any measure shall
not prevent the remainder from going into effect. A
referred measure may be voted upon at a
statewide election or at a special election called by the
governor.
Section 6.
The secretary of state shall pass upon
each petition, and if he finds it
insufficient, he shall notify the
"committee for the petitioners" and allow twenty days for correction
or amendment. All decisions of the
secretary of state in regard to any such petition shall be
subject to review by the supreme court.
But if the sufficiency of such petition is being reviewed at
the time the ballot is prepared, the
secretary of state shall place the measure on the ballot and no
subsequent decision shall invalidate such
measure if it is at such election approved by a majority
of the votes cast thereon. If proceedings
are brought against any petition upon any ground, the
burden of proof shall be upon the party
attacking it.
Section 7.
All decisions of the secretary of state
in the petition process are subject to
review by the supreme court in the
exercise of original jurisdiction. If his decision is being
reviewed at the time the ballot is
prepared, he shall place the measure on the ballot and no court
action shall invalidate the measure if it
is approved at the election by a majority of the votes cast
thereon.
Section 8.
If a majority of votes cast upon an
initiated or a referred measure are
affirmative, it shall be deemed enacted.
An initiated or referred measure which is approved shall
become law thirty days after the
election, and a referred measure which is rejected shall be void
immediately. If conflicting measures are
approved, the one receiving the highest number of
affirmative votes shall be law. A measure
approved by the electors may not be repealed or
amended by the legislative assembly for
seven years from its effective date, except by a
two-thirds vote of the members elected to
each house.
Section 9.
A constitutional amendment may be
proposed by initiative petition. If signed
by electors equal in number to four
percent of the resident population of the state at the last
federal decennial census, the petition
may be submitted to the secretary of state. All other
provisions relating to initiative
measures apply hereto.
Section 10.
Any elected official of the state, of any
county or of any legislative or county
commissioner district shall be subject to
recall by petition of electors equal in number to
twenty-five percent of those who voted at
the preceding general election for the office of governor
in the state, county, or district in
which the official is to be recalled.
The petition shall be filed with the
official with whom a petition for nomination to the office
in question is filed, who shall call a
special election if he finds the petition valid and sufficient. No
elector may remove his name from a recall
petition.
The name of the official to be recalled
shall be placed on the ballot unless he resigns
within ten days after the filing of the
petition. Other candidates for the office may be nominated in
a manner provided by law. When the
election results have been officially declared, the candidate
receiving the highest number of votes
shall be deemed elected for the remainder of the term. No
official shall be subject twice to recall
during the term for which he was elected.
ARTICLE IV
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Section 1.
The senate must be composed of not less
than forty nor more than fifty-four
members, and the house of representatives
must be composed of not less than eighty nor more
than one hundred eight members. These
houses are jointly designated as the legislative
assembly of the state of North Dakota.
Section 2.
The legislative assembly shall fix the
number of senators and representatives
and divide the state into as many
senatorial districts of compact and contiguous territory as there
are senators. The districts thus
ascertained and determined after the 1990 federal decennial
census shall continue until the
adjournment of the first regular session after each federal
decennial census, or until changed by
law.
The legislative assembly shall guarantee,
as nearly as is practicable, that every elector is
equal to every other elector in the state
in the power to cast ballots for legislative candidates. A
senator and at least two representatives
must be apportioned to each senatorial district and be
elected at large or from subdistricts
from those districts. The legislative assembly may combine
two senatorial districts only when a
single member senatorial district includes a federal facility or
federal installation, containing over
two-thirds of the population of a single member senatorial
district, and may provide for the
election of senators at large and representatives at large or from
subdistricts from those districts.
Section 3.
The legislative assembly shall establish
by law a procedure whereby one-half
of the members of the senate and one-half
of the members of the house of representatives, as
nearly as is practicable, are elected
biennially.
Section 4.
Senators and representatives must be
elected for terms of four years.
Section 5.
Each person elected to the legislative
assembly must be, on the day of the
election, a qualified elector in the
district from which the member was chosen and must have
been a resident of the state for one year
immediately prior to that election.
Section 6.
While serving in the legislative
assembly, no member may hold any full-time
appointive state office established by
this constitution or designated by law. During the term for
which elected, no member of the
legislative assembly may be appointed to any full-time office
which has been created, or to any office
for which the compensation has been increased, by the
legislative assembly during that term.
Section 7.
The terms of members of the legislative
assembly begin on the first day of
December following their election.
The legislative assembly shall meet at
the seat of government in the month of December
following the election of the members
thereof for organizational and orientation purposes as
provided by law and shall thereafter
recess until twelve noon on the first Tuesday after the third
day in January or at such other time as
may be prescribed by law but not later than the eleventh
day of January.
No regular session of the legislative
assembly may exceed eighty natural days during the
biennium. The organizational meeting of
the legislative assembly may not be counted as part of
those eighty natural days, nor may days
spent in session at the call of the governor or while
engaged in impeachment proceedings, be
counted. Days spent in regular session need not be
consecutive, and the legislative assembly
may authorize its committees to meet at any time
during the biennium. As used in this
section, a "natural day" means a period of twenty-four
consecutive hours.
Neither house may recess nor adjourn for
more than three days without consent of the
other house.
Section 8.
The house of representatives shall elect
one of its members to act as
presiding officer at the beginning of
each organizational session.
Section 9.
If any person elected to either house of
the legislative assembly shall offer or
promise to give his vote or influence, in
favor of, or against any measure or proposition pending
or proposed to be introduced into the
legislative assembly, in consideration, or upon conditions,
that any other person elected to the same
legislative assembly will give, or will promise or assent
to give, his vote or influence in favor
of or against any other measure or proposition, pending or
proposed to be introduced into such
legislative assembly, the person making such offer or
promise shall be deemed guilty of
solicitation of bribery. If any member of the legislative
assembly, shall give his vote or
influence for or against any measure or proposition, pending or
proposed to be introduced into such
legislative assembly, or offer, promise or assent so to do
upon condition that any other member will
give, promise or assent to give his vote or influence in
favor of or against any other such
measure or proposition pending or proposed to be introduced
into such legislative assembly, or in
consideration that any other member hath given his vote or
influence, for or against any other
measure or proposition in such legislative assembly, he shall
be deemed guilty of bribery. And any
person, member of the legislative assembly or person
elected thereto, who shall be guilty of
either such offenses, shall be expelled, and shall not
thereafter be eligible to the legislative
assembly, and, on the conviction thereof in the civil courts,
shall be liable to such further penalty
as may be prescribed by law.
Section 10.
No member of the legislative assembly,
expelled for corruption, and no
person convicted of bribery, perjury or
other infamous crime shall be eligible to the legislative
assembly, or to any office in either
branch thereof.
Section 11.
The legislative assembly may provide by
law a procedure to fill vacancies
occurring in either house of the
legislative assembly.
Section 12.
A majority of the members elected to each
house constitutes a quorum. A
smaller number may adjourn from day to
day and may compel attendance of absent members in
a manner, and under a penalty, as may be
provided by law.
Each house is the judge of the
qualifications of its members, but election contests are
subject to judicial review as provided by
law. If two or more candidates for the same office
receive an equal and highest number of
votes, the secretary of state shall choose one of them by
the toss of a coin.
Each house shall determine its rules of
procedure, and may punish its members or other
persons for contempt or disorderly
behavior in its presence. With the concurrence of two-thirds
of its elected members, either house may
expel a member.
Section 13.
Each house shall keep a journal of its
proceedings, and a recorded vote on
any question shall be taken at the
request of one-sixth of those members present. No bill may
become law except by a recorded vote of a
majority of the members elected to each house, and
the lieutenant governor is considered a
member-elect of the senate when the lieutenant governor
votes.
No law may be enacted except by a bill
passed by both houses, and no bill may be
amended on its passage through either
house in a manner which changes its general subject
matter. No bill may embrace more than one
subject, which must be expressed in its title; but a
law violating this provision is invalid
only to the extent the subject is not so expressed.
Every bill must be read on two separate
natural days, and the readings may be by title
only unless a reading at length is
demanded by one-fifth of the members present.
No bill may be amended, extended, or
incorporated in any other bill by reference to its
title only, except in the case of
definitions and procedural provisions.
The presiding officer of each house shall
sign all bills passed and resolutions adopted by
the legislative assembly, and the fact of
signing shall be entered at once in the journal.
Every law, except as otherwise provided
in this section, enacted by the legislative
assembly during its eighty natural
meeting days takes effect on August first after its filing with the
secretary of state, or if filed on or
after August first and before January first of the following year
ninety days after its filing, or on a
subsequent date if specified in the law unless, by a vote of
two-thirds of the members elected to each
house, the legislative assembly declares it an
emergency measure and includes the
declaration in the Act. Every appropriation measure for
support and maintenance of state
departments and institutions and every tax measure that
changes tax rates enacted by the
legislative assembly take effect on July first after its filing with
the secretary of state or on a subsequent
date if specified in the law unless, by a vote of
two-thirds of the members elected to each
house, the legislative assembly declares it an
emergency measure and includes the
declaration in the Act. An emergency measure takes
effect upon its filing with the secretary
of state or on a date specified in the measure. Every law
enacted by a special session of the
legislative assembly takes effect on a date specified in the
Act.
The legislative assembly shall enact all
laws necessary to carry into effect the provisions
of this constitution. Except as otherwise
provided in this constitution, no local or special laws
may be enacted, nor may the legislative
assembly indirectly enact special or local laws by the
partial repeal of a general law but laws
repealing local or special laws may be enacted.
Section 14.
All sessions of the legislative assembly,
including the committee of the
whole and meetings of legislative
committees, must be open and public.
Section 15.
Members of the legislative assembly are
immune from arrest during their
attendance at the sessions, and in going
to or returning from the sessions, except in cases of
felony. Members of the legislative
assembly may not be questioned in any other place for any
words used in any speech or debate in
legislative proceedings.
Section 16.
Any amendment to this constitution may be
proposed in either house of the
legislative assembly, and if agreed to
upon a roll call by a majority of the members elected to
each house, must be submitted to the
electors and if a majority of the votes cast thereon are in
the affirmative, the amendment is a part
of this constitution.
Sections 17 and 18. Repealed.
Section 19. Renumbered.
Sections 20 to 46. Repealed.
ARTICLE V
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Section 1.
The executive power is vested in the
governor, who shall reside in the state
capital and shall hold the office for the
term of four years beginning in the year 2000, and until a
successor is elected and qualified.
Section 2.
The qualified electors of the state at
the times and places of choosing
members of the legislative assembly shall
choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture
commissioner, attorney general, auditor,
insurance commissioner, three public service
commissioners, secretary of state,
superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and
treasurer. The legislative assembly may
by law provide for a department of labor to be
administered by a public official who may
be either elected or appointed.
The powers and duties of the agriculture
commissioner, attorney general, auditor,
insurance commissioner, public service
commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of
public instruction, tax commissioner, and
treasurer must be prescribed by law. If the legislative
assembly establishes a labor department,
the powers and duties of the officer administering that
department must be prescribed by law.
Section 3.
The governor and the lieutenant governor
must be elected on a joint ballot.
Each vote cast for a candidate for
governor is deemed cast also for the candidate for lieutenant
governor running jointly with the
candidate for governor. The joint candidates having the highest
number of votes must be declared elected.
If two or more joint candidates have an equal and
highest number of votes for governor and
lieutenant governor, the legislative assembly in joint
session at its next regular session shall
choose one pair of joint candidates for the offices. The
returns of the election for governor and
lieutenant governor must be made in the manner
prescribed by law.
Section 4.
To be eligible to hold an elective office
established by this article, a person
must be a qualified elector of this
state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of
the election, and must have been a
resident of this state for the five years preceding election to
office. To be eligible to hold the office
of governor or lieutenant governor, a person must be at
least thirty years old on the day of the
election. The attorney general must be licensed to
practice law in this state.
Section 5.
The qualified electors shall choose the
elected state officials at a time
designated by the legislative assembly.
The elected state officials shall serve until their
successors are duly qualified. Terms of
office of the elected officials except the public service
commissioners are four years, except that
in 2004 the agriculture commissioner, attorney
general, secretary of state, and tax
commissioner are elected to a term of two years. The terms
of the public service commissioners are
six years, so arranged that one of them is elected every
two years. The terms of the governor and
lieutenant governor begin on December fifteenth
following their election.
If two or more candidates for any
executive office other than for governor and lieutenant
governor receive an equal and highest
number of votes, the legislative assembly in joint session
shall choose one of them for the office.
Section 6.
The elected state officials and the chief
executive officers of the principal
departments shall hold office in the
state capital.
Section 7.
The governor is the chief executive of
the state. The governor shall have the
responsibility to see that the state's
business is well administered and that its laws are faithfully
executed.
The governor is commander-in-chief of the
state's military forces, except when they are
called into the service of the United
States, and the governor may mobilize them to execute the
laws and maintain order.
The governor shall prescribe the duties
of the lieutenant governor in addition to those
prescribed in this article.
The governor may call special sessions of
the legislative assembly.
The governor shall present information on
the condition of the state, together with any
recommended legislation, to every regular
and special session of the legislative assembly.
The governor shall transact and supervise
all necessary business of the state with the
United States, the other states, and the
officers and officials of this state.
The governor may grant reprieves,
commutations, and pardons. The governor may
delegate this power in a manner provided
by law.
Section 8.
The governor may fill a vacancy in any
office by appointment if no other
method is provided by this constitution
or by law. If, while the senate is recessed or adjourned, a
vacancy occurs in any office that is
filled by appointment with senate confirmation, the governor
shall make a temporary appointment to the
office. When the senate reconvenes the governor
shall make a nomination to fill the
office. Except on request of the senate, no nominee rejected
by the senate may again be nominated for
that office at the same session, nor may the nominee
be appointed to that office during a
recess or adjournment of the senate.
Section 9.
Every bill passed by the legislative
assembly must be presented to the
governor for the governor's signature. If
the governor signs the bill, it becomes law.
The governor may veto a bill passed by
the legislative assembly. The governor may veto
items in an appropriation bill. Portions
of the bill not vetoed become law.
The governor shall return for
reconsideration any vetoed item or bill, with a written
statement of the governor's objections,
to the house in which it originated. That house shall
immediately enter the governor's
objections upon its journal. If, by a recorded vote, two-thirds of
the members elected to that house pass a
vetoed item or bill, it, along with the statement of the
governor's objections, must immediately
be delivered to the other house. If, by a recorded vote,
two-thirds of the members elected to the
other house also pass it, the vetoed item or bill
becomes law.
While the legislative assembly is in
session, a bill becomes law if the governor neither
signs nor vetoes it within three
legislative days after its delivery to the governor. If the legislative
assembly is not in session, a bill
becomes law if the governor neither signs nor vetoes it within
fifteen days, Saturdays and Sundays
excepted, after its delivery to the governor.
Section 10.
A governor who asks, receives, or agrees
to receive any bribe upon any
understanding that the governor's
official opinion, judgment, or action shall be influenced thereby,
or who gives or offers, or promises the
governor's official influence in consideration that any
member of the legislative assembly shall
give the member's official vote or influence on any
particular side of any question or matter
upon which the member may be required to act in the
member's official capacity, or who
menaces any member by the threatened use of the governor's
veto power, or who offers or promises any
member that the governor will appoint any particular
person or persons to any office created
or thereafter to be created, in consideration that any
member shall give the member's official
vote or influence on any matter pending or thereafter to
be introduced into either house of the
legislative assembly, or who threatens any member that
the governor will remove any person or
persons from office or position with intent in any manner
to influence the action of that member,
must be punished in the manner now, or that may
hereafter be, provided by law, and upon
conviction thereof forfeits all right to hold or exercise any
office of trust or honor in this state.
Section 11.
The lieutenant governor shall succeed to
the office of governor when a
vacancy occurs in the office of governor.
If, during a vacancy in the office of governor, the
lieutenant governor is unable to serve
because of death, impeachment, resignation, failure to
qualify, removal from office, or
disability, the secretary of state shall act as governor until the
vacancy is filled or the disability
removed.
Section 12.
The lieutenant governor shall serve as
president of the senate. If the senate
is equally divided on a question, the
lieutenant governor may vote on procedural matters and on
substantive matters if the lieutenant
governor's vote would be decisive.
ARTICLE VI
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Section 1.
The judicial power of the state is vested
in a unified judicial system consisting
of a supreme court, a district court, and
such other courts as may be provided by law.
Section 2.
The supreme court shall be the highest
court of the state. It shall have
appellate jurisdiction, and shall also
have original jurisdiction with authority to issue, hear, and
determine such original and remedial
writs as may be necessary to properly exercise its
jurisdiction. The supreme court shall
consist of five justices, one of whom shall be designated
chief justice in the manner provided by
law.
Section 3.
The supreme court shall have authority to
promulgate rules of procedure,
including appellate procedure, to be
followed by all the courts of this state; and, unless otherwise
provided by law, to promulgate rules and
regulations for the admission to practice, conduct,
disciplining, and disbarment of attorneys
at law.
The chief justice shall be the
administrative head of the unified judicial system. He may
assign judges, including retired judges,
for temporary duty in any court or district under such
rules and regulations as may be
promulgated by the supreme court. The chief justice shall
appoint a court administrator for the
unified judicial system. Unless otherwise provided by law,
the powers, duties, qualifications, and
terms of office of the court administrator, and other court
officials, shall be as provided by rules
of the court.
Section 4.
A majority of the supreme court shall be
necessary to constitute a quorum or
to pronounce a decision, provided that
the supreme court shall not declare a legislative
enactment unconstitutional unless at
least four of the members of the court so decide.
Section 5.
When a judgment or order is reversed,
modified, or confirmed by the
supreme court, the reasons shall be
concisely stated in writing, signed by the justices concurring,
filed in the office of the clerk of the
supreme court, and preserved with a record of the case. Any
justice dissenting may give the reason
for his dissent in writing over his signature.
Section 6.
Appeals shall be allowed from decisions
of lower courts to the supreme court
as may be provided by law.
Section 7.
The justices of the supreme court shall
be chosen by the electors of the state
for ten-year terms, so arranged that one
justice is elected every two years. They shall hold office
until their successors are duly
qualified, and shall receive compensation as provided by law, but
the compensation of any justice shall not
be diminished during his term of office.
Section 8.
The district court shall have original
jurisdiction of all causes, except as
otherwise provided by law, and such
appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law or by rule
of the supreme court. The district court
shall have authority to issue such writs as are necessary
to the proper exercise of its
jurisdiction.
Section 9.
The state shall be divided into judicial
districts by order of the supreme court.
In each district, one or more judges, as
provided by law, shall be chosen by the electors of the
district. The term of office shall be six
years, and a district judge shall hold office until his
successor is duly qualified. The
compensation of district judges shall be fixed by law, but the
compensation of any district judge shall
not be diminished during his term of office.
Section 10.
Supreme court justices and district court
judges shall be citizens of the
United States and residents of this
state, shall be learned in the law, and shall possess any
additional qualifications prescribed by
law. Judges of other courts shall be selected for such
terms and shall have such qualifications
as may be prescribed by law.
No justice of the supreme court or judge
of the district court of this state shall engage in
the practice of law, or hold any public
office, elective or appointive, not judicial in nature. No
duties shall be imposed by law upon the
supreme court or any of the justices thereof, except
such as are judicial, nor shall any of
the justices exercise any power of appointment except as
herein provided. No judge of any court of
this state shall be paid from the fees of his office, nor
shall the amount of his compensation be
measured by fees, other moneys received, or the
amount of judicial activity of his
office.
Section 11.
When any justice or judge has a conflict
of interest in a pending cause or is
unable to sit in court because he is
physically or mentally incapacitated, the chief justice, or a
justice acting in his stead, shall assign
a judge, or retired justice or judge, to hear the cause.
Section 12.
The legislative assembly may provide for
the retirement, discipline, and
removal of judges. The removal procedure
provided for herein may be used in addition to the
impeachment proceedings provided for in
article XI, sections 8, 9, and 10, and removal provided
for in article XI, section 11.
Section 12.1.
The legislative assembly may provide for
the retirement, discipline and
removal of judges of the supreme court
and district court. The removal procedure provided for
herein may be used in addition to the
impeachment proceedings provided for in article XI,
sections 8, 9, and 10.
Section 13.
1. A judicial nominating committee must
be established by law. The governor shall fill
any vacancy in the office of supreme
court justice or district court judge by
appointment from a list of candidates
nominated by the committee, unless the
governor calls a special election to fill
the vacancy for the remainder of the term.
Except as provided in subsection 2, an
appointment must continue until the next
general election, when the office must be
filled by election for the remainder of the
term.
2. An appointment must continue for at
least two years. If the term of the appointed
judgeship expires before the judge has
served at least two years, the judge shall
continue in the position until the next
general election immediately following the
service of at least two years.
3. Notwithstanding sections 7 and 9 of
this article, the term of the judge elected at the
subsequent general election provided for
in subsection 2 is reduced to the number of
years remaining in the subsequent term
after the appointee has served at least two
years.
ARTICLE VII
POLITICAL
SUBDIVISIONS
Section 1.
The purpose of this article is to provide
for maximum local self-government by
all political subdivisions with a minimum
duplication of functions.
Section 2.
The legislative assembly shall provide by
law for the establishment and the
government of all political subdivisions.
Each political subdivision shall have and exercise such
powers as provided by law.
Section 3.
The several counties of the state of
North Dakota as they now exist are
hereby declared to be counties of the
state of North Dakota.
Section 4.
The legislative assembly shall provide by
law for relocating county seats
within counties, but it shall have no
power to remove the county seat of any county.
Section 5.
Methods and standards by which all or any
portion of a county or counties
may be annexed, merged, consolidated,
reclassified, or dissolved shall be as provided by law.
No portion of any county or counties
shall be annexed, merged, consolidated, or dissolved unless
a majority of the electors of each
affected county voting on the question so approve.
Section 6.
The legislative assembly shall provide by
law for the establishment and
exercise of home rule in counties and
cities. No home rule charter shall become operative in any
county or city until submitted to the
electors thereof and approved by a majority of those voting
thereon. In granting home rule powers to
cities, the legislative assembly shall not be restricted
by city debt limitations contained in
this constitution.
Section 7.
The legislative assembly shall also
provide by law for optional forms of
government for counties, but no optional
form of government shall become operative in any
county until submitted to the electors
thereof at a special or general election, and approved by a
majority of those voting thereon.
Until one of the optional forms of county
government is adopted by any county, the fiscal
and administrative affairs of the county
shall be governed by a board of county commissioners as
provided by law.
Section 8.
Each county shall provide for law
enforcement, administrative and fiscal
services, recording and registration
services, educational services, and any other governmental
services or functions as may be provided
by law. Any elective office provided for by the counties
shall be for a term of four years.
Elective officers shall be elected by the electors in the
jurisdiction in which the elected officer
is to serve. A candidate for election must be a resident in
the jurisdiction in which they are to
serve at the time of the election. The office of sheriff shall be
elected.
Section 9.
Questions of the form of government to be
adopted by any county or on the
elimination or reinstatement of elective
county offices may be placed upon the ballot by petition
of electors of the county equal in number
to twenty-five percent of the votes cast in the county for
the office of governor at the preceding
gubernatorial election.
Section 10.
Agreements, including those for
cooperative or joint administration of any
powers or functions, may be made by any
political subdivision with any other political subdivision,
with the state, or with the United
States, unless otherwise provided by law or home rule charter.
A political subdivision may by mutual
agreement transfer to the county in which it is located any
of its powers or functions as provided by
law or home rule charter, and may in like manner
revoke the transfer.
Section 11.
The power of the governing board of a
city to franchise the construction and
operation of any public utility or
similar service within the city shall not be abridged by the
legislative assembly.
ARTICLE VIII
EDUCATION
Section 1.
A high degree of intelligence,
patriotism, integrity and morality on the part of
every voter in a government by the people
being necessary in order to insure the continuance of
that government and the prosperity and
happiness of the people, the legislative assembly shall
make provision for the establishment and
maintenance of a system of public schools which shall
be open to all children of the state of
North Dakota and free from sectarian control. This
legislative requirement shall be
irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the
people of North Dakota.
Section 2.
The legislative assembly shall provide
for a uniform system of free public
schools throughout the state, beginning
with the primary and extending through all grades up to
and including schools of higher
education, except that the legislative assembly may authorize
tuition, fees and service charges to
assist in the financing of public schools of higher education.
Section 3.
In all schools instruction shall be given
as far as practicable in those branches
of knowledge that tend to impress upon
the mind the vital importance of truthfulness,
temperance, purity, public spirit, and
respect for honest labor of every kind.
Section 4.
The legislative assembly shall take such
other steps as may be necessary to
prevent illiteracy, secure a reasonable
degree of uniformity in course of study, and to promote
industrial, scientific, and agricultural
improvements.
Section 5.
All colleges, universities, and other
educational institutions, for the support of
which lands have been granted to this
state, or which are supported by a public tax, shall remain
under the absolute and exclusive control
of the state. No money raised for the support of the
public schools of the state shall be
appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian
school.
Section 6.
1. A board of higher education, to be
officially known as the state board of higher
education, is hereby created for the
control and administration of the following state
educational institutions, to wit:
a. The state university and school of
mines, at Grand Forks, with their substations.
b. The state agricultural college and
experiment station, at Fargo, with their
substations.
c. The school of science, at Wahpeton.
d. The state normal schools and teachers
colleges, at Valley City, Mayville, Minot,
and Dickinson.
e. The school of forestry, at Bottineau.
f. And such other state institutions of
higher education as may hereafter be
established.
2. a. The state board of higher education
consists of eight members. The governor
shall appoint seven members who are
qualified electors and taxpayers of the
state, and who have resided in this state
for not less than five years
immediately preceding their appointments.
These seven appointments are
subject to confirmation by the senate.
The governor shall appoint as the eighth
member of the board a full-time
resident student in good academic
standing at an institution under the
jurisdiction of the state board. Except
for the student member, no more than
two persons holding a bachelor's degree
from a particular institution under the
jurisdiction of the state board of higher
education may serve on the board at
any one time. Except for the student
member, no person employed by any
institution under the control of the
board shall serve as a member of the board
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