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NEVADA
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
[Preliminary Action.]
Ordinance.
Preamble.
Article. 1.Declaration of Rights.
2.Right of Suffrage.
3.Distribution of Powers.
4.Legislative Department.
5.Executive Department.
6.Judicial Department.
7.Impeachment and Removal From Office.
8.Municipal and Other Corporations.
9.Finance and State Debt.
10.Taxation.
11.Education.
12.Militia.
13.Public Institutions.
14.Boundary.
15.Miscellaneous Provisions.
16.Amendments.
17.Schedule.
XVIII.[Right of Suffrage.] Repealed in 1992.
19.Initiative and Referendum.
[Election Ordinance.]
_________
[PRELIMINARY ACTION.]
Whereas,
The Act of Congress Approved March
Twenty First A.D. Eighteen Hundred and Sixty Four “To enable the People
of the Territory of Nevada to form a Constitution and State Government
and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing
with the Original States,” requires that the Members of the Convention
for framing said Constitution shall, after Organization, on behalf of
the people of said Territory, adopt the Constitution of the United
States.—Therefore, Be it Resolved,
That the
Members of this Convention, elected by the Authority of the aforesaid
enabling Act of Congress, Assembled in Carson City the Capital of said
Territory of Nevada, and immediately subsequent to its Organization, do
adopt, on behalf of the people of said Territory the Constitution of the
United States[.]
ORDINANCE
Slavery prohibited; freedom of
religious worship; disclaimer of public lands. [Effective until the date
Congress consents to amendment or a legal determination is made that
such consent is not necessary.] In
obedience to the requirements of an act of the Congress of the United
States, approved March twenty-first, A.D. eighteen hundred and
sixty-four, to enable the people of Nevada to form a constitution and
state government, this convention, elected and convened in obedience to
said enabling act, do ordain as follows, and this ordinance shall be
irrevocable, without the consent of the United States and the people of
the State of Nevada:
First. That there shall be in this
state neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the
punishment for crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
Second. That perfect toleration of
religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of said state
shall ever be molested, in person or property, on account of his or her
mode of religious worship.
Third. That the people inhabiting
said territory do agree and declare, that they forever disclaim all
right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said
territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire
disposition of the United States; and that lands belonging to citizens
of the United States, residing without the said state, shall never be
taxed higher than the land belonging to the residents thereof; and that
no taxes shall be imposed by said state on lands or property therein
belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States,
unless otherwise provided by the congress of the United States.
Slavery prohibited; freedom of
religious worship; taxation of certain property. [Effective on the date
Congress consents to amendment or a legal determination is made that
such consent is not necessary.] In
obedience to the requirements of an act of the Congress of the United
States, approved March twenty-first, A.D. eighteen hundred and
sixty-four, to enable the people of Nevada to form a constitution and
state government, this convention, elected and convened in obedience to
said enabling act, do ordain as follows, and this ordinance shall be
irrevocable, without the consent of the United States and the people of
the State of Nevada:
First. That there shall be in this
state neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the
punishment for crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
Second. That perfect toleration of
religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of said state
shall ever be molested, in person or property, on account of his or her
mode of religious worship.
Third. That the people inhabiting
said territory do agree and declare, that lands belonging to citizens of
the United States, residing without the said state, shall never be taxed
higher than the land belonging to the residents thereof; and that no
taxes shall be imposed by said state on lands or property therein
belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States,
unless otherwise provided by the Congress of the United States.
PREAMBLE.
We the people of the State of
Nevada Grateful to Almighty God for our freedom in order to secure its
blessings, insure domestic tranquility, and form a more perfect
Government, do establish this
Constitution.
ARTICLE. 1.
Declaration of Rights.
Sec. 1.Inalienable
rights.
2.Purpose
of government; paramount allegiance to United States.
3.
Trial by jury; waiver in civil cases.
4.Liberty
of conscience.
5.Suspension of habeas corpus.
6.Excessive
bail and fines; cruel or unusual punishments; detention of witnesses.
7.
Bail; exception for capital offenses and certain murders.
8.Rights of
accused in criminal prosecutions; jeopardy; rights of victims of crime;
due process of law; eminent domain.
9.Liberty
of speech and the press.
10.Right to
assemble and to petition.
11.Right to
keep and bear arms; civil power supreme.
12.Quartering
soldier in private house.
13.Representation apportioned according to population.
14.Exemption
of property from execution; imprisonment for debt.
15.
Bill of attainder; ex post facto law; obligation of contract.
16.Rights of
foreigners. [Repealed in 1924.]
17.Slavery
and involuntary servitude prohibited.
18.Unreasonable seizure and search; issuance of warrants.
19.Treason.
20.Rights
retained by people.
21.Limitation
on recognition of marriage. [Effective November 27, 2002, if the
proposed amendment is approved by the voters at the 2002 general
election.]
Section. 1. Inalienable rights. All
men are by Nature free and equal and have certain inalienable rights
among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty;
Acquiring, Possessing and Protecting property and pursuing and obtaining
safety and happiness[.]
Sec: 2. Purpose of government;
paramount allegiance to
United States. All political
power is inherent in the people[.] Government is instituted for the
protection, security and benefit of the people; and they have the right
to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But
the Paramount Allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal
Government in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers as the same
have been or may be defined by the Supreme Court of the United States;
and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the
Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith or perform any act
tending to impair[,] subvert, or resist the Supreme Authority of the
government of the United States. The Constitution of the United States
confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and Perpetuate
its existance [existence], and whensoever any portion of the States, or
people thereof attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly
resist the Execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant
of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its
Authority.
Sec: 3. Trial by jury; waiver in
civil cases. The right of trial by Jury shall be secured to all and
remain inviolate forever; but a Jury trial may be waived by the parties
in all civil cases in the manner to be prescribed by law; and in civil
cases, if three fourths of the Jurors agree upon a verdict it shall
stand and have the same force and effect as a verdict by the whole Jury,
Provided, the Legislature by a law passed by a two thirds vote of all
the members elected to each branch thereof may require a unanimous
verdict notwithstanding this Provision.
Sec: 4. Liberty
of conscience. The free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without
discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed in this State, and
no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of
his opinions on matters of his religious belief, but the liberty of
consciene [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.
Sec: 5. Suspension of habeas corpus. The
privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus, shall not be suspended unless
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require its
suspension.
Sec: 6. Excessive bail and fines;
cruel or unusual punishments; detention of witnesses. Excessive bail
shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or
unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreasonably
detained.
Sec. 7. Bail; exception for capital
offenses and certain murders. All persons shall be bailable by
sufficient sureties; unless for Capital Offenses or murders punishable
by life imprisonment without possibility of parole when the proof is
evident or the presumption great.
Sec. 8. Rights of accused in
criminal prosecutions; jeopardy; rights of victims of crime; due process
of law; eminent domain.
1. No person shall be tried for a
capital or other infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in
cases of the militia when in actual service and the land and naval
forces in time of war, or which this state may keep, with the consent of
congress, in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny, under the
regulation of the legislature) except on presentment or indictment of
the grand jury, or upon information duly filed by a district attorney,
or attorney-general of the state, and in any trial, in any court
whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in
person, and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be
subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense; nor shall he
be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself.
2. The legislature shall provide
by law for the rights of victims of crime, personally or through a
representative, to be:
(a) Informed, upon written request,
of the status or disposition of a criminal proceeding at any stage of
the proceeding;
(b) Present at all public hearings
involving the critical stages of a criminal proceeding; and
(c) Heard at all proceedings for
the sentencing or release of a convicted person after trial.
3. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 4, no person may maintain an action against the state or any
public officer or employee for damages or injunctive, declaratory or
other legal or equitable relief on behalf of a victim of a crime as a
result of a violation of any statute enacted by the legislature pursuant
to subsection 2. No such violation authorizes setting aside a conviction
or sentence or continuing or postponing a criminal proceeding.
4. A person may maintain an action
to compel a public officer or employee to carry out any duty required by
the legislature pursuant to subsection 2.
5. No person shall be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
6. Private property shall not be
taken for public use without just compensation having been first made,
or secured, except in cases of war, riot, fire, or great public peril,
in which case compensation shall be afterward made.
Sec: 9. Liberty
of speech and the press. Every
citizen may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all
subjects being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall
be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press.
In all criminal prosecutions and civil actions for libels, the truth may
be given in evidence to the Jury; and if it shall appear to the Jury
that the matter charged as libelous is true and was published with good
motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted or
exonerated.
Sec: 10. Right to assemble and to
petition. The people shall have the right freely to assemble
together to consult for the common good, to instruct their
representatives and to petition the Legislature for redress of
Grievances.
Sec. 11. Right to keep and bear arms;
civil power supreme.
1. Every citizen has the right to
keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and
recreational use and for other lawful purposes.
2. The military shall be
subordinate to the civil power; No standing army shall be maintained by
this State in time of peace, and in time of War, no appropriation for a
standing army shall be for a longer time than two years.
Sec: 12. Quartering soldier in
private house. No soldier shall, in time of Peace be quartered in
any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of War, except
in the manner to be prescribed by law.
Sec: 13. Representation apportioned
according to population. Representation shall be apportioned
according to population.
Sec: 14. Exemption of property from
execution; imprisonment for debt. The privilege of the debtor to
enjoy the necessary comforts of life shall be recognized by wholesome
laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale for
payment of any debts or liabilities hereafter contracted; And there
shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud, libel, or
slander, and no person shall be imprisioned [imprisoned] for a Militia
fine in time of Peace.
Sec: 15. Bill of attainder; ex post
facto law; obligation of contract. No bill of attainder,
ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts shall
ever be passed.
Sec: 16. Rights of foreigners. [Repealed
in 1924.]
Sec: 17. Slavery and involuntary
servitude prohibited. Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude
unless for the punishment of crimes shall ever be tolerated in this
State.
Sec. 18. Unreasonable seizure and
search; issuance of warrants. The right of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable
seizures and searches shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue
but on probable cause, supported by Oath or Affirmation, particularly
describing the place or places to be searched, and the person or
persons, and thing or things to be seized.
Sec: 19. Treason. Treason against
the State shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its
enemies or giving them Aid and Comfort. And no person shall be convicted
of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt
act, or on confession in open court.
Sec: 20. Rights retained by people. This
enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others
retained by the people.
Sec: 21. Limitation on
recognition of marriage. [Effective
November 27, 2002, if the proposed
amendment is approved by the voters at the 2002 general election.] Only
a marriage between a male and female person shall be recognized and
given effect in this state.
ARTICLE. 2.
Right of Suffrage.
Sec.
1.Right to vote; qualifications of elector; qualifications of nonelector
to vote for President and Vice President of United States.
2.When
residence not gained or lost.
3.Armed
Forces personnel. [Repealed in 1972.]
4.Privilege
of qualified electors on general election day.
5.Voting by
ballot; voting in elections by legislature.
6.Registration of electors; test of electoral qualifications.
7.
Poll tax: Levy and purpose. [Repealed in 1966.]
8.Qualifications of voters on adoption or rejection of constitution.
9.Recall of
public officers: Procedure and limitations.
10.Limitation
on contributions to campaign.
Section 1. Right to vote;
qualifications of elector; qualifications of nonelector to vote for
President and Vice President of
United States. All
citizens of the United States (not laboring under the disabilities named
in this constitution) of the age of eighteen years and upwards, who
shall have actually, and not constructively, resided in the state six
months, and in the district or county thirty days next preceding any
election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that now or
hereafter may be elected by the people, and upon all questions submitted
to the electors at such election; provided, that no person who
has been or may be convicted of treason or felony in any state or
territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights, and no
idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector.
There shall be no denial of the elective franchise at any election on
account of sex. The legislature may provide by law the conditions under
which a citizen of the United States who does not have the status of an
elector in another state and who does not meet the residence
requirements of this section may vote in this state for President and
Vice President of the United States.
Sec. 2. When residence not gained or
lost. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have
gained or lost a residence solely by reason of his presence or absence
while employed in the service of the United States, nor while engaged in
the navigation of the waters of the United States or of the high seas;
nor while a student of any institution of learning; nor while kept at
any charitable institution or medical facility at public expense; nor
while confined in any public prison.
Section 3. Armed Forces
personnel. [Repealed in 1972.]
Sec: 4. Privilege of qualified
electors on general election day. During the day on which any
General Election shall be held in this State no qualified elector shall
be arrested by virtue of any civil process.
Sec: 5. Voting by ballot; voting in
elections by legislature. All elections by the people shall be by
ballot, and all elections by the Legislature, or by either branch
thereof shall be “Viva-Voce”.
Sec: 6. Registration of electors;
test of electoral qualifications. Provision shall be made by law for
the registration of the names of the Electors within the counties of
which they may be residents and for the ascertainment by proper proofs
of the persons who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage, as hereby
established, to preserve the purity of elections, and to regulate the
manner of holding and making returns of the same; and the Legislature
shall have power to prescribe by law any other or further rules or
oaths, as may be deemed necessary, as a test of electoral qualification.
Section 7. Poll tax: Levy and
purpose. [Repealed in 1966.]
Sec: 8. Qualifications of voters on
adoption or rejection of constitution. All persons qualified by law
to vote for representatives to the General Assembly of the Territory of
Nevada, on the twenty first day of March A.D. Eighteen hundred and sixty
four and all other persons who may be lawful voters in said Territory on
the first Wednesday of September next following, shall be entitled to
vote directly upon the question of adopting or rejecting this
Constitution.
Sec. 9. Recall of public
officers: Procedure and limitations. Every public officer in the
State of Nevada is subject, as herein provided, to recall from office by
the registered voters of the state, or of the county, district, or
municipality which he represents. For this purpose, not less than
twenty-five per cent (25%) of the number who actually voted in the state
or in the county, district, or municipality which he represents, at the
election in which he was elected, shall file their petition, in the
manner herein provided, demanding his recall by the people. They shall
set forth in said petition, in not exceeding two hundred (200) words,
the reasons why said recall is demanded. If he shall offer his
resignation, it shall be accepted and take effect on the day it is
offered, and the vacancy thereby caused shall be filled in the manner
provided by law. If he shall not resign within five (5) days after the
petition is filed, a special election shall be ordered to be held within
thirty (30) days after the issuance of the call therefor, in the state,
or county, district, or municipality electing said officer, to determine
whether the people will recall said officer. On the ballot at said
election shall be printed verbatim as set forth in the recall petition,
the reasons for demanding the recall of said officer, and in not more
than two hundred (200) words, the officer’s justification of his course
in office. He shall continue to perform the duties of his office until
the result of said election shall be finally declared. Other candidates
for the office may be nominated to be voted for at said special
election. The candidate who shall receive highest number of votes at
said special election shall be deemed elected for the remainder of the
term, whether it be the person against whom the recall petition was
filed, or another. The recall petition shall be filed with the officer
with whom the petition for nomination to such office shall be filed, and
the same officer shall order the special election when it is required.
No such petition shall be circulated or filed against any officer until
he has actually held his office six (6) months, save and except that it
may be filed against a senator or assemblyman in the legislature at any
time after ten (10) days from the beginning of the first session after
his election. After one such petition and special election, no further
recall petition shall be filed against the same officer during the term
for which he was elected, unless such further petitioners shall pay into
the public treasury from which the expenses of said special election
have been paid, the whole amount paid out of said public treasury as
expenses for the preceding special election. Such additional legislation
as may aid the operation of this section shall be provided by law.
Sec. 10. Limitation on
contributions to campaign.
1. As used in this section,
“contribution” includes the value of services provided in kind for which
money would otherwise be paid, such as paid polling and resulting data,
paid direct mail, paid solicitation by telephone, any paid campaign
paraphernalia printed or otherwise produced, and the use of paid
personnel to assist in a campaign.
2. The legislature shall provide
by law for the limitation of the total contribution by any natural or
artificial person to the campaign of any person for election to any
office, except a federal office, to $5,000 for the primary and $5,000
for the general election, and to the approval or rejection of any
question by the registered voters to $5,000, whether the office sought
or the question submitted is local or for the state as a whole. The
legislature shall further provide for the punishment of the contributor,
the candidate, and any other knowing party to a violation of the limit,
as a felony.
ARTICLE 3.
Distribution of Powers.
Sec.
1.Three separate departments; separation of powers; legislative review
of administrative regulations.
Section 1. Three separate
departments; separation of powers; legislative review of administrative
regulations.
1. The powers of the Government of
the State of Nevada shall be divided into three separate
departments,—the Legislative,—the Executive and the Judicial; and no
persons charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of
these departments shall exercise any functions, appertaining to either
of the others, except in the cases expressly directed or permitted in
this constitution.
2. If the legislature authorizes
the adoption of regulations by an executive agency which bind persons
outside the agency, the legislature may provide by law for:
(a) The review of these regulations
by a legislative agency before their effective date to determine
initially whether each is within the statutory authority for its
adoption;
(b) The suspension by a legislative
agency of any such regulation which appears to exceed that authority,
until it is reviewed by a legislative body composed of members of the
Senate and Assembly which is authorized to act on behalf of both houses
of the legislature; and
(c) The nullification of any such
regulation by a majority vote of that legislative body, whether or not
the regulation was suspended.
ARTICLE 4.
Legislative Department
Sec.
1.Legislative power vested in senate and
assembly.
2.Biennial
sessions of legislature: Commencement; limitation on duration; void
actions; submission of proposed executive budget.
3.Members
of assembly: Election and term of office; eligibility for office.
4.Senators:
Election and term of office; eligibility for office.
5.Number of
senators and assemblymen; apportionment.
6.Power of
houses to judge qualifications, elections and returns of members;
selection of officers; rules of proceedings; punishment of members.
7.Punishment of nonmember.
8.Senators
and assemblymen ineligible for certain offices.
9.Federal
officers ineligible for state office; exceptions.
10.Embezzler
of public money ineligible for office; disqualification for bribery.
11.Privilege
of members: Freedom from arrest on civil process.
12.Vacancy.
13.Quorum;
compelling attendance.
14.Journal.
15.Open
sessions and meetings; adjournment for more than 3 days or to another
place.
16.
Bills may originate in either house; amendment.
17.
Act to embrace one subject only; title; amendment.
18.Reading of
bill; voting on final passage; number of members necessary to pass bill
or joint resolution; signatures; referral of certain measures to voters;
consent calendar.
19.Manner of
drawing money from treasury.
20.Certain
local and special laws prohibited.
21.General
laws to have uniform application.
22.
Suit against state.
23.Enacting
clause; law to be enacted by bill.
24.Lotteries.
25.Uniform
county and township government.
26.Boards of
county commissioners: Election and duties.
27.Disqualification of jurors; elections.
28.Compensation of legislative officers and employees; increase or
decrease of compensation.
29.Duration
of regular and special sessions. [Repealed in 1958.]
30.Homesteads: Exemption from forced sale; joint consent required for
alienation; recording of declaration.
31.Property
of married persons.
32.County
officers: Power of legislature; election, duties and compensation;
duties of county clerks.
33.Compensation of members of legislature; payment for postage,
stationery and other expenses; additional allowances for officers.
34.Election
of United States Senators.
35.
Bills to be presented to governor; approval; disapproval and
reconsideration by legislature; failure of governor to return bill.
[36.]Abolishment
of county; approval of voters in county.
37.Continuity
of government in case of enemy attack; succession to public offices;
legislative quorum requirements; relocation of seat of government.
37[A].Consolidation
of city and county containing seat of government into one municipal
government; separate taxing districts.
38.
Use of plant of genus Cannabis for medical purposes.
Section. 1. Legislative power vested
in senate and assembly. The Legislative authority of this State
shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly which shall be designated “The
Legislature of the State of Nevada” and the sessions of such Legislature
shall be held at the seat of government of the State.
Sec. 2. Biennial sessions of
legislature: Commencement; limitation on duration; void actions;
submission of proposed executive budget.
1. The sessions of the Legislature
shall be biennial, and shall commence on the 1st Monday of February
following the election of members of the Assembly, unless the Governor
of the State shall, in the interim, convene the Legislature by
proclamation. 2. The Legislature shall adjourn sine die each regular
session not later than midnight Pacific standard time 120 calendar days following its commencement. Any
legislative action taken after
midnight Pacific standard time on the 120th calendar day is void, unless the
legislative action is conducted during a special session convened by the
Governor.
3. The Governor shall submit the
proposed executive budget to the Legislature not later than 14 calendar
days before the commencement of each regular session.
Sec. 3. Members of assembly: Election
and term of office; eligibility for office.
1. The members of the Assembly
shall be chosen biennially by the qualified electors of their respective
districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November and
their term of office shall be two years from the day next after their
election.
2. No person may be elected or
appointed as a member of the Assembly who has served in that office, or
at the expiration of his current term if he is so serving will have
served, 12 years or more, from any district of this state.
Sec. 4. Senators: Election and term
of office; eligibility for office.
1. Senators shall be chosen at the
same time and places as members of the Assembly by the qualified
electors of their respective districts, and their term of Office shall
be four Years from the day next after their election.
2. No person may be elected or
appointed as a Senator who has served in that office, or at the
expiration of his current term if he is so serving will have served, 12
years or more, from any district of this state.
Sec. 5. Number of senators and
assemblymen; apportionment. Senators and members of the assembly
shall be duly qualified electors in the respective counties and
districts which they represent, and the number of senators shall not be
less than one-third nor more than one-half of that of the members of the
assembly.
It shall be the mandatory duty of
the legislature at its first session after the taking of the decennial
census of the United States in the year 1950, and after each subsequent
decennial census, to fix by law the number of senators and assemblymen,
and apportion them among the several counties of the state, or among
legislative districts which may be established by law, according to the
number of inhabitants in them, respectively.
Sec: 6. Power of houses to judge
qualifications, elections and returns of members; selection of officers;
rules of proceedings; punishment of members. Each House shall judge
of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members, choose
its own officers (except the President of the Senate), determine the
rules of its proceedings and may punish its members for disorderly
conduct, and with the concurrence of two thirds of all the members
elected, expel a member.
Sec: 7. Punishment of nonmember. Either
House, during the session, may punish, by imprisonment, any person not a
member, who shall have been guilty of disrespect to the House by
disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence; but such
imprisonment shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of the
session.
Sec: 8. Senators and assemblymen
ineligible for certain offices. No Senator or member of Assembly
shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, nor for one
year thereafter be appointed to any civil office of profit under this
State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall
have been increased during such term, except such office as may be
filled by elections by the people.
Sec: 9. Federal officers ineligible
for state office; exceptions. No person holding any lucrative office
under the Government of the United States or any other power, shall be
eligible to any civil office of Profit under this State; Provided, that
Post-Masters whose compensation does not exceed Five Hundred dollars per
annum, or commissioners of deeds, shall not be deemed as holding a
lucrative office.
Sec: 10. Embezzler of public money
ineligible for office; disqualification for bribery. Any person who
shall be convicted of the embezzlement, or defalcation of the public
funds of this State or who may be convicted of having given or offered a
bribe to procure his election or appointment to office, or received a
bribe to aid in the procurement of office for any other person, shall be
disqualified from holding any office of profit or trust in this State;
and the Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, provide by law for
the punishment of such defalcation, bribery, or embezzlement as a
felony.
Sec: 11. Privilege of members:
Freedom from arrest on civil process. Members of the Legislature
shall be privileged from arrest on civil process during the session of
the Legislature, and for fifteen days next before the commencement of
each session.
Sec. 12. Vacancy. In case of the
death or resignation of any member of the legislature, either senator or
assemblyman, the county commissioners of the county from which such
member was elected shall appoint a person of the same political party as
the party which elected such senator or assemblyman to fill such
vacancy; provided, that this section shall apply only in cases
where no biennial election or any regular election at which county
officers are to [be] elected takes place between the time of such death
or resignation and the next succeeding session of the legislature.
Sec: 13. Quorum; compelling
attendance. A majority of all the members elected to each House
shall constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number may
adjourn, from day to day and may compel the attendance of absent
members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each house may
prescribe[.]
Sec: 14. Journal. Each House
shall keep a journal of its own proceedings which shall be published and
the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall
at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journal.
Sec. 15. Open sessions and meetings;
adjournment for more than 3 days or to another place. The doors of
each House shall be kept open during its session, and neither shall,
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days nor
to any other place than that in which they may be holding their
sessions. The meetings of all legislative committees must be open to the
public, except meetings held to consider the character, alleged
misconduct, professional competence, or physical or mental health of a
person.
Sec: 16. Bills may originate in
either house; amendment. Any bill may originate in either House of
the Legislature, and all bills passed by one may be amended in the
other.
Sec: 17. Act to embrace one subject
only; title; amendment. Each law enacted by the Legislature shall
embrace but one subject, and matter, properly connected therewith, which
subject shall be briefly expressed in the title; and no law shall be
revised or amended by reference to its title only; but, in such case,
the act as revised or section as amended, shall be re-enacted and
published at length.
Sec. 18. Reading of bill;
voting on final passage; number of members necessary to pass bill or
joint resolution; signatures; referral of certain measures to voters;
consent calendar.
1. Every bill, except a bill
placed on a consent calendar adopted as provided in subsection 4, must
be read by sections on three several days, in each House, unless in case
of emergency, two thirds of the House where such bill is pending shall
deem it expedient to dispense with this rule. The reading of a bill by
sections, on its final passage, shall in no case be dispensed with, and
the vote on the final passage of every bill or joint resolution shall be
taken by yeas and nays to be entered on the journals of each House.
Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a majority of all the
members elected to each house is necessary to pass every bill or joint
resolution, and all bills or joint resolutions so passed, shall be
signed by the presiding officers of the respective Houses and by the
Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the Assembly.
2. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 3, an affirmative vote of not fewer than two-thirds of the
members elected to each house is necessary to pass a bill or joint
resolution which creates, generates, or increases any public revenue in
any form, including but not limited to taxes, fees, assessments and
rates, or changes in the computation bases for taxes, fees, assessments
and rates.
3. A majority of all of the
members elected to each house may refer any measure which creates,
generates, or increases any revenue in any form to the people of the
State at the next general election, and shall become effective and
enforced only if it has been approved by a majority of the votes cast on
the measure at such election.
4. Each House may provide by rule
for the creation of a consent calendar and establish the procedure for
the passage of uncontested bills.
Section 19. Manner of drawing
money from treasury. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but
in consequence of appropriations made by law.
Section 20. Certain local and
special laws prohibited. The legislature shall not pass local or
special laws in any of the following enumerated cases—that is to say:
Regulating the jurisdiction and
duties of justices of the peace and of constables, and fixing their
compensation;
For the punishment of crimes and
misdemeanors;
Regulating the practice of courts
of justice;
Providing for changing the venue in
civil and criminal cases;
Granting divorces;
Changing the names of persons;
Vacating roads, town plots,
streets, alleys, and public squares;
Summoning and impaneling grand and
petit juries, and providing for their compensation;
Regulating county and township
business;
Regulating the election of county
and township officers;
For the assessment and collection
of taxes for state, county, and township purposes;
Providing for opening and
conducting elections of state, county, or township officers, and
designating the places of voting;
Providing for the sale of real
estate belonging to minors or other persons laboring under legal
disabilities;
Giving effect to invalid deeds,
wills, or other instruments;
Refunding money paid into the state
treasury, or into the treasury of any county;
Releasing the indebtedness,
liability, or obligation of any corporation, association, or person to
the state, or to any county, town, or city of this state; but nothing in
this section shall be construed to deny or restrict the power of the
legislature to establish and regulate the compensation and fees of
county officers, to authorize and empower the boards of county
commissioners of the various counties of the state to establish and
regulate the compensation and fees of township officers in their
respective counties, to establish and regulate the rates of freight,
passage, toll, and charges of railroads, tollroads, ditch, flume, and
tunnel companies incorporated under the laws of this state or doing
business therein.
Sec: 21. General laws to have uniform
application. In all cases enumerated in the preceding section, and
in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, all laws
shall be general and of uniform operation throughout the State.
Sec: 22. Suit against state. Provision
may be made by general law for bringing suit against the State as to all
liabilities originating after the adoption of this Constitution[.]
Sec: 23. Enacting clause; law to be
enacted by bill. The enacting clause of every law shall be as
follows: “The people of the State of Nevada represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows,” and no law shall be enacted except by
bill.
Sec: 24. Lotteries.
1. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 2, no lottery may be authorized by this State, nor may
lottery tickets be sold.
2. The State and the political
subdivisions thereof shall not operate a lottery. The legislature may
authorize persons engaged in charitable activities or activities not for
profit to operate a lottery in the form of a raffle or drawing on their
own behalf. All proceeds of the lottery, less expenses directly related
to the operation of the lottery, must be used only to benefit charitable
or nonprofit activities in this state. A charitable or nonprofit
organization shall not employ or otherwise engage any person to organize
or operate its lottery for compensation. The legislature may provide by
law for the regulation of such lotteries.
Sec: 25. Uniform county and township
government. The Legislature shall establish a system of County and
Township Government which shall be uniform throughout the State.
Sec: 26. Boards of county
commissioners: Election and duties. The Legislature shall provide by
law, for the election of a Board of County Commissioners in each County,
and such County Commissioners shall jointly and individually perform
such duties as may be prescribed by law.
Sec: 27. Disqualification of jurors;
elections. Laws shall be made to exclude from serving on juries, all
persons not qualified electors of this State, and all persons who shall
have been convicted of bribery, perjury, foregery [forgery,] larceny or
other high crimes, unless restored to civil rights; and laws shall be
passed regulating elections, and prohibiting under adequate penalties,
all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other
improper practice.
Sec: 28. Compensation of legislative
officers and employees; increase or decrease of compensation. No
money shall be drawn from the State Treasury as salary or compensation
to any officer or employee of the Legislature, or either branch thereof,
except in cases where such salary or compensation has been fixed by a
law in force prior to the election or appointment of such officer or
employee; and the salary or compensation so fixed, shall neither be
increased nor diminished so as to apply to any officer or employee of
the Legislature, or either branch thereof at such Session; Provided,
that this restriction shall not apply to the first session of the
Legislature.
Sec: 29. Duration of regular and
special sessions. [Repealed in 1958.]
Sec: 30. Homesteads: Exemption from
forced sale; joint consent required for alienation; recording of
declaration. A homestead as provided by law, shall be exempt from
forced sale under any process of law, and shall not be alienated without
the joint consent of husband and wife when that relation exists; but no
property shall be exempt from sale for taxes or for the payment of
obligations contracted for the purchase of said premises, or for the
erection of improvements thereon; Provided, the provisions of this
Section shall not apply to any process of law obtained by virtue of a
lien given by the consent of both husband and wife, and laws shall be
enacted providing for the recording of such homestead within the County
in which the same shall be situated[.]
Sec. 31. Property of married persons. All
property, both real and personal, of a married person owned or claimed
by such person before marriage, and that acquired afterward by gift,
devise or descent, shall be the separate property of such person. The
legislature shall more clearly define the rights of married persons in
relation to their separate property and other property.
Sec. 32. County officers: Power of
legislature; election, duties and compensation; duties of county clerks. The
Legislature shall have power to increase, diminish, consolidate or
abolish the following county officers: County Clerks, County Recorders, Auditors, Sheriffs,
District Attorneys and Public Administrators. The Legislature shall
provide for their election by the people, and fix by law their duties
and compensation. County Clerks shall be ex-officio
Clerks of the Courts of Record and of the Boards of County Commissioners
in and for their respective counties.
Sec: 33. Compensation of members of
legislature; payment for postage, stationery and other expenses;
additional allowances for officers. The members of the Legislature
shall receive for their services, a compensation to be fixed by law and
paid out of the public treasury, for not to exceed 60 days during any
regular session of the legislature and not to exceed 20 days during any
special session convened by the governor; but no increase of such
compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of
either house shall have been elected Provided, that an appropriation may
be made for the payment of such actual expenses as members of the
Legislature may incur for postage, express charges, newspapers and
stationery not exceeding the sum of Sixty dollars for any general or
special session to each member; and Furthermore Provided, that the
Speaker of the Assembly, and Lieutenant Governor, as President of the
Senate, shall each, during the time of their actual attendance as such
presiding officers receive an additional allowance of two dollars per
diem.
Sec: 34. Election of
United States Senators. In all elections
for United States Senators, such
elections shall be held in joint convention of both Houses of the
Legislature. It shall be the duty of the Legislature which convenes next
preceding the expiration of the term of such Senator, to elect his
successor. If a vacancy in such Senatorial representation from any cause
occur, it shall be the duty of the Legislature then in Session or at the
succeeding Session thereof, to supply such vacancy[.] If the Legislature
shall at any time as herein provided, fail to unite in a joint
convention within twenty days after the commencement of the Session of
the Legislature for the election [of] such Senator it shall be the duty
of the Governor, by proclamation to convene the two Houses of the
Legislature in joint convention, within not less than five days nor
exceeding ten days from the publication of his proclamation, and the
joint convention when so assembled shall proceed to elect the Senator as
herein provided.
Sec: 35. Bills to be presented to
governor; approval; disapproval and reconsideration by legislature;
failure of governor to return bill. Every bill which may have passed
the Legislature, shall, before it becomes a law be presented to the
Governor. If he approve it, he shall sign it, but if not he shall return
it with his objections, to the House in which it originated, which House
shall cause such objections to be entered upon its journal, and proceed
to reconsider it; If after such reconsideration it again pass both
Houses by yeas and nays, by a vote of two thirds of the members elected
to each House it shall become a law notwithstanding the Governors
objections. If any bill shall not be returned within five days after it
shall have been presented to him (Sunday excepted) exclusive of the day
on which he received it, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if
he had signed it, unless the Legislature by its final adjournment,
prevent such return, in which case it shall be a law, unless the
Governor within ten days next after the adjournment (Sundays excepted)
shall file such bill with his objections thereto, in the office of the
Secretary of State, who shall lay the same before the Legislature at its
next Session, in like manner as if it had been returned by the Governor,
and if the same shall receive the vote of two-thirds of the members
elected to each branch of the Legislature, upon a vote taken by yeas and
nays to be entered upon the journals of each house, it shall become a
law.
[Sec. 36.] Abolishment of
county; approval of voters in county. The legislature shall not
abolish any county unless the qualified voters of the county affected
shall at a general or special election first approve such proposed
abolishment by a majority of all the voters voting at such election. The
legislature shall provide by law the method of initiating and conducting
such election.
Section 37. Continuity of government
in case of enemy attack; succession to public offices; legislative
quorum requirements; relocation of seat of government. The
legislature, in order to insure continuity of state and local
governmental operations in periods of emergency resulting from disasters
caused by enemy attack, shall have the power and the immediate duty to
provide for immediate and temporary succession to the powers and duties
of public offices, of whatever nature and whether filled by election or
appointment, the incumbents of which may become unavailable for carrying
on the powers and duties of such offices, and to adopt such other
measures as may be necessary and proper for insuring the continuity of
governmental operations, including changes in quorum requirements in the
legislature and the relocation of the seat of government. In the
exercise of the powers hereby conferred, the legislature shall conform
to the requirements of this constitution except to the extent that in
the judgment of the legislature so to do would be impracticable or would
admit of undue delay.
Sec. 37[A]. Consolidation of
city and county containing seat of government into one municipal
government; separate taxing districts. Notwithstanding the general
provisions of sections 20, 25, 26, and 36 of this article, the
legislature may by law consolidate into one municipal government, with
one set of officers, the city designated as the seat of government of
this state and the county in which such city is situated. Such
consolidated municipality shall be considered as a county for the
purpose of representation in the legislature, shall have all the powers
conferred upon counties by this constitution or by general law, and
shall have such other powers as may be conferred by its charter.
Notwithstanding the general provisions of section 1 of article 10, the
legislature may create two or more separate taxing districts within such
consolidated municipality.
Sec. 38. Use of plant of genus
Cannabis for medical purposes.
1. The legislature shall provide
by law for:
(a) The use by a patient, upon the
advice of his physician, of a plant of the genus Cannabis for the
treatment or alleviation of cancer, glaucoma, acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome; severe, persistent nausea of cachexia resulting from these or
other chronic or debilitating medical conditions; epilepsy and other
disorders characterized by seizure; multiple sclerosis and other
disorders characterized by muscular spasticity; or other conditions
approved pursuant to law for such treatment.
(b) Restriction of the medical use
of the plant by a minor to require diagnosis and written authorization
by a physician, parental consent, and parental control of the
acquisition and use of the plant.
(c) Protection of the plant and
property related to its use from forfeiture except upon conviction or
plea of guilty or nolo contendere for possession or use not authorized
by or pursuant to this section.
(d) A registry of patients, and
their attendants, who are authorized to use the plant for a medical
purpose, to which law enforcement officers may resort to verify a claim
of authorization and which is otherwise confidential.
(e) Authorization of appropriate
methods for supply of the plant to patients authorized to use it.
2. This section does not:
(a) Authorize the use or possession
of the plant for a purpose other than medical or use for a medical
purpose in public.
(b) Require reimbursement by an
insurer for medical use of the plant or accommodation of medical use in
a place of employment.
ARTICLE. 5.
Executive Department.
Sec.
1.Supreme executive power vested in governor.
2.Election
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