State Constitutions

NEW YORK

CONSTITUTION OF THE

STATE OF NEW YORK

As  Revised, with Amendments Adopted by the Constitutional Convention of

1938 and Approved by vote of the People on November 8, 1938.

As Amended and in Force January 1, 2002

We  The People of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty

God for our  Freedom,  in  order  to  secure  its  blessings,  DO

ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE I

Bill of Rights

Section 1. No member of this state shall be disfranchised, or deprived

of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof,

unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his or her peers,

except that the legislature may provide that there shall be no primary

election held to nominate candidates for public office or to elect

persons to party positions for any political party or parties in any

unit of representation of the state from which such candidates or

persons are nominated or elected whenever there is no contest or

contests for such nominations or election as may be prescribed by gener-

al law.

S 2. Trial by jury in all cases in which it has heretofore been guar-

anteed by constitutional provision shall 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. The legislature may provide, however, by law,

that a verdict may be rendered by not less than five-sixths of the jury

in any civil case. A jury trial may be waived by the defendant in all

criminal cases, except those in which the crime charged may be punisha-

ble by death, by a written instrument signed by the defendant in person

in open court before and with the approval of a judge or justice of a

court having jurisdiction to try the offense. The legislature may enact

laws, not inconsistent herewith, governing the form, content, manner and

time of presentation of the instrument effectuating such waiver.

S 3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and

worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed

in this state to all humankind; and no person shall be rendered incompe-

tent to be a witness on account of his or her opinions 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 prac-

tices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.

S 4. The privilege of a writ or order of habeas corpus shall not be

suspended, unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety

requires it.

S 5. Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed,

nor shall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall

witnesses be unreasonably detained.

S 6. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise

infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia

when in actual service, and the land, air 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), unless on indictment of a grand jury, except that a person

held for the action of a grand jury upon a charge for such an offense,

other than one punishable by death or life imprisonment, with the

consent of the district attorney, may waive indictment by a grand jury

and consent to be prosecuted on an information filed by the district

attorney; such waiver shall be evidenced by written instrument signed by

the defendant in open court in the presence of his or her counsel. 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 and

shall be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and be

confronted with the witnesses against him or her. No person shall be

subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense; nor shall he

or she be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself

or herself, providing, that any public officer who, upon being called

before a grand jury to testify concerning the conduct of his or her

present office or of any public office held by him or her within five

years prior to such grand jury call to testify, or the performance of

his or her official duties in any such present or prior offices, refuses

to sign a waiver of immunity against subsequent criminal prosecution, or

to answer any relevant question concerning such matters before such

grand jury, shall by virtue of such refusal, be disqualified from hold-

ing any other public office or public employment for a period of five

years from the date of such refusal to sign a waiver of immunity against

subsequent prosecution, or to answer any relevant question concerning

such matters before such grand jury, and shall be removed from his or

her present office by the appropriate authority or shall forfeit his or

her present office at the suit of the attorney-general.

The power of grand juries to inquire into the wilful misconduct in

office of public officers, and to find indictments or to direct the

filing of informations in connection with such inquiries, shall never be

suspended or impaired by law. No person shall be deprived of life,

liberty or property without due process of law.

S 7. (a) Private property shall not be taken for public use without

just compensation.

but in every case the necessity of the road and the amount of all damage

to be sustained by the opening thereof shall be first determined by a

jury of freeholders, and such amount, together with the expenses of the

proceedings, shall be paid by the person to be benefited.

(d) The use of property for the drainage of swamp or agricultural

lands is declared to be a public use, and general laws may be passed

permitting the owners or occupants of swamp or agricultural lands to

construct and maintain for the drainage thereof, necessary drains,

ditches and dykes upon the lands of others, under proper restrictions,

on making just compensation, and such compensation together with the

cost of such drainage may be assessed, wholly or partly, against any

property benefited thereby; but no special laws shall be enacted for

such purposes.

S 8. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his or her

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 or indictments for

libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall

appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was

published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be

acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and

the fact.

S 9. 1. No law shall be passed abridging the rights of the people

peaceably to assemble and to petition the government, or any department

thereof; nor shall any divorce be granted otherwise than by due judicial

proceedings; except as hereinafter provided, no lottery or the sale of

lottery tickets, pool-selling, book-making, or any other kind of gambl-

ing, except lotteries operated by the state and the sale of lottery

tickets in connection therewith as may be authorized and prescribed by

the legislature, the net proceeds of which shall be applied exclusively

to or in aid or support of education in this state as the legislature

may prescribe, and except pari-mutuel betting on horse races as may be

prescribed by the legislature and from which the state shall derive a

reasonable revenue for the support of government, shall hereafter be

authorized or allowed within this state; and the legislature shall pass

appropriate laws to prevent offenses against any of the provisions of

this section.

2. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any city,

town or village within the state may by an approving vote of the majori-

ty of the qualified electors in such municipality voting on a proposi-

tion therefor submitted at a general or special election authorize,

subject to state legislative supervision and control, the conduct of one

or both of the following categories of games of chance commonly known

as: (a) bingo or lotto, in which prizes are awarded on the basis of

designated numbers or symbols on a card conforming to numbers or symbols

selected at random; (b) games in which prizes are awarded on the basis

of a winning number or numbers, color or colors, or symbol or symbols

determined by chance from among those previously selected or played,

whether determined as the result of the spinning of a wheel, a drawing

or otherwise by chance. If authorized, such games shall be subject to

the following restrictions, among others which may be prescribed by the

legislature: (1) only bona fide religious, charitable or non-profit

organizations of veterans, volunteer firefighter and similar non-profit

organizations shall be permitted to conduct such games; (2) the entire

net proceeds of any game shall be exclusively devoted to the lawful

purposes of such organizations; (3) no person except a bona fide member

of any such organization shall participate in the management or opera-

tion of such game; and (4) no person shall receive any remuneration for

participating in the management or operation of any such game. Unless

otherwise provided by law, no single prize shall exceed two hundred

fifty dollars, nor shall any series of prizes on one occasion aggregate

more than one thousand dollars. The legislature shall pass appropriate

laws to effectuate the purposes of this subdivision, ensure that such

games are rigidly regulated to prevent commercialized gambling, prevent

participation by criminal and other undesirable elements and the diver-

sion of funds from the purposes authorized hereunder and establish a

method by which a municipality which has authorized such games may

rescind or revoke such authorization. Unless permitted by the legisla-

ture, no municipality shall have the power to pass local laws or ordi-

nances relating to such games. Nothing in this section shall prevent the

legislature from passing laws more restrictive than any of the

provisions of this section.

S 11. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of

this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race,

color, creed or religion, be subjected to any discrimination in his or

her civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or

institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state.

S 12. 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 warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,

supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place

to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable interception

of telephone and telegraph communications shall not be violated, and ex

parte orders or warrants shall issue only upon oath or affirmation that

there is reasonable ground to believe that evidence of crime may be thus

obtained, and identifying the particular means of communication, and

particularly describing the person or persons whose communications are

to be intercepted and the purpose thereof.

S 14. Such parts of the common law, and of the acts of the legislature

of the colony of New York, as together did form the law of the said

colony, on the nineteenth day of April, one thousand seven hundred

seventy-five, and the resolutions of the congress of the said colony,

and of the convention of the State of New York, in force on the twenti-

eth day of April, one thousand seven hundred seventy-seven, which have

not since expired, or been repealed or altered; and such acts of the

legislature of this state as are now in force, shall be and continue the

law of this state, subject to such alterations as the legislature shall

make concerning the same. But all such parts of the common law, and such

of the said acts, or parts thereof, as are repugnant to this constitu-

tion, are hereby abrogated.

S 16. The right of action now existing to recover damages for injuries

resulting in death, shall never be abrogated; and the amount recoverable

shall not be subject to any statutory limitation.

S 17. Labor of human beings is not a commodity nor an article of

commerce and shall never be so considered or construed.

No laborer, worker or mechanic, in the employ of a contractor or sub-

contractor engaged in the performance of any public work, shall be

permitted to work more than eight hours in any day or more than five

days in any week, except in cases of extraordinary emergency; nor shall

he or she be paid less than the rate of wages prevailing in the same

trade or occupation in the locality within the state where such public

work is to be situated, erected or used.

Employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively

through representatives of their own choosing.

S 18. Nothing contained in this constitution shall be construed to

limit the power of the legislature to enact laws for the protection of

the lives, health, or safety of employees; or for the payment, either by

employers, or by employers and employees or otherwise, either directly

or through a state or other system of insurance or otherwise, of compen-

sation for injuries to employees or for death of employees resulting

from such injuries without regard to fault as a cause thereof, except

where the injury is occasioned by the willful intention of the injured

employee to bring about the injury or death of himself or herself or of

another, or where the injury results solely from the intoxication of the

injured employee while on duty; or for the adjustment, determination and

settlement, with or without trial by jury, of issues which may arise

under such legislation; or to provide that the right of such compen-

sation, and the remedy therefor shall be exclusive of all other rights

and remedies for injuries to employees or for death resulting from such

injuries; or to provide that the amount of such compensation for death

shall not exceed a fixed or determinable sum; provided that all moneys

paid by an employer to his or her employees or their legal represen-

tatives, by reason of the enactment of any of the laws herein author-

ized, shall be held to be a proper charge in the cost of operating the

business of the employer.

ARTICLE II

Suffrage

Section 1. Every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election

for all officers elected by the people and upon all questions submitted

to the vote of the people provided that such citizen is eighteen years

of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state, and of the

county, city, or village for thirty days next preceding an election.

S 2. The legislature may, by general law, provide a manner in which,

and the time and place at which, qualified voters who, on the occurrence

of any election, may be absent from the county of their residence or, if

residents of the city of New York, from the city, and qualified voters

who, on the occurrence of any election, may be unable to appear

personally at the polling place because of illness or physical disabili-

ty, may vote and for the return and canvass of their votes.

S 3. No person who shall receive, accept, or offer to receive, or pay,

offer or promise to pay, contribute, offer or promise to contribute to

another, to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a

compensation or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at an

election, or who shall make any promise to influence the giving or with-

holding any such vote, or who shall make or become directly or indirect-

ly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any

election, shall vote at such election; and upon challenge for such

cause, the person so challenged, before the officers authorized for that

purpose shall receive his or her vote, shall swear or affirm before such

officers that he or she has not received or offered, does not expect to

receive, has not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered

or promised to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or

other valuable thing as a compensation or reward for the giving or with-

holding a vote at such election, and has not made any promise to influ-

ence the giving or withholding of any such vote, nor made or become

directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the

result of such election. The legislature shall enact laws excluding from

the right of suffrage all persons convicted of bribery or of any infa-

mous crime.

S 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have

gained or lost a residence, by reason of his or her presence or absence,

while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged in

the navigation of the waters of this state, or of the United States, or

of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor

while kept at any almshouse, or other asylum, or institution wholly or

partly supported at public expense or by charity; nor while confined in

any public prison.

S 5. Laws shall be made for ascertaining, by proper proofs, the citi-

zens who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage hereby established,

and for the registration of voters; which registration shall be

completed at least ten days before each election. Such registration

shall not be required for town and village elections except by express

provision of law.

S 6. The legislature may provide by law for a system or systems of

registration whereby upon personal application a voter may be registered

and his or her registration continued so long as he or she shall remain

qualified to vote from an address within the jurisdiction of the board

with which such voter is registered.

S 7. All elections by the citizens, except for such town officers as

may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen, shall be by ballot, or by

such other method as may be prescribed by law, provided that secrecy in

voting be preserved. The legislature shall provide for identification of

voters through their signatures in all cases where personal registration

is required and shall also provide for the signatures, at the time of

voting, of all persons voting in person by ballot or voting machine,

whether or not they have registered in person, save only in cases of

illiteracy or physical disability.

S 8. All laws creating, regulating or affecting boards or officers

charged with the duty of qualifying voters, or of distributing ballots

to voters, or of receiving, recording or counting votes at elections,

shall secure equal representation of the two political parties which, at

the general election next preceding that for which such boards or offi-

cers are to serve, cast the highest and the next highest number of

votes. All such boards and officers shall be appointed or elected in

such manner, and upon the nomination of such representatives of said

parties respectively, as the legislature may direct. Existing laws on

this subject shall continue until the legislature shall otherwise

provide. This section shall not apply to town, or village elections.

S 9. Notwithstanding the residence requirements imposed by section one

of this article, the legislature may, by general law, provide special

procedures whereby every person who shall have moved from another state

to this state or from one county, city or village within this state to

another county, city or village within this state and who shall have

been an inhabitant of this state in any event for ninety days next

preceding an election at which electors are to be chosen for the office

of president and vice president of the United States shall be entitled

to vote in this state solely for such electors, provided such person is

otherwise qualified to vote in this state and is not able to qualify to

vote for such electors in any other state. The legislature may also, by

general law, prescribe special procedures whereby every person who is

registered and would be qualified to vote in this state but for his or

her removal from this state to another state within one year next

preceding such election shall be entitled to vote in this state solely

for such electors, provided such person is not able to qualify to vote

for such electors in any other state.

                               ARTICLE III

                               Legislature

  Section  1. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in the

senate and assembly.

  S  2. The senate shall consist of fifty members, except as hereinafter

provided. The senators elected in the year one  thousand  eight  hundred

and  ninety-five  shall  hold  their  offices for three years, and their

successors shall be chosen for two years. The assembly shall consist  of

one  hundred and fifty members. The assembly members elected in the year

one thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight, and their successors,  shall

be chosen for two years.

  S  3. The senate districts described in section three of article three

of this constitution as adopted by the people on November  sixth,  eigh-

teen hundred ninety-four are hereby continued for all of the purposes of

future  reapportionments of senate districts pursuant to section four of

this article.

  S  4. Except as herein otherwise provided, the federal census taken in

the year nineteen hundred thirty and each federal census taken  decenni-

ally  thereafter shall be controlling as to the number of inhabitants in

the state or any part thereof for the purposes of the  apportionment  of

members  of assembly and readjustment or alteration of senate and assem-

bly districts next occurring, in so far as such  census  and  the  tabu-

lation  thereof  purport to give the information necessary therefor. The

legislature, by law, shall provide for  the  making  and  tabulation  by

state  authorities  of  an  enumeration of the inhabitants of the entire

state to be used for such purposes, instead of a federal census, if  the

taking  of  a  federal  census  in any tenth year from the year nineteen

hundred thirty be omitted or if the federal census  fails  to  show  the

number  of  aliens  or  Indians  not  taxed. If a federal census, though

giving the requisite information as to the state at large, fails to give

the information as to  any  civil  or  territorial  divisions  which  is

required  to  be known for such purposes, the legislature, by law, shall

provide for such an enumeration of the inhabitants of such parts of  the

state only as may be necessary, which shall supersede in part the feder-

al  census  and  be used in connection therewith for such purposes.  The

legislature, by law, may provide in its discretion for an enumeration by

state authorities of the inhabitants of the state, to be used  for  such

purposes,  in  place of a federal census, when the return of a decennial

federal census is delayed so that it is not available at  the  beginning

of  the  regular session of the legislature in the second year after the

year nineteen hundred thirty or after any tenth year therefrom, or if an

apportionment of members of assembly and readjustment or  alteration  of

senate districts is not made at or before such a session. At the regular

session  in the year nineteen hundred thirty-two, and at the first regu-

lar session after the year nineteen hundred forty and after  each  tenth

year  therefrom the senate districts shall be readjusted or altered, but

if, in any decade, counting from and including that  which  begins  with

the  year nineteen hundred thirty-one, such a readjustment or alteration

is not made at the time above prescribed, it shall be made at  a  subse-

quent  session  occurring  not later than the sixth year of such decade,

meaning not later than nineteen  hundred  thirty-six,  nineteen  hundred

forty-six,  nineteen  hundred  fifty-six,  and so on; provided, however,

that if such districts shall have been readjusted or altered by  law  in

either  of the years nineteen hundred thirty or nineteen hundred thirty-

one, they shall remain unaltered until the first regular  session  after

the  year  nineteen hundred forty. Such districts shall be so readjusted

or altered that each senate district shall contain as nearly as  may  be

an  equal  number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, and be in as compact

form as practicable, and shall remain unaltered until the first year  of

the  next  decade  as  above  defined, and shall at all times consist of

contiguous territory, and no county shall be divided in the formation of

a senate district except to make two or more senate districts wholly  in

such  county.  No  town,  except a town having more than a full ratio of

apportionment, and no block in a city  inclosed  by  streets  or  public

ways,  shall  be divided in the formation of senate districts; nor shall

any district contain a greater excess in population  over  an  adjoining

district  in  the  same  county,  than the population of a town or block

therein adjoining such district. Counties, towns or blocks  which,  from

their  location, may be included in either of two districts, shall be so

placed as to make said districts most nearly equal in number of inhabit-

ants, excluding aliens.

  No county shall have four or more senators unless it shall have a full

ratio for each senator. No county shall have more than one-third of  all

the senators; and no two counties or the territory thereof as now organ-

ized,  which  are  adjoining  counties,  or  which are separated only by

public waters, shall have more than one-half of all the senators.

  The ratio for apportioning senators shall always be obtained by divid-

ing  the  number  of  inhabitants,  excluding  aliens, by fifty, and the

senate shall always be composed of fifty members,  except  that  if  any

county  having  three  or more senators at the time of any apportionment

shall be entitled on such ratio to an additional  senator  or  senators,

such  additional  senator  or  senators shall be given to such county in

addition to the fifty senators, and the whole number of  senators  shall

be increased to that extent.

  The  senate  districts,  including the present ones, as existing imme-

diately before the enactment of a law readjusting or altering the senate

districts, shall continue to be the senate districts of the state  until

the  expirations of the terms of the senators then in office, except for

the purpose of an election of senators for full terms beginning at  such

expirations, and for the formation of assembly districts.

  S  5.  The members of the assembly shall be chosen by single districts

and shall be apportioned by the legislature at each regular  session  at

which  the  senate  districts are readjusted or altered, and by the same

law, among the several counties of  the  state,  as  nearly  as  may  be

according  to  the  number  of  their  respective inhabitants, excluding

aliens. Every county heretofore established  and  separately  organized,

except the county of Hamilton, shall always be entitled to one member of

assembly, and no county shall hereafter be erected unless its population

shall  entitle  it  to a member. The county of Hamilton shall elect with

the county of Fulton, until the population of  the  county  of  Hamilton

shall,  according to the ratio, entitle it to a member. But the legisla-

ture may abolish the said county of Hamilton  and  annex  the  territory

thereof to some other county or counties.

  The  quotient  obtained by dividing the whole number of inhabitants of

the state, excluding aliens, by the number of members of assembly, shall

be the ratio for apportionment, which shall  be  made  as  follows:  One

member  of  assembly  shall  be  apportioned  to every county, including

Fulton and Hamilton as one county, containing less than  the  ratio  and

one-half  over.  Two members shall be apportioned to every other county.

The remaining members of assembly shall be apportioned to  the  counties

having  more  than  two  ratios  according to the number of inhabitants,

excluding aliens. Members apportioned on remainders shall be apportioned

to the counties having the  highest  remainders  in  the  order  thereof

respectively. No county shall have more members of assembly than a coun-

ty having a greater number of inhabitants, excluding aliens.

  The  assembly districts, including the present ones, as existing imme-

diately before the enactment of a law making an apportionment of members

of assembly among the  counties,  shall  continue  to  be  the  assembly

districts of the state until the expiration of the terms of members then

in  office, except for the purpose of an election of members of assembly

for full terms beginning at such expirations.

  In any county entitled to more than one member, the board of  supervi-

sors,  and in any city embracing an entire county and having no board of

supervisors, the common council, or if there be none, the body  exercis-

ing  the powers of a common council, shall assemble at such times as the

legislature making an apportionment shall  prescribe,  and  divide  such

counties  into  assembly districts as nearly equal in number of inhabit-

ants, excluding aliens, as may be, of convenient and contiguous territo-

ry in as compact form as practicable, each  of  which  shall  be  wholly

within  a  senate district formed under the same apportionment, equal to

the number of members of assembly to which such county  shall  be  enti-

tled,  and  shall  cause  to  be filed in the office of the secretary of

state and of the clerk of such county, a description of such  districts,

specifying  the  number of each district and of the inhabitants thereof,

excluding aliens, according to the census or  enumeration  used  as  the

population  basis  for  the formation of such districts; and such appor-

tionment and districts shall remain unaltered until after the next reap-

portionment of members of assembly, except that the board of supervisors

of any county containing a town having more than a ratio  of  apportion-

ment  and  one-half  over  may  alter the assembly districts in a senate

district containing such town at any time  on  or  before  March  first,

nineteen  hundred  forty-six.  In  counties  having more than one senate

district, the same number of assembly districts shall  be  put  in  each

senate  district, unless the assembly districts cannot be evenly divided

among the senate districts of any county, in which case one more  assem-

bly  district  shall be put in the senate district in such county having

the largest, or one less assembly district shall be put  in  the  senate

district  in  such  county  having  the  smallest number of inhabitants,

excluding aliens, as the case may require. No town, except a town having

more than a ratio of apportionment and one-half over, and no block in  a

city  inclosed by streets or public ways, shall be divided in the forma-

tion  of  assembly  districts, nor shall any districts contain a greater

excess in population over an  adjoining  district  in  the  same  senate

district,  than the population of a town or block therein adjoining such

assembly district. Towns or blocks which, from  their  location  may  be

included  in either of two districts, shall be so placed as to make said

districts most nearly equal in number of inhabitants, excluding  aliens.

Nothing  in  this  section  shall  prevent the division, at any time, of

counties and towns and the erection of new towns by the legislature.

  An apportionment by the legislature, or other body, shall  be  subject

to  review  by the supreme court, at the suit of any citizen, under such

reasonable regulations as the legislature may prescribe; and  any  court

before  which  a  cause may be pending involving an apportionment, shall

give precedence thereto over all other causes and  proceedings,  and  if

said  court be not in session it shall convene promptly for the disposi-

tion of the same.

  S  5-a.  For the purpose of apportioning senate and assembly districts

pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this article, the term "inhabit-

ants, excluding aliens" shall mean the whole number of persons.

  S  6.  Each  member  of  the  legislature shall receive for his or her

services a like annual salary, to be fixed by law. He or she shall  also

be  reimbursed  for his or her actual traveling expenses in going to and

returning from the place in which the legislature meets, not  more  than

once  each  week while the legislature is in session. Senators, when the

senate alone is convened in extraordinary session, or  when  serving  as

members  of the court for the trial of impeachments, and such members of

the assembly, not exceeding nine in number, as shall be appointed manag-

ers of an impeachment, shall receive an additional per  diem  allowance,

to  be  fixed  by law. Any member, while serving as an officer of his or

her house or in any other special capacity therein or directly connected

therewith not hereinbefore in this section specified, may also  be  paid

and  receive,  in  addition, any allowance which may be fixed by law for

the particular and additional services appertaining to  or  entailed  by

such  office  or  special capacity. Neither the salary of any member nor

any other allowance so fixed may be increased or diminished during,  and

with  respect  to, the term for which he or she shall have been elected,

nor shall he or she be paid or receive any other extra compensation. The

provisions of this section and  laws  enacted  in  compliance  therewith

shall  govern  and be exclusively controlling, according to their terms.

Members shall continue to receive such salary and  additional  allowance

as  heretofore  fixed and provided in this section, until changed by law

pursuant to this section.

  S 7. No person shall serve as a member of the legislature unless he or

she  is  a  citizen  of the United States and has been a resident of the

state of New York for five years, and, except as  hereinafter  otherwise

prescribed,  of  the  assembly  or senate district for the twelve months

immediately preceding his or her  election;  if  elected  a  senator  or

member  of assembly at the first election next ensuing after a readjust-

ment or alteration of the senate or assembly  districts  becomes  effec-

tive,  a person, to be eligible to serve as such, must have been a resi-

dent of the county in which the senate or assembly district is contained

for the twelve months immediately preceding  his  or  her  election.  No

member of the legislature shall, during the time for which he or she was

elected,  receive  any civil appointment from the governor, the governor

and the senate, the legislature or  from  any  city  government,  to  an

office  which  shall  have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall

have been increased during such time. If a member of the legislature  be

elected  to  congress,  or  appointed  to any office, civil or military,

under the government of the United States, the state  of  New  York,  or

under  any  city  government except as a member of the national guard or

naval militia of the state, or of  the  reserve  forces  of  the  United

States,  his  or  her acceptance thereof shall vacate his or her seat in

the legislature, providing, however, that a member  of  the  legislature

may  be  appointed commissioner of deeds or to any office in which he or

she shall receive no compensation.

  S  8.  The  elections of senators and members of assembly, pursuant to

the provisions of this  constitution,  shall  be  held  on  the  Tuesday

succeeding  the  first  Monday of November, unless otherwise directed by

the legislature.

  S  9.  A  majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do busi-

ness.  Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings,  and

be  the  judge  of  the elections, returns and qualifications of its own

members; shall choose its own officers; and the senate  shall  choose  a

temporary president and the assembly shall choose a speaker.

  S  10.  Each  house  of  the  legislature  shall keep a journal of its

proceedings, and publish the same, except  such  parts  as  may  require

secrecy.  The  doors  of  each house shall be kept open, except when the

public welfare shall require secrecy. Neither house shall,  without  the

consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days.

  S 11. For any speech or debate in either house of the legislature, the

members shall not be questioned in any other place.

  S  12.  Any bill may originate in either house of the legislature, and

all bills passed by one house may be amended by the other.

  S  13.  The  enacting  clause of all bills shall be "The People of the

State of New York, represented in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact  as

follows," and no law shall be enacted except by bill.

  S  14.  No  bill  shall be passed or become a law unless it shall have

been printed and upon the desks of the members, in its  final  form,  at

least three calendar legislative days prior to its final passage, unless

the governor, or the acting governor, shall have certified, under his or

her  hand and the seal of the state, the facts which in his or her opin-

ion necessitate an immediate vote thereon, in which case it must  never-

theless  be upon the desks of the members in final form, not necessarily

printed, before its final passage; nor  shall  any  bill  be  passed  or

become  a law, except by the assent of a majority of the members elected

to each branch of the legislature; and upon the last reading of a  bill,

no  amendment  thereof shall be allowed, and the question upon its final