A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS made by the good
people of Virginia in the exercise of their sovereign powers, which
rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as the basis and
foundation of government.
Section 1. Equality and rights of men.
That
all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain
inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society,
they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity;
namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of
acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining
happiness and safety.
Section 2. People the source of power.
That
all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people,
that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times
amenable to them.
Section 3. Government
instituted for common benefit.
That government is, or
ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and
security of the people, nation, or community; of all the various
modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of
producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most
effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and,
whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to
these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable,
inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it,
in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public
weal.
Section 4. No exclusive emoluments
or privileges; offices not to be hereditary.
That no man,
or set of men, is entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or
privileges from the community, but in consideration of public
services; which not being descendible, neither ought the offices of
magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary.
Section 5. Separation of legislative, executive, and
judicial departments; periodical elections.
That the
legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the Commonwealth
should be separate and distinct; and that the members thereof may be
restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the
burthens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to
a private station, return into that body from which they were
originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by regular
elections, in which all or any part of the former members shall be
again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws may direct.
Section 6. Free elections; consent of
governed.
That all elections ought to be free; and that
all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest
with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage,
and cannot be taxed, or deprived of, or damaged in, their property
for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their
representatives duly elected, or bound by any law to which they have
not, in like manner, assented for the public good.
Section 7. Laws should not
be suspended.
That all power of suspending laws, or the
execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the
representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and
ought not to be exercised.
Section 8.
Criminal prosecutions.
That in criminal prosecutions a
man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation,
to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, and to call for
evidence in his favor, and he shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose
unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty. He shall not be
deprived of life or liberty, except by the law of the land or the
judgment of his peers, nor be compelled in any criminal proceeding
to give evidence against himself, nor be put twice in jeopardy for
the same offense.
Laws may be enacted providing for the trial
of offenses not felonious by a court not of record without a jury,
preserving the right of the accused to an appeal to and a trial by
jury in some court of record having original criminal jurisdiction.
Laws may also provide for juries consisting of less than twelve, but
not less than five, for the trial of offenses not felonious, and may
classify such cases, and prescribe the number of jurors for each
class. In criminal cases, the accused may plead guilty. If the
accused plead not guilty, he may, with his consent and the
concurrence of the Commonwealth's Attorney and of the court entered
of record, be tried by a smaller number of jurors, or waive a jury.
In case of such waiver or plea of guilty, the court shall try the
case.
The provisions of this section shall be self-executing.
Section 8-A. Rights of victims of crime.
That
in criminal prosecutions, the victim shall be accorded fairness,
dignity and respect by the officers, employees and agents of the
Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and officers of the
courts and, as the General Assembly may define and provide by law,
may be accorded rights to reasonable and appropriate notice,
information, restitution, protection, and access to a meaningful
role in the criminal justice process. These rights may include, but
not be limited to, the following:
1. The right to protection
from further harm or reprisal through the imposition of appropriate
bail and conditions of release; 2. The right to be treated with
respect, dignity and fairness at all stages of the criminal justice
system; 3. The right to address the circuit court at the time
sentence is imposed; 4. The right to receive timely notification
of judicial proceedings; 5. The right to restitution; 6. The
right to be advised of release from custody or escape of the
offender, whether before or after disposition; and 7. The right
to confer with the prosecution.
This section does not confer upon any person a right to
appeal or modify any decision in a criminal proceeding, does not
abridge any other right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States or this Constitution, and does not create any cause of action
for compensation or damages against the Commonwealth or any of its
political subdivisions, any officer, employee or agent of the
Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions, or any officer of
the court.
The amendment ratified November 5, 1996 and
effective January 1, 1997—Added a new section (8-A).
Section 9. Prohibition of excessive bail and
fines, cruel and unusual punishment, suspension of habeas corpus,
bills of attainder, and ex post facto laws.
That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted; that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not
be suspended unless when, in cases of invasion or rebellion, the
public safety may require; and that the General Assembly shall not
pass any bill of attainder, or any ex post facto law.
Section 10. General warrants of search or seizure
prohibited.
That general warrants, whereby an officer or
messenger may becommanded to search suspected places without
evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not
named, or whose offense is not particularly described and supported
by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be
granted.
Section 11. Due process of law;
obligation of contracts; taking of private property; prohibited
discrimination; jury trial in civil cases.
That no person
shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property without due
process of law; that the General Assembly shall not pass any law
impairing the obligation of contracts, nor any law whereby private
property shall be taken or damaged for public uses, without just
compensation, the term "public uses" to be defined by the General
Assembly; and that the right to be free from any governmental
discrimination upon the basis of religious conviction, race, color,
sex, or national origin shall not be abridged, except that the mere
separation of the sexes shall not be considered
discrimination.
That in controversies respecting property,
and in suits between man and man, trial by jury is preferable to any
other, and ought to be held sacred. The General Assembly may limit
the number of jurors for civil cases in courts of record to not less
than five.
Section 12. Freedom of speech
and of the press; right peaceably to assemble, and to
petition.
That the freedoms of speech and of the press
are among the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained
except by despotic governments; that any citizen may freely speak,
write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible
for the abuse of that right; that the General Assembly shall not
pass any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, nor
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for the redress of grievances.
Section 13. Militia; standing armies; military
subordinate to civil power.
That a well regulated
militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the
proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the
right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed;
that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as
dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be
under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil
power. Section 14. Government should be
uniform.
That the people have a right to uniform
government; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or
independent of, the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or
established within the limits thereof.
Section 15. Qualities necessary to preservation of
free government.
That no free government, nor the
blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm
adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue;
by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the
recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights,
and that such rights cannot be enjoyed save in a society where law
is respected and due process is observed.
That free
government rests, as does all progress, upon the broadest possible
diffusion of knowledge, and that the Commonwealth should avail
itself of those talents which nature has sown so liberally among its
people by assuring the opportunity
for their fullest development by an effective system of education
throughout the Commonwealth.
Section 16.
Free exercise of religion; no establishment of
religion.
That religion or the duty which we owe to our
Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by
reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all
men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according
to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all
to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each
other. No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any
religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be
enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods,
nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or
belief; but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to
maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and the same shall
in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. And
the General Assembly shall not prescribe any religious test
whatever, or confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any
sect or denomination, or pass any law requiring or authorizing any
religious society, or the people of any district within this
Commonwealth, to levy on themselves or others, any tax for the
erection or repair of any house of public worship, or for the
support of any church or ministry; but it shall be left free to
every person to select his religious instructor, and to make for his
support such private contract as he shall please.
Section 17. Construction of the Bill of
Rights.
The rights enumerated in this Bill of Rights
shall not be construed to limit other rights of the people not
therein expressed.
ARTICLE II
Franchise and
Officers
Section 1.
Qualifications of voters. In elections by the people, the
qualifications of voters shall be as follows: Each voter shall be a
citizen of the United States, shall be eighteen years of age, shall
fulfill the residence requirements set forth in this section, and
shall be registered to vote pursuant to this article. No person who
has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote unless his
civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate
authority. As prescribed by law, no person adjudicated to be
mentally incompetent shall be qualified to vote until his competency
has been reestablished.
The residence requirements shall be
that each voter shall be a resident of the Commonwealth and of the
precinct where he votes. Residence, for all purposes of
qualification to vote, requires both domicile and a place of abode.
The General Assembly may provide for persons who are employed
overseas, and their spouses and dependents residing with them, and
who are qualified to vote except for relinquishing their place of
abode in the Commonwealth while overseas, to vote in the
Commonwealth subject to conditions and time limits defined by law.
The General Assembly may provide for persons who are qualified
to vote except for having moved their residence from one precinct to
another within the Commonwealth to continue to vote in a former
precinct subject to conditions and time limits defined by law. The
General Assembly may also provide, in elections for President and
Vice-President of the United States, alternatives to registration
for new residents of the Commonwealth.
Any person who will be
qualified with respect to age to vote at the next general election
shall be permitted to register in advance and also to vote in any
intervening primary or special election.
The amendment
ratified November 7, 1972 and effective January 1, 1973—In paragraph
one, the voting age, formerly "twenty-one", was reduced to
"eighteen".
The amendment ratified November 2, 1976 and
effective January 1, 1977—In paragraph two, substituted "be" for
"have been" and removed the durational residency requirement of "six
months" in the Commonwealth and "thirty days" in the precinct in the
first sentence. The second sentence removed the language "fewer than
thirty days prior to an election" and, after the word "may", added
the language "in the following
November general election and (in any) intervening". In the last
sentence of the paragraph, the less-than-six-months residency
requirement for presidential elections was removed to conform with
the first sentence.
The amendment ratified November 5, 1996
and effective January 1, 1997—In paragraph two, deleted the second
sentence: "A person who is qualified to vote except for having moved
his residence from one precinct to another may in the following
November general election and in any intervening election vote in
the precinct from which he has moved.", added a next-to-the-last
sentence: "The General Assembly may provide for persons who are
qualified to vote . . .", and added "also" preceding "provide" in
the last sentence.
The amendment ratified November 3, 1998
and effective January 1, 1999—In paragraph two, added the third
sentence: "The General Assembly may provide for persons who are
employed . . ."
Section 2. Registration
of voters.
The General Assembly shall provide by law for
the registration of all persons otherwise qualified to vote who have
met the residence requirements contained in this article, and shall
ensure that the opportunity to register is made available.
Registrations accomplished prior to the effective date of this
section shall be effective hereunder. The registration records shall
not be closed to new or transferred registrations more than thirty
days before the election in which they are to be
used.
Applications to register shall require the applicant to
provide the following information on a standard form: full name;
date of birth; residence address; social security number, if any;
whether the applicant is presently a United States citizen; and such
additional information as may be required by law. All applications
to register shall be completed by or at the direction of the
applicant and signed by the applicant, unless physically disabled.
No fee shall be charged to the applicant incident to an application
to register.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the
General Assembly from requiring as a prerequisite to registration to
vote the ability of the applicant to read and complete in his own
handwriting the application to register.
The amendment
ratified November 2, 1976 and effective January 1, 1977—In paragraph
two, substituted "date of residence in the precinct" for "length of
residence in the Commonwealth and in the precinct" and removed
"time" of any previous registrations to vote.
The amendment
ratified November 2, 1982 and effective January 1, 1983—In paragraph
two, after "maiden", added "and any other prior legal" and deleted
"of a woman, if married", and after "birth;" deleted "marital
status; occupation;".
The amendment ratified November 8, 1994
and effective January 1, 1995—In paragraph two, after "to provide",
deleted "under oath", after "has been restored.", deleted "Except as
otherwise provided in this Constitution,", and after "shall be
completed", deleted "in person before the registrar and".
The
amendment ratified November 5, 1996 and effective January 1, 1997—In
paragraph two, after "full name", deleted ", including the maiden
and any other prior legal name; age"; after "date", deleted "and
place"; added "residence address;" after "of birth;"; and
substituted "and such additional information as may be required by
law" for "address and place of abode and date of residence in the
precinct; place of any previous registrations to vote; and whether
the applicant has ever been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent
or convicted of a felony, and if so, under what circumstances the
applicant’s right to vote has been restored". Section 3. Method of voting.
In elections by
the people, the following safeguards shall be maintained: Voting
shall be by ballot or by machines for receiving, recording, and
counting votes cast. No ballot or list of candidates upon any voting
machine shall bear any distinguishing mark or symbol, other than
words identifying political party affiliation; and their form,
including the offices to be filled and the listing of candidates or
nominees, shall be as uniform as is practicable throughout the
Commonwealth or smaller governmental unit in which the election is
held.
In elections other than primary elections, provision
shall be made whereby votes may be cast for persons other than the
listed candidates or nominees. Secrecy in casting votes shall be
maintained, except as provision may be made for assistance to
handicapped voters, but the ballot box or voting machine shall be
kept in public view and shall not be opened, nor the ballots
canvassed nor the votes counted, in secret. Votes may be cast in
person or by absentee ballot as provided by law.
The amendment ratified November 8, 1994 and
effective January 1, 1995—In paragraph two, after "Votes may be
cast", deleted "only in person, except as otherwise provided in this
article" and added "in person or by absentee ballot as provided by
law".
Section 4. Powers and duties of
General Assembly. The General Assembly shall establish a
uniform system for permanent registration of voters pursuant to this
Constitution, including provisions for appeal by any person denied
registration, correction of illegal or fraudulent registrations,
penalties for illegal, fraudulent, or false registrations, proper
transfer of all registered voters, and cancellation of registrations
in other jurisdictions of persons who apply to register to vote in
the Commonwealth. The General Assembly shall provide for maintenance
of accurate and current registration records and may provide for the
cancellation of registrations for such purpose.
The General
Assembly shall provide for the nomination of candidates, shall
regulate the time, place, manner, conduct, and administration of
primary, general, and special elections, and shall have power to
make any other law regulating elections not inconsistent with this
Constitution.
The amendment ratified November 8, 1994 and
effective January 1, 1995—In paragraph one, after "fraudulent
registrations,", added "penalties for illegal, fraudulent, or false
registrations," and replaced "shall provide for cancellation" with
"may provide for the cancellation". Deleted provision for canceling
a voter’s registration for not having voted for four years, allowing
the General Assembly to revise laws for canceling a person’s
registration for not voting. Deleted a paragraph relating to
registration and voting by absentee application and ballot for those
in the armed forces or temporarily employed out of the country, and
for other qualified voters. [The amendment to this section ratified
November 2, 1976 and effective January 1, 1977 and the amendment to
this section ratified November 4, 1986 and effective July 1, 1987
were superseded by the 1994 amendment.]
Section 5. Qualifications to hold elective
office.
The only qualification to hold any office of the
Commonwealth or of its governmental units, elective by the people,
shall be that a person must have been a resident of the Commonwealth
for one year next preceding his election and be qualified to vote
for that office, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution,
and except that:
(a) the General Assembly may impose more
restrictive geographical residence requirements for election of its
members, and may permit other governing bodies in the Commonwealth
to impose more restrictive geographical residence requirements for
election to such governing bodies, but no such requirements shall
impair equal representation of the persons entitled to vote; (b)
the General Assembly may provide that residence in a local
governmental unit is not required for election to designated
elective offices in local governments, other than membership in the
local governing body; and (c) nothing in this Constitution shall
limit the power of the General Assembly to prevent conflict of
interests, dual officeholding, or other incompatible activities by
elective or appointive officials of the Commonwealth or of any
political subdivision.
The amendment ratified November 2,
1976 and effective January 1, 1977—In paragraph one, after "one
year", added the language "next preceding his
election".
Section 6. Apportionment.
Members of the
House of Representatives of the United States and members of the
Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall
be elected from electoral districts established by the General
Assembly. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous
and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as
nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the
population of the district. The General Assembly shall reapportion
the Commonwealth into electoral districts in accordance with this
section in the year 2011 and every ten years
thereafter.
Any such decennial
reapportionment law shall take effect immediately and not be subject
to the limitations contained in Article IV, Section 13, of this
Constitution.
The districts delineated in
the decennial reapportionment law shall be implemented for the
November general election for the United States House of
Representatives, Senate, or House of Delegates, respectively, that
is held immediately prior to the expiration of the term being served
in the year that the reapportionment law is required to be enacted.
A member in office at the time that a decennial redistricting law is
enacted shall complete his term of office and shall continue to
represent the district from which he was elected for the duration of
such term of office so long as he does not move his residence from
the district from which he was elected. Any vacancy occurring during
such term shall be filled from the same district that elected the
member whose vacancy is being filled.
Section 7. Oath or
affirmation.
All officers elected or appointed under or
pursuant to this Constitution shall, before they enter on the
performance of their public duties, severally take and subscribe the
following oath or affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States,
and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I
will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent
upon me as ...................., according to the best of my ability
(so help me God)."
Section 8. Electoral
boards; registrars and officers of election.
There shall
be in each county and city an electoral board composed of three
members, selected as provided by law. In the appointment of the
electoral boards, representation, as far as practicable, shall be
given to each of the two political parties which, at the general
election next preceding their appointment, cast the highest and the
next highest number of votes. The present members of such boards
shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective
terms; thereafter their successors shall be appointed for the term
of three years. Any vacancy occurring in any board shall be filled
by the same authority for the unexpired term.
Each electoral
board shall appoint the officers of election and general registrar
for its county or city. In appointing such officers of election,
representation, as far as practicable, shall be given to each of the
two political parties which, at the general election next preceding
their appointment, cast the highest and next highest number of
votes.
No person, nor the deputy of any person, who is
employed by or holds any office or post of profit or emolument, or
who holds any elective office of profit or trust, under the
governments of the United States, the Commonwealth, or any county,
city, or town, shall be appointed a member of the electoral board or
general registrar. No person, nor the deputy or the employee of any
person, who holds any elective office of profit or trust under the
government of the United States, the Commonwealth, or any county,
city, or town of the Commonwealth shall be appointed an assistant
registrar or officer of election.
The amendment ratified
November 4, 1986 and effective January 1, 1987—In paragraph two,
after "officers", deleted the words "and registrars" and added "and
general registrar" after "of election". In paragraph three, after
"the electoral board or", added the word "general" before
"registrar" and deleted a reference to officer of election, and
added the last sentence: "No person, nor the deputy or the employee
of any person . . .". Section 9.
Privileges of voters during election.
No voter, during
the time of holding any election at which he is entitled to vote,
shall be compelled to perform military service, except in time of
war or public danger, nor to attend any court as suitor, juror, or
witness; nor shall any such voter be subject to arrest under any
civil process during his attendance at election or in going to or
returning therefrom.
ARTICLE
III
Division of
Powers
Section 1. Departments to be
distinct. The legislative, executive, and judicial
departments shall be separate and distinct, so that none exercise
the powers properly belonging to the others, nor any person exercise
the power of more than one of them at the same time; provided,
however, administrative agencies may be created by the General
Assembly with such authority and duties as the General Assembly may
prescribe. Provisions may be made for judicial review of any
finding, order, or judgment of such administrative
agencies.
ARTICLE IV
Legislature
Section 1.
Legislative power.
The legislative power of the
Commonwealth shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall
consist of a Senate and House of Delegates.
Section 2.
Senate.
The Senate shall consist of not more than forty
and not less than thirty-three members, who shall be elected
quadrennially by the voters of the several senatorial districts on
the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. Section 3. House of Delegates.
The House of
Delegates shall consist of not more than one hundred and not less
than ninety members, who shall be elected biennially by the voters
of the several house districts on the Tuesday succeeding the first
Monday in November.
Section 4.
Qualifications of senators and delegates.
Any person may
be elected to the Senate who, at the time of the election, is
twenty-one years of age, is a resident of the senatorial district
which he is seeking to represent, and is qualified to vote for
members of the General Assembly. Any person may be elected to the
House of Delegates who, at the time of the election, is twenty-one
years of age, is a resident of the house district which he is
seeking to represent, and is qualified to vote for members of the
General Assembly. A senator or delegate who moves his residence from
the district for which he is elected shall thereby vacate his
office.
No person holding a salaried office under the
government of the Commonwealth, and no judge of any court, attorney
for the Commonwealth, sheriff, treasurer, assessor of taxes,
commissioner of the revenue, collector of taxes, or clerk of any
court shall be a member of either house of the General Assembly
during his continuance in office; and his qualification as a member
shall vacate any such office held by him. No person holding any
office or post of profit or emolument under the United States
government, or who is in the employment of such government, shall be
eligible to either house. Section 5.
Compensation; election to civil office of profit.
The
members of the General Assembly shall receive such salary and
allowances as may be prescribed by law, but no increase in salary
shall take effect for a given member until after the end of the term
for which he was elected. No member during the term for which he
shall have been elected shall be elected by the General Assembly to
any civil office of profit in the Commonwealth.
Section 6. Legislative sessions.
The General
Assembly shall meet once each year on the second Wednesday in
January. Except as herein provided for reconvened sessions, no
regular session of the General Assembly convened in an even-numbered
year shall continue longer than sixty days; no regular session of
the General Assembly convened in an odd-numbered year shall continue
longer than thirty days; but with the concurrence of two-thirds of
the members elected to each house, any regular session may be
extended for a period not exceeding thirty days. Neither house
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn to another place,
nor for more than three days.
The Governor may convene a special session of the General
Assembly when, in his opinion, the interest of the Commonwealth may
require and shall convene a special session upon the application of
two-thirds of the members elected to each house.
The General
Assembly shall reconvene on the sixth Wednesday after adjournment of
each regular or special session for the purpose of considering bills
which may have been returned by the Governor with recommendations
for their amendment and bills and items of appropriation bills which
may have been returned by the Governor with his objections. No other
business shall be considered at a reconvened session. Such
reconvened session shall not continue longer than three days unless
the session be extended, for a period not exceeding seven additional
days, upon the vote of the majority of the members elected to each
house.
The amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and effective
January 1, 1981—After the first sentence in the first paragraph,
added "Except as herein provided for reconvened sessions," and added
a third paragraph "The General Assembly shall reconvene on the sixth
Wednesday . . .".
Section 7. Organization
of General Assembly.
The House of Delegates shall choose
its own Speaker; and, in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, or
when he shall exercise the office of Governor, the Senate shall
choose from its own body a president pro tempore. Each house shall
select its officers and settle its rules of procedure. The houses
may jointly provide for legislative continuity between sessions
occurring during the term for which members of the House of
Delegates are elected. Each house may direct writs of election for
supplying vacancies which may occur during a session of the General
Assembly. If vacancies exist while the General Assembly is not in
session, such writs may be issued by the Governor under such
regulations as may be prescribed by law. Each house shall judge of
the election, qualification, and returns of its members, may punish
them for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of
two-thirds of its elected membership, may expel a
member.
Section 8. Quorum.
A
majority of the members elected to each house shall constitute a
quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day and shall have power to compel the attendance of members in such
manner and under such penalty as each house may prescribe. A smaller
number, not less than two-fifths of the elected membership of each
house, may meet and may, notwithstanding any other provision of this
Constitution, enact legislation if the Governor by proclamation
declares that a quorum of the General Assembly cannot be convened
because of enemy attack upon the soil of Virginia. Such legislation
shall remain effective only until thirty days after a quorum of the
General Assembly can be convened.
Section
9. Immunity of legislators.
Members of the General
Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of
the peace, be privileged from arrest during the sessions of their
respective houses; and for any speech or debate in either house
shall not be questioned in any other place. They shall not be
subject to arrest under any civil process during the sessions of the
General Assembly, or during the fifteen days before the beginning or
after the ending of any session.
Section
10. Journal of proceedings.
Each house shall keep a
journal of its proceedings, which shall be published from time to
time. The vote of each member voting in each house on any question
shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be recorded in
the journal. On the final vote on any bill, and on the vote in any
election or impeachment conducted in the General Assembly or on the
expulsion of a member, the name of each member voting in each house
and how he voted shall be recorded in the journal.
Section 11. Enactment of
laws.
No law shall be enacted except by bill. A bill may
originate in either house, may be approved or rejected by the other,
or may be amended by either, with the concurrence of the
other. No bill shall become a law unless, prior to its
passage:
(a) it has been referred to a committee of each
house, considered by such committee in session, and reported; (b)
it has been printed by the house in which it originated prior to its
passage therein; (c) it has been read by its title, or its title
has been printed in a daily calendar, on three different calendar
days in each house; and (d) upon its final passage a vote has
been taken thereon in each house, the name of each member voting for
and against recorded in the journal, and a majority of those voting
in each house, which majority shall include at least two-fifths of
the members elected to that house, recorded in the
affirmative.
Only in the manner required in subparagraph (d)
of this section shall an amendment to a bill by one house be
concurred in by the other, or a conference report be adopted by
either house, or either house discharge a committee from the
consideration of a bill and consider the same as if reported. The
printing and reading, or either, required in subparagraphs (b) and
(c) of this section, may be dispensed with in a bill to codify the
laws of the Commonwealth, and in the case of an emergency by a vote
of four-fifths of the members voting in each house, the name of each
member voting and how he voted to be recorded in the
journal.
No bill which creates or establishes a new office,
or which creates, continues, or revives a debt or charge, or which
makes, continues, or revives any appropriation of public or trust
money or property, or which releases, discharges, or commutes any
claim or demand of the Commonwealth, or which imposes, continues, or
revives a tax, shall be passed except by the affirmative vote of a
majority of all the members elected to each house, the name of each
member voting and how he voted to be recorded in the
journal.
Every law imposing, continuing, or reviving a tax
shall specifically state such tax. However, any law by which taxes
are imposed may define or specify the subject and provisions of such
tax by reference to any provision of the laws of the United States
as those laws may be or become effective at any time or from time to
time, and may prescribe exceptions or modifications to any such
provision.
The presiding officer of each house or upon his
inability or failure to act a person designated by a majority of the
members elected to each house shall, not later than three days after
each bill is enrolled, sign each bill that has been passed by both
houses and duly enrolled. The fact of signing shall be recorded in
the journal.
The amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and
effective January 1, 1981—In the last paragraph, substituted "or
upon his inability or failure to act a person designated by a
majority of the members elected to each house shall, not later than
three days after each bill is enrolled, sign each" for "shall, not
later than twenty days after adjournment, sign every".
Section 12. Form of laws.
No law shall
embrace more than one object, which shall be expressed in its title.
Nor shall any law be revived or amended with reference to its title,
but the act revived or the section amended shall be reenacted and
published at length.
Section 13.
Effective date of laws.
All laws enacted at a regular
session, including laws which are enacted by reason of actions taken
during the reconvened session following a regular session, but
excluding a general appropriation law, shall take effect on the
first day of July following the adjournment of the session of the
General Assembly at which it has been enacted; and all laws enacted at a special session, including
laws which are enacted by reason of actions taken during the
reconvened session following a special session but excluding a
general appropriation law, shall take effect on the first day of the
fourth month following the month of adjournment of the special
session; unless in the case of an emergency (which emergency shall
be expressed in the body of the bill) the General Assembly shall
specify an earlier date by a vote of four-fifths of the members
voting in each house, the name of each member voting and how he
voted to be recorded in the journal, or unless a subsequent date is
specified in the body of the bill or by general law.
The
amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and effective January 1,
1981—Rewrote the section so that all laws enacted at regular
sessions and reconvened sessions which follow will take effect on
July 1 rather than on the first day of the fourth month following
the month of adjournment, and all laws enacted at special sessions
and reconvened sessions which follow will take effect on the fourth
month following the month of adjournment, excluding the general
appropriation laws.
Section 14. Powers of
General Assembly; limitations.
The authority of the
General Assembly shall extend to all subjects of legislation not
herein forbidden or restricted; and a specific grant of authority in
this Constitution upon a subject shall not work a restriction of its
authority upon the same or any other subject. The omission in this
Constitution of specific grants of authority heretofore conferred
shall not be construed to deprive the General Assembly of such
authority, or to indicate a change of policy in reference thereto,
unless such purpose plainly appear.
The General Assembly
shall confer on the courts power to grant divorces, change the names
of persons, and direct the sales of estates belonging to infants and
other persons under legal disabilities, and shall not, by special
legislation, grant relief in these or other cases of which the
courts or other tribunals may have jurisdiction.
The General
Assembly may regulate the exercise by courts of the right to punish
for contempt. The General Assembly's power to define the accrual
date for a civil action based on an intentional tort committed by a
natural person against a person who, at the time of the intentional
tort, was a minor shall include the power to provide for the
retroactive application of a change in the accrual date. No natural
person shall have a constitutionally protected property right to bar
a cause of action based on intentional torts as described herein on
the ground that a change in the accrual date for the action has been
applied retroactively or that a statute of limitations or statute of
repose has expired.
The General Assembly shall not enact any
local, special, or private law in the following cases:
(1)
For the punishment of crime. (2) Providing a change of venue in
civil or criminal cases. (3) Regulating the practice in, or the
jurisdiction of, or changing the rules of evidence in any judicial
proceedings or inquiry before the courts or other tribunals, or
providing or changing the methods of collecting debts or enforcing
judgments or prescribing the effect of judicial sales of real
estate. (4) Changing or locating county seats. (5) For the
assessment and collection of taxes, except as to animals which the
General Assembly may deem dangerous to the farming interests. (6)
Extending the time for the assessment or collection of taxes.
(7) Exempting property from taxation. (8) Remitting,
releasing, postponing, or diminishing any obligation or liability of
any person, corporation, or association to the Commonwealth or to
any political subdivision thereof. (9) Refunding money lawfully paid into the treasury of the
Commonwealth or the treasury of any political subdivision thereof.
(10) Granting from the treasury of the Commonwealth, or granting
or authorizing to be granted from the treasury of any political
subdivision thereof, any extra compensation to any public officer,
servant, agent, or contractor. (11) For registering voters,
conducting elections, or designating the places of voting. (12)
Regulating labor, trade, mining, or manufacturing, or the rate of
interest on money. (13) Granting any pension. (14) Creating,
increasing, or decreasing, or authorizing to be created, increased,
or decreased, the salaries, fees, percentages, or allowances of
public officers during the term for which they are elected or
appointed. (15) Declaring streams navigable, or authorizing the
construction of booms or dams therein, or the removal of
obstructions therefrom. (16) Affecting or regulating fencing or
the boundaries of land, or the running at large of stock. (17)
Creating private corporations, or amending, renewing, or extending
the charters thereof. (18) Granting to any private corporation,
association, or individual any special or exclusive right,
privilege, or immunity. (19) Naming or changing the name of any
private corporation or association. (20) Remitting the forfeiture
of the charter of any private corporation, except upon the condition
that such corporation shall thereafter hold its charter subject to
the provisions of this Constitution and the laws passed in pursuance
thereof.
The General Assembly shall not grant a charter of
incorporation to any church or religious denomination, but may
secure the title to church property to an extent to be limited by
law.
The amendment ratified November 8, 1994 and effective
January 1, 1995—Added a new paragraph after paragraph
three.
Section 15. General
laws.
In all cases enumerated in the preceding section,
and in every other case which, in its judgment, may be provided for
by general laws, the General Assembly shall enact general laws. Any
general law shall be subject to amendment or repeal, but the
amendment or partial repeal thereof shall not operate directly or
indirectly to enact, and shall not have the effect of enactment of,
a special, private, or local law.
No general or special law
shall surrender or suspend the right and power of the Commonwealth,
or any political subdivision thereof, to tax corporations and
corporate property, except as authorized by Article X. No private
corporation, association, or individual shall be specially exempted
from the operation of any general law, nor shall a general law's
operation be suspended for the benefit of any private corporation,
association, or individual.
Section 16.
Appropriations to religious or charitable bodies.
The
General Assembly shall not make any appropriation of public funds,
personal property, or real estate to any church or sectarian
society, or any association or institution of any kind whatever
which is entirely or partly, directly or indirectly, controlled by
any church or sectarian society. Nor shall the General Assembly make
any like appropriation to any charitable institution which is not
owned or controlled by the Commonwealth; the General Assembly may, however, make appropriations to
nonsectarian institutions for the reform of youthful criminals and
may also authorize counties, cities, or towns to make such
appropriations to any charitable institution or
association.
Section 17.
Impeachment.
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney
General, judges, members of the State Corporation Commission, and
all officers appointed by the Governor or elected by the General
Assembly, offending against the Commonwealth by malfeasance in
office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or
misdemeanor may be impeached by the House of Delegates and
prosecuted before the Senate, which shall have the sole power to try
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be
on oath or affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the
concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present. Judgment in case
of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or
profit under the Commonwealth; but the person convicted shall
nevertheless be subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and
punishment according to law. The Senate may sit during the recess of
the General Assembly for the trial of impeachments.
Section 18. Auditor of Public Accounts.
An
Auditor of Public Accounts shall be elected by the joint vote of the
two houses of the General Assembly for the term of four years. His
powers and duties shall be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE
V
Executive
Section 1. Executive
power; Governor's term of office.
The chief executive
power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Governor. He shall
hold office for a term commencing upon his inauguration on the
Saturday after the second Wednesday in January, next succeeding his
election, and ending in the fourth year thereafter immediately upon
the inauguration of his successor. He shall be ineligible to the
same office for the term next succeeding that for which he was
elected, and to any other office during his term of
service.
Section 2. Election of
Governor.
The Governor shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the Commonwealth at the time and place of choosing members
of the General Assembly. Returns of the election shall be
transmitted, under seal, by the proper officers, to the State Board
of Elections, or such other officer or agency as may be designated
by law, which shall cause the returns to be opened and the votes to
be counted in the manner prescribed by law. The person having the
highest number of votes shall be declared elected; but if two or
more shall have the highest and an equal number of votes, one of
them shall be chosen Governor by a majority of the total membership
of the General Assembly. Contested elections for Governor shall be
decided by a like vote. The mode of proceeding in such cases shall
be prescribed by law.
Section 3.
Qualifications of Governor.
No person except a citizen of
the United States shall be eligible to the office of Governor; nor
shall any person be eligible to that office unless he shall have
attained the age of thirty years and have been a resident of the
Commonwealth and a registered voter in the Commonwealth for five
years next preceding his election.
Section
4. Place of residence and compensation of Governor.
The
Governor shall reside at the seat of government. He shall receive
for his services a compensation to be prescribed by law, which shall
neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he
shall have been elected. While in office he shall receive no other
emolument from this or any other government.
Section 5. Legislative
responsibilities of Governor.
The Governor shall
communicate to the General Assembly, at every regular session, the
condition of the Commonwealth, recommend to its consideration such
measures as he may deem expedient, and convene the General Assembly
on application of two-thirds of the members elected to each house
thereof, or when, in his opinion, the interest of the Commonwealth
may require. Section 6. Presentation of
bills; powers of Governor; vetoes and amendments.
(a)
Every bill which passes the Senate and House of Delegates, before it
becomes law, shall be presented to the Governor. (b) During a
regular or special session, the Governor shall have seven days in
which to act on the bill after it is presented to him and to
exercise one of the three options set out below. If the Governor
does not act on the bill, it shall become law without his signature.
(i) The Governor may sign the bill if he approves it, and the
bill shall become law. (ii) The Governor may veto the bill if he
objects to it by returning the bill with his objections to the house
in which the bill originated. The house shall enter the objections
in its journal and reconsider the bill. The house may override the
veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds
shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If
the house of origin overrides the Governor's veto, it shall send the
bill and Governor's objections to the other house where the bill
shall be reconsidered. The second house may override the Governor's
veto by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which two-thirds
shall include a majority of the members elected to that house. If
both houses override the Governor's veto, the bill shall become law
without his signature. If either house fails to override the
Governor's veto, the veto shall stand and the bill shall not become
law. (iii) The Governor may recommend one or more specific and
severable amendments to a bill by returning it with his
recommendation to the house in which it originated. The house shall
enter the Governor's recommendation in its journal and reconsider
the bill. If both houses agree to the Governor's entire
recommendation, the bill, as amended, shall become law. Each house
may agree to the Governor's amendments by a majority vote of the
members present. If both houses agree to the bill in the form
originally sent to the Governor by a two-thirds vote of all members
present in each house, which two-thirds shall include a majority of
the members elected to that house, the original bill shall become
law. If the Governor sends down specific and severable amendments
then each house may determine, in accordance with its own
procedures, whether to act on the Governor's amendments en bloc or
individually, or any combination thereof. If the house of origin
agrees to one or more of the Governor's amendments, it shall send
the bill and the entire recommendation to the other house. The
second house may also agree to one or more of the Governor's
amendments. If either house fails to agree to the Governor's entire
recommendation or fails to agree to at least one of the Governor's
amendments agreed to by the other house, the bill, as originally
presented to the Governor, shall be returned to the Governor. If
both houses agree to one or more amendments but not to the entire
recommendation of the Governor, the bill shall be reenrolled with
the Governor's amendments agreed to by both houses and shall be
returned to the Governor. If the Governor fails to send down
specific and severable amendments as determined by the majority vote
of the members present in either house, then the bill shall be
before that house, in the form originally sent to the Governor and
may be acted upon in accordance with Article IV, Section 11 of this
Constitution and returned to the Governor. The Governor shall either
sign or veto a bill returned as provided in this subsection or, if
there are fewer than seven days remaining in the session, as
provided in subsection (c). (c) When there are fewer than seven
days remaining in the regular or special session from the date a
bill is presented to the Governor and the General Assembly adjourns
to a reconvened session, the Governor shall have thirty days from
the date of adjournment of the regular or special session in which
to act on the bills presented to him and to exercise one of the
three options set out below. If the Governor does not act on any
bill, it shall become law without his signature. (i) The Governor
may sign the bill if he approves it, and the bill shall become
law. (ii) The Governor may veto
the bill if he objects to it by returning the bill with his
objections to the house in which the bill originated. The same
procedures for overriding his veto are applicable as stated in
subsection (b) for bills vetoed during the session. (iii) The
Governor may recommend one or more specific and severable amendments
to a bill by returning it with his recommendation to the house in
which it originated. The same procedures for considering his
recommendation are applicable as stated in subsection (b) (iii) for
bills returned with his recommendation. The Governor shall either
sign or veto a bill returned to him from a reconvened session. If
the Governor vetoes the bill, the veto shall stand and the bill
shall not become law. If the Governor does not act on the bill
within thirty days after the adjournment of the reconvened session,
the bill shall become law without his signature. (d) The Governor
shall have the power to veto any particular item or items of an
appropriation bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items
to which he does not object. The item or items objected to shall not
take effect except in the manner provided in this section for a bill
vetoed by the Governor. (e) In all cases set forth above, the
names of the members voting for and against the bill, the amendment
or amendments to the bill, or the item or items of an appropriation
bill shall be entered on the journal of each house.
The
amendment ratified November 8, 1994 and effective January 1,
1995—Rewrote the section to provide that the Governor may offer only
one set of amendments to any bill, to require the Governor to take
action to veto a bill, to allow the General Assembly to sever the
Governor’s amendments, acting on them individually or en bloc, and
to allow the General Assembly to propose its own amendments if it
determines the Governor’s amendments are not severable. [The
amendment to this section ratified November 4, 1980 and effective
January 1, 1981 was superseded by the 1994 amendment.]
Section 7. Executive and administrative
powers.
The Governor shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed.
The Governor shall be commander-in-chief
of the armed forces of the Commonwealth and shall have power to
embody such forces to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and
enforce the execution of the laws.
The Governor shall
conduct, either in person or in such manner as shall be prescribed
by law, all intercourse with other and foreign states.
The
Governor shall have power to fill vacancies in all offices of the
Commonwealth for the filling of which the Constitution and laws make
no other provision. If such office be one filled by the election of
the people, the appointee shall hold office until the next general
election, and thereafter until his successor qualifies, according to
law. The General Assembly shall, if it is in session, fill vacancies
in all offices which are filled by election by that
body.
Gubernatorial appointments to fill vacancies in offices
which are filled by election by the General Assembly or by
appointment by the Governor which is subject to confirmation by the
Senate or the General Assembly, made during the recess of the
General Assembly, shall expire at the end of thirty days after the
commencement of the next session of the General
Assembly.
Section 8. Information from
administrative officers.
The Governor may require
information in writing, under oath, from any officer of any
executive or administrative department, office, or agency, or any
public institution upon any subject relating to their respective
departments, offices, agencies, or public institutions; and he may
inspect at any time their official books, accounts, and vouchers,
and ascertain the conditions of the public funds in their charge,
and in that connection may employ accountants. He may require the
opinion in writing of the Attorney General upon any question of law
affecting the official duties of the Governor.
Section 9. Administrative organization.
The
functions, powers, and duties of the administrative departments and
divisions and of the agencies of the Commonwealth within the
legislative and executive branches may be prescribed by
law.
Section 10.
Appointment and removal of administrative officers.
Except as may be otherwise provided in this
Constitution, the Governor shall appoint each officer serving as the
head of an administrative department or division of the executive
branch of the government, subject to such confirmation as the
General Assembly may prescribe. Each officer appointed by the
Governor pursuant to this section shall have such professional
qualifications as may be prescribed by law and shall serve at the
pleasure of the Governor.
Section 11.
Effect of refusal of General Assembly to confirm an appointment by
the Governor.
No person appointed to any office by the
Governor, whose appointment is subject to confirmation by the
General Assembly, under the provisions of this Constitution or any
statute, shall enter upon, or continue in, office after the General
Assembly shall have refused to confirm his appointment, nor shall
such person be eligible for reappointment during the recess of the
General Assembly to fill the vacancy caused by such refusal to
confirm. Section 12. Executive
clemency.
The Governor shall have power to remit fines
and penalties under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed
by law; to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction except when
the prosecution has been carried on by the House of Delegates; to
remove political disabilities consequent upon conviction for
offenses committed prior or subsequent to the adoption of this
Constitution; and to commute capital punishment.
He shall
communicate to the General Assembly, at each regular session,
particulars of every case of fine or penalty remitted, of reprieve
or pardon granted, and of punishment commuted, with his reasons for
remitting, granting, or commuting the same.
Section 13. Lieutenant Governor; election and
qualifications.
A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at
the same time and for the same term as the Governor, and his
qualifications and the manner and ascertainment of his election, in
all respects, shall be the same, except that there shall be no limit
on the terms of the Lieutenant Governor.
Section 14. Duties and compensation of Lieutenant
Governor.
The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of
the Senate but shall have no vote except in case of an equal
division. He shall receive for his services a compensation to be
prescribed by law, which shall not be increased nor diminished
during the period for which he shall have been elected.
Section 15. Attorney General.
An Attorney
General shall be elected by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth
at the same time and for the same term as the Governor; and the fact
of his election shall be ascertained in the same manner. No person
shall be eligible for election or appointment to the office of
Attorney General unless he is a citizen of the United States, has
attained the age of thirty years, and has the qualifications
required for a judge of a court of record. He shall perform such
duties and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law,
which compensation shall neither be increased nor diminished during
the period for which he shall have been elected. There shall be no
limit on the terms of the Attorney General.
Section 16. Succession to the office of
Governor.
When the Governor-elect is disqualified,
resigns, or dies following his election but prior to taking office,
the Lieutenant Governor-elect shall succeed to the office of
Governor for the full term. When the Governor-elect fails to assume
office for any other reason, the Lieutenant Governor-elect shall
serve as Acting Governor.
Whenever the Governor transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates his written
declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office and until he transmits to them a written declaration to
the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the
Lieutenant Governor as Acting Governor. Whenever the Attorney
General, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of
the House of Delegates, or a majority of the total membership of the
General Assembly, transmit to the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk
of the House of Delegates their written declaration that the
Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,
the Lieutenant Governor shall immediately assume the powers and
duties of the office as Acting Governor.
Thereafter, when the
Governor transmits to the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the
House of Delegates his written declaration that no inability exists,
he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the
Attorney General, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the House of Delegates, or a majority of the total
membership of the General Assembly, transmit within four days to the
Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates their
written declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office. Thereupon the General Assembly
shall decide the issue, convening within forty-eight hours for that
purpose if not already in session. If within twenty-one days after
receipt of the latter declaration or, if the General Assembly is not
in session, within twenty-one days after the General Assembly is
required to convene, the General Assembly determines by
three-fourths vote of the elected membership of each house of the
General Assembly that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers
and duties of his office, the Lieutenant Governor shall become
Governor; otherwise, the Governor shall resume the powers and duties
of his office.
In the case of the removal of the Governor
from office or in the case of his disqualification, death, or
resignation, the Lieutenant Governor shall become
Governor.
If a vacancy exists in the office of
Lieutenant Governor when the Lieutenant Governor is to succeed to
the office of Governor or to serve as Acting Governor, the Attorney
General, if he is eligible to serve as Governor, shall succeed to
the office of Governor for the unexpired term or serve as Acting
Governor. If the Attorney General is ineligible to serve as
Governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, if he is eligible
to serve as Governor, shall succeed to the office of Governor for
the unexpired term or serve as Acting Governor. If a vacancy exists
in the office of the Speaker of the House of Delegates or if the
Speaker of the House of Delegates is ineligible to serve as
Governor, the House of Delegates shall convene and fill the
vacancy.
In the event of an emergency or enemy
attack upon the soil of Virginia and a resulting inability of the
House of Delegates to convene to fill the vacancy, the Speaker of
the House, the person designated to act in his stead as prescribed
in the Rules of the House of Delegates, the President pro tempore of
the Senate, or the majority leader of the Senate, in that designated
order, shall serve as Acting Governor until such time as the House
of Delegates convenes to elect a Governor.
The General Assembly may provide by law
for the waiver of the eligibility requirements for the Attorney
General, Speaker of the House, or acting Speaker to serve as
Governor or Acting Governor in the event of an emergency or enemy
attack upon the soil of Virginia as evidenced by a proclamation of
the Governor or alternative authority prescribed by
law.
Section 17. Commissions and
grants.
Commissions and grants shall run in the name of
the Commonwealth of Virginia, and be attested by the Governor, with
the seal of the Commonwealth annexed.
ARTICLE VI
Judiciary
Section 1. Judicial
power; jurisdiction.
The
judicial power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Supreme
Court and in such other courts of original or appellate jurisdiction
subordinate to the Supreme Court as the General Assembly may from
time to time establish. Trial courts of general jurisdiction,
appellate courts, and such other courts as shall be so designated by
the General Assembly shall be known as courts of record.
The
Supreme Court shall, by virtue of this Constitution, have original
jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and prohibition;
to consider claims of actual innocence presented by convicted felons
in such cases and in such manner as may be provided by the General
Assembly; in matters of judicial censure, retirement, and removal
under Section 10 of this article, and to answer questions of state
law certified by a court of the United States or the highest
appellate court of any other state. All other jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court shall be appellate. Subject to such reasonable rules
as may be prescribed as to the course of appeals and other
procedural matters, the Supreme Court shall, by virtue of this
Constitution, have appellate
jurisdiction in cases involving the constitutionality of a law under
this Constitution or the Constitution of the United States and in
cases involving the life or liberty of any person.
The
General Assembly may allow the Commonwealth the right to appeal in
all cases, including those involving the life or liberty of a
person, provided such appeal would not otherwise violate this
Constitution or the Constitution of the United
States.
Subject to the foregoing limitations, the General
Assembly shall have the power to determine the original and
appellate jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth.
The
amendment ratified November 4, 1986 and effective December 1,
1986—In paragraph two, after "mandamus, and prohibition", deleted
"and" and added to the sentence ", and to answer questions of state
law certified by a court of the United States . . .".
The
amendment ratified November 4, 1986 and effective December 1,
1986—In paragraph three, after "relating to the State revenue.",
added the last sentence "The General Assembly may also allow the
Commonwealth . . .".
The amendment ratified November 5, 1996
and effective January 1, 1997—Deleted the third paragraph: "No
appeal shall be allowed to the Commonwealth . . ." and added a
next-to-the-last paragraph: "The General Assembly may allow the
Commonwealth . . .".
The amendment ratified November 5, 2002
and effective November 15, 2002-In paragraph two, after "mandamus,
and prohibition", deleted the comma and added "; to consider claims
of actual innocence presented by convicted felons in such cases and
in such manner as may be provided by the General Assembly;" and
after "article", deleted the comma and added a
semicolon.
Section 2. Supreme
Court.
The Supreme Court shall consist of seven justices.
The General Assembly may, if three-fifths of the elected membership
of each house so vote at two successive regular sessions, increase
or decrease the number of justices of the Court, provided that the
Court shall consist of no fewer than seven and no more than eleven
justices. The Court may sit and render final judgment en banc or in
divisions as may be prescribed by law. No decision shall become the
judgment of the Court, however, except on the concurrence of at
least three justices, and no law shall be declared unconstitutional
under either this Constitution or the Constitution of the United
States except on the concurrence of at least a majority of all
justices of the Supreme Court. Section 3.
Selection of Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice shall be
selected from among the justices in a manner provided by
law.
Section 4. Administration of the
judicial system.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
shall be the administrative head of the judicial system. He may
temporarily assign any judge of a court of record to any other court
of record except the Supreme Court and may assign a retired judge of
a court of record, with his consent, to any court of record except
the Supreme Court. The General Assembly may adopt such additional
measures as it deems desirable for the improvement of the
administration of justice by the courts and for the expedition of
judicial business.
Section 5. Rules of
practice and procedure.
The Supreme Court shall have the
authority to make rules governing the course of appeals and the
practice and procedures to be used in the courts of the
Commonwealth, but such rules shall not be in conflict with the
general law as the same shall, from time to time, be established by
the General Assembly.
Section 6. Opinions
and judgments of the Supreme Court.
When a judgment or
decree is reversed, modified, or affirmed by the Supreme Court, or
when original cases are resolved on their merits, the reasons for
the Court's action shall be stated in writing and preserved with the
record of the case. The Court may, but need not, remand a case for a
new trial. In any civil case, it may enter final judgment, except
that the award in a suit or action for unliquidated damages shall
not be increased or diminished.
Section 7.
Selection and qualification of judges.
The justices of
the Supreme Court shall be chosen by the vote of a majority of the
members elected to each house of the General Assembly for terms of
twelve years. The judges of all other courts of record shall be
chosen by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each
house of the General Assembly for terms of eight years. During any
vacancy which may exist while the General Assembly is not in
session, the Governor may appoint a successor to serve until thirty
days after the commencement of the next session of the General
Assembly. Upon election by the General Assembly, a new justice or
judge shall begin service of a full term.
All justices of the
Supreme Court and all judges of other courts of record shall be
residents of the Commonwealth and shall, at least five years prior
to their appointment or election, have been admitted to the bar of
the Commonwealth. Each judge of a trial court of record shall during
his term of office reside within the jurisdiction of one of the
courts to which he was appointed or elected; provided, however, that
where the boundary of such jurisdiction is changed by annexation or
otherwise, no judge thereof shall thereby become disqualified from
office or ineligible for reelection if, except for such annexation
or change, he would otherwise be qualified.
Section 8. Additional judicial
personnel.
The General Assembly may provide for
additional judicial personnel, such as judges of courts not of
record and magistrates or justices of the peace, and may prescribe
their jurisdiction and provide the manner in which they shall be
selected and the terms for which they shall serve. The General
Assembly may confer upon the clerks of the several courts having
probate jurisdiction, jurisdiction of the probate of wills and of
the appointment and qualification of guardians, personal
representatives, curators, appraisers, and committees of persons
adjudged insane or convicted of felony, and in the matter of the
substitution of trustees.
Section 9.
Commission; compensation; retirement.
All justices of the
Supreme Court and all judges of other courts of record shall be
commissioned by the Governor. They shall receive such salaries and
allowances as shall be prescribed by the General Assembly, which
shall be apportioned between the Commonwealth and its cities and
counties in the manner provided by law. Unless expressly prohibited
or limited by the General Assembly, cities and counties shall be
permitted to supplement from local funds the salaries of any judges
serving within their geographical boundaries. The salary of any
justice or judge shall not be diminished during his term of office.
The General Assembly may enact such laws as it deems necessary
for the retirement of justices and judges, with such conditions,
compensation, and duties as it may prescribe. The General Assembly
may also provide for the mandatory retirement of justices and judges
after they reach a prescribed age, beyond which they shall not
serve, regardless of the term to which elected or
appointed.
Section 10. Disabled and unfit
judges.
The General Assembly shall create a Judicial
Inquiry and Review Commission consisting of members of the
judiciary, the bar, and the public and vested with the power to
investigate charges which would be the basis for retirement,
censure, or removal of a judge. The Commission shall be authorized
to conduct hearings and to subpoena witnesses and documents.
Proceedings and documents before the Commission may be confidential
as provided by the General Assembly in general law. If the
Commission finds the charges to be well-founded, it may file a
formal complaint before the Supreme Court.
Upon the filing of
a complaint, the Supreme Court shall conduct a hearing in open court
and, upon a finding of disability which is or is likely to be
permanent and which seriously interferes with the performance by the
judge of his duties, shall retire the judge from office. A judge
retired under this authority shall be considered for the purpose of
retirement benefits to have retired voluntarily.
If the
Supreme Court after the hearing on the complaint finds that the
judge has engaged in misconduct while in office, or that he has
persistently failed to perform the duties of his office, or that he
has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the proper administration of
justice, it shall censure him or shall remove him from office. A
judge removed under this authority shall not be entitled to
retirement benefits, but only to the return of contributions made by
him, together with any income accrued thereon.
This section
shall apply to justices of the Supreme Court, to judges of other
courts of record, and to members of the State Corporation
Commission. The General Assembly also may provide by general law for
the retirement, censure, or removal of judges of any court not of
record, or other personnel exercising judicial functions.
The
amendment ratified November 3, 1998 and effective January 1, 1999—In
paragraph one, third sentence, after "Proceedings", added "and
documents" and substituted "Commission may be confidential as
provided by the General Assembly in general law" for "Commission
shall be confidential".
Section 11.
Incompatible activities.
No justice or judge of a court
of record shall, during his continuance in office, engage in the
practice of law within or without the Commonwealth, or seek or
accept any nonjudicial elective office, or hold any other office of
public trust, or engage in any other incompatible
activity. Section 12. Limitation;
judicial appointment.
No judge shall be granted the power
to make any appointment of any local governmental official elected
by the voters except to fill a vacancy in office pending the next
ensuing general election or, if the vacancy occurs within one
hundred twenty days prior to such election, pending the second
ensuing general election, unless such election falls within sixty
days of the end of the term of the office to be filled. The
amendment ratified November 2, 1976 and effective January 1, 1977—At
the end of the section, after "election", added the language ",
unless such election falls within sixty days of the end of the term
of the office to be filled".
ARTICLE VII
Local
Government
Section 1.
Definitions.
As used in this article (1) "county"
means any existing county or any such unit hereafter created, (2)
"city" means an independent incorporated community which became a
city as provided by law before noon on the first day of July,
nineteen hundred seventy-one, or which has within defined boundaries
a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as
provided by law, (3) "town" means any existing town or an
incorporated community within one or more counties which became a
town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, as
provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population
of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law, (4)
"regional government" means a unit of general government organized
as provided by law within defined boundaries, as determined by the
General Assembly, (5) "general law" means a law which on its
effective date applies alike to all counties, cities, towns, or
regional governments or to a reasonable classification thereof, and
(6) "special act" means a law applicable to a county, city, town, or
regional government and for enactment shall require an affirmative
vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the
General Assembly.
The General Assembly may increase by
general law the population minima provided in this article for
cities and towns. Any county which on the effective date of this
Constitution had adopted an optional form of government pursuant to
a valid statute that does not meet the general law requirements of
this article may continue its form of government without regard to
such general law requirements until it adopts a form of government
provided in conformity with this article. In this article, whenever
the General Assembly is authorized or required to act by general
law, no special act for that purpose shall be valid unless this
article so provides. The amendment ratified November 7, 1972 and
effective January 1, 1973—Added language to the definition of "city"
in (2) to include those communities which became cities before July
1, 1971. Added language to the definition of "town" in (3) to
include those communities which became "towns" before July 1,
1971.
Section 2. Organization and
government.
The General Assembly shall provide by general
law for the organization, government, powers, change of boundaries,
consolidation, and dissolution of counties, cities, towns, and
regional governments. The General Assembly may also provide by
general law optional plans of government for counties, cities, or
towns to be effective if approved by a majority vote of the
qualified voters voting on any such plan in any such county, city,
or town.
The General Assembly may also provide by special act
for the organization, government, and powers of any county, city,
town, or regional government, including such powers of legislation,
taxation, and assessment as the General Assembly may determine, but
no such special act shall be adopted which provides for the
extension or contraction of boundaries of any county, city, or
town.
Every law providing for the organization of a regional
government shall, in addition to any other requirements imposed by
the General Assembly, require the approval of the organization of
the regional government by a majority vote of the qualified voters
voting thereon in each county and city which is to participate in
the regional government and of the voters voting thereon in a part
of a county or city where only the part is to
participate.
Section 3.
Powers.
The General Assembly may provide by general law
or special act that any county, city, town, or other unit of
government may exercise any of its powers or perform any of its
functions and may participate in the financing thereof jointly or in
cooperation with the Commonwealth or any other unit of government
within or without the Commonwealth. The General Assembly may provide
by general law or special act for transfer to or sharing with a
regional government of any services, functions, and related
facilities of any county, city, town, or other unit of government
within the boundaries of such regional government.
Section 4. County and city officers.
There
shall be elected by the qualified voters of each county and city a
treasurer, a sheriff, an attorney for the Commonwealth, a clerk, who
shall be clerk of the court in the office of which deeds are
recorded, and a commissioner of revenue. The duties and compensation
of such officers shall be prescribed by general law or special
act.
Regular elections for such officers shall be held on
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Such officers shall take
office on the first day of the following January unless otherwise
provided by law and shall hold their respective offices for the term
of four years, except that the clerk shall hold office for eight
years.
The General Assembly
may provide for county or city officers or methods of their
selection, including permission for two or more units of government
to share the officers required by this section, without regard to
the provisions of this section, either (1) by general law to become
effective in any county or city when submitted to the qualified
voters thereof in an election held for such purpose and approved by
a majority of those voting thereon in each such county or city, or
(2) by special act upon the request, made after such an election, of
each county or city affected. No such law shall reduce the term of
any person holding an office at the time the election is held. A
county or city not required to have or to elect such officers prior
to the effective date of this Constitution shall not be so required
by this section.
The General
Assembly may provide by general law or special act for additional
officers and for the terms of their office.
Section 5. County, city, and town governing
bodies.
The governing body of each county, city, or town
shall be elected by the qualified voters of such county, city, or
town in the manner provided by law.
If the members are
elected by district, the district shall be composed of contiguous
and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as
nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the
population of the district. When members are so elected by district,
the governing body of any county, city, or town may, in a manner
provided by law, increase or diminish the number, and change the
boundaries, of districts, and shall in 1971 and every ten years
thereafter, and also whenever the boundaries of such districts are
changed, reapportion the representation in the governing body among
the districts in a manner provided by law. Whenever the governing
body of any such unit shall fail to perform the duties so prescribed
in the manner herein directed, a suit shall lie on behalf of any
citizen thereof to compel performance by the governing body.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the governing body of each
city or town shall be elected on the second Tuesday in June and take
office on the first day of the following September. Unless otherwise
provided by law, the governing body of each county shall be elected
on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November and take office on
the first day of the following January.
Section 6. Multiple offices.
Unless two or
more units exercise functions jointly as authorized in Sections 3
and 4, no person shall at the same time hold more than one office
mentioned in this article. No member of a governing body shall be
eligible, during the term of office for which he was elected or
appointed, to hold any office filled by the governing body by
election or appointment, except that a member of a governing body
may be named a member of such other boards, commissions, and bodies
as may be permitted by general law and except that a member of a
governing body may be elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in the
office of mayor or board chairman if permitted by general law or
special act.
The amendment ratified November 6, 1984 and
effective January 1, 1985—After "as may be permitted by general
law", added "and except that a member of a governing body may be
elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor or
board chairman if permitted by general law or special
act".
Section 7. Procedures.
No
ordinance or resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of
five hundred dollars, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing
of money shall be passed except by a recorded affirmative vote of a
majority of all members elected to the governing body. In case of
the veto of such an ordinance or resolution, where the power of veto
exists, it shall require for passage thereafter a recorded
affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members elected to the
governing body.
On final vote on any ordinance or resolution,
the name of each member voting and how he voted shall be
recorded.
Section 8. Consent to use public
property.
No street railway, gas, water, steam or
electric heating, electric light or power, cold storage, compressed
air, viaduct, conduit, telephone, or bridge company, nor any
corporation, association, person, or partnership engaged in these or
like enterprises shall be permitted to use the streets, alleys, or
public grounds of a city or town without the previous consent of the
corporate authorities of such city or town.
Section 9. Sale of
property and granting of franchises by cities and
towns.
No rights of a city or town in and to its
waterfront, wharf property, public landings, wharves, docks,
streets, avenues, parks, bridges, or other public places, or its
gas, water, or electric works shall be sold except by an ordinance
or resolution passed by a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths
of all members elected to the governing body.
No franchise,
lease, or right of any kind to use any such public property or any
other public property or easement of any description in a manner not
permitted to the general public shall be granted for a longer period
than forty years, except for air rights together with easements for
columns of support, which may be granted for a period not exceeding
sixty years. Before granting any such franchise or privilege for a
term in excess of five years, except for a trunk railway, the city
or town shall, after due advertisement, publicly receive bids
therefor. Such grant, and any contract in pursuance thereof, may
provide that upon the termination of the grant, the plant as well as
the property, if any, of the grantee in the streets, avenues, and
other public places shall thereupon, without compensation to the
grantee, or upon the payment of a fair valuation therefor, become
the property of the said city or town; but the grantee shall be
entitled to no payment by reason of the value of the franchise. Any
such plant or property acquired by a city or town may be sold or
leased or, unless prohibited by general law, maintained, controlled,
and operated by such city or town. Every such grant shall specify
the mode of determining any valuation therein provided for and shall
make adequate provisions by way of forfeiture of the grant, or
otherwise, to secure efficiency of public service at reasonable
rates and the maintenance of the property in good order throughout
the term of the grant.
Section 10.
Debt.
(a) No city or town shall issue any bonds or other
interest-bearing obligations which, including existing indebtedness,
shall at any time exceed ten per centum of the assessed valuation of
the real estate in the city or town subject to taxation, as shown by
the last preceding assessment for taxes. In determining the
limitation for a city or town there shall not be included the
following classes of indebtedness:
(1) Certificates of
indebtedness, revenue bonds, or other obligations issued in
anticipation of the collection of the revenues of such city or town
for the then current year; provided that such certificates, bonds,
or other obligations mature within one year from the date of their
issue, be not past due, and do not exceed the revenue for such
year. (2) Bonds pledging the full faith and credit of such city
or town authorized by an ordinance enacted in accordance with
Section 7, and approved by the affirmative vote of the qualified
voters of the city or town voting upon the question of their
issuance, for a supply of water or other specific undertaking from
which the city or town may derive a revenue; but from and after a
period to be determined by the governing body not exceeding five
years from the date of such election, whenever and for so long as
such undertaking fails to produce sufficient revenue to pay for cost
of operation and administration (including interest on bonds issued
therefor), the cost of insurance against loss by injury to persons
or property, and an annual amount to be placed into a sinking fund
sufficient to pay the bonds at or before maturity, all outstanding
bonds issued on account of such undertaking shall be included in
determining such limitation. (3) Bonds of a city or town the
principal and interest on which are payable exclusively from the
revenues and receipts of a water system or other specific
undertaking or undertakings from which the city or town may derive a
revenue or secured, solely or together with such revenues, by
contributions of other units of government. (4) Contract
obligations of a city or town to provide payments over a period of
more than one year to any publicly owned or controlled regional
project, if the project has been authorized by an interstate compact
or if the General Assembly by general law or special act has
authorized an exclusion for such project purposes. (b) No debt shall be contracted by or on behalf of
any county or district thereof or by or on behalf of any regional
government or district thereof except by authority conferred by the
General Assembly by general law. The General Assembly shall not
authorize any such debt, except the classes described in paragraphs
(1) and (3) of subsection (a), refunding bonds, and bonds issued,
with the consent of the school board and the governing body of the
county, by or on behalf of a county or district thereof for capital
projects for school purposes and sold to the Literary Fund, the
Virginia Supplemental Retirement System, or other State agency
prescribed by law, unless in the general law authorizing the same,
provision be made for submission to the qualified voters of the
county or district thereof or the region or district thereof, as the
case may be, for approval or rejection by a majority vote of the
qualified voters voting in an election on the question of
contracting such debt. Such approval shall be a prerequisite to
contracting such debt.
Any county may, upon approval by the
affirmative vote of the qualified voters of the county voting in an
election on the question, elect to be treated as a city for the
purposes of issuing its bonds under this section. If a county so
elects, it shall thereafter be subject to all of the benefits and
limitations of this section applicable to cities, but in determining
the limitation for a county there shall be included, unless
otherwise excluded under this section, indebtedness of any town or
district in that county empowered to levy taxes on real
estate. The amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and effective
January 1, 1981—In subsection (a), substituted "ten per centum" for
"eighteen per centum".
ARTICLE VIII
Education
Section 1. Public
schools of high quality to be maintained.
The General
Assembly shall provide for a system of free public elementary and
secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the
Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program
of high quality is established and continually
maintained. Section 2. Standards of
quality; State and local support of public
schools.
Standards of quality for the several school
divisions shall be determined and prescribed from time to time by
the Board of Education, subject to revision only by the General
Assembly. The General Assembly shall determine the manner in
which funds are to be provided for the cost of maintaining an
educational program meeting the prescribed standards of quality, and
shall provide for the apportionment of the cost of such program
between the Commonwealth and the local units of government
comprising such school divisions. Each unit of local government
shall provide its portion of such cost by local taxes or from other
available funds.
Section 3. Compulsory
education; free textbooks.
The General Assembly shall
provide for the compulsory elementary and secondary education of
every eligible child of appropriate age, such eligibility and age to
be determined by law. It shall ensure that textbooks are provided at
no cost to each child attending public school whose parent or
guardian is financially unable to furnish them.
Section 4. Board of Education.
The general
supervision of the public school system shall be vested in a Board
of Education of nine members, to be appointed by the Governor,
subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Each appointment
shall be for four years, except that those to fill vacancies shall
be for the unexpired terms. Terms shall be staggered, so that no
more than three regular appointments shall be made in the same
year.
Section 5. Powers and
duties of the Board of Education.
The powers and duties
of the Board of Education shall be as follows:
(a) Subject to such criteria and
conditions as the General Assembly may prescribe, the Board shall
divide the Commonwealth into school divisions of such geographical
area and school-age population as will promote the realization of
the prescribed standards of quality, and shall periodically review
the adequacy of existing school divisions for this purpose. (b)
It shall make annual reports to the Governor and the General
Assembly concerning the condition and needs of public education in
the Commonwealth, and shall in such report identify any school
divisions which have failed to establish and maintain schools
meeting the prescribed standards of quality. (c) It shall certify
to the school board of each division a list of qualified persons for
the office of division superintendent of schools, one of whom shall
be selected to fill the post by the division school board. In the
event a division school board fails to select a division
superintendent within the time prescribed by law, the Board of
Education shall appoint him. (d) It shall have authority to
approve textbooks and instructional aids and materials for use in
courses in the public schools of the Commonwealth. (e) Subject to
the ultimate authority of the General Assembly, the Board shall have
primary responsibility and authority for effectuating the
educational policy set forth in this article, and it shall have such
other powers and duties as may be prescribed by law.
Section 6. Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
A Superintendent of Public Instruction, who
shall be an experienced educator, shall be appointed by the
Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, for a
term coincident with that of the Governor making the appointment,
but the General Assembly may alter by statute this method of
selection and term of office. The powers and duties of the
Superintendent shall be prescribed by law.
Section 7. School boards.
The supervision of
schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board,
to be composed of members selected in the manner, for the term,
possessing the qualifications, and to the number provided by
law.
Section 8. The Literary
Fund.
The General Assembly shall set apart as a permanent
and perpetual school fund the present Literary Fund; the proceeds of
all public lands donated by Congress for free public school
purposes, of all escheated property, of all waste and unappropriated
lands, of all property accruing to the Commonwealth by forfeiture
except as hereinafter provided, of all fines collected for offenses
committed against the Commonwealth, and of the annual interest on
the Literary Fund; and such other sums as the General Assembly may
appropriate. But so long as the principal of the Fund totals as much
as eighty million dollars, the General Assembly may set aside all or
any part of additional moneys received into its principal for public
school purposes, including the teachers retirement fund.
The
General Assembly may provide by general law an exemption from this
section for the proceeds from the sale of all property seized and
forfeited to the Commonwealth for a violation of the criminal laws
of this Commonwealth proscribing the manufacture, sale or
distribution of a controlled substance or marijuana. Such proceeds
shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be distributed by
law for the purpose of promoting law enforcement.
The
Literary Fund shall be held and administered by the Board of
Education in such manner as may be provided by law. The General
Assembly may authorize the Board to borrow other funds against
assets of the Literary Fund as collateral, such borrowing not to
involve the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth.
The principal of the Fund shall include
assets of the Fund in other funds or authorities which are repayable
to the Fund.
The amendment ratified November 6, 1990 and
effective January 1, 1991—In paragraph one, after "forfeiture",
added "except as hereinafter provided". Added a new paragraph after
paragraph one.
Section 9. Other
educational institutions.
The General Assembly may
provide for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of any
educational institutions which are desirable for the intellectual,
cultural, and occupational development of the people of this
Commonwealth. The governance of such institutions, and the status
and powers of their boards of visitors or other governing bodies,
shall be as provided by law.
Section 10.
State appropriations prohibited to schools or institutions of
learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the State or some
subdivision thereof; exceptions to rule.
No appropriation
of public funds shall be made to any school or institution of
learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the State or some
political subdivision thereof; provided, first, that the General
Assembly may, and the governing bodies of the several counties,
cities and towns may, subject to such limitations as may be imposed
by the General Assembly, appropriate funds for educational purposes
which may be expended in furtherance of elementary, secondary,
collegiate or graduate education of Virginia students in public and
nonsectarian private schools and institutions of learning, in
addition to those owned or exclusively controlled by the State or
any such county, city or town; second, that the General Assembly may
appropriate funds to an agency, or to a school or institution of
learning owned or controlled by an agency, created and established
by two or more States under a joint agreement to which this State is
a party for the purpose of providing educational facilities for the
citizens of the several States joining in such agreement; third,
that counties, cities, towns, and districts may make appropriations
to nonsectarian schools of manual, industrial, or technical
training, and also to any school or institution of learning owned or
exclusively controlled by such county, city, town, or school
district.
Section 11. Aid to nonpublic
higher education.
The General Assembly may provide for
loans to, and grants to or on behalf of, students attending
nonprofit institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth whose
primary purpose is to provide collegiate or graduate education and
not to provide religious training or theological education. The
General Assembly may also provide for a State agency or authority to
assist in borrowing money for construction of educational facilities
at such institutions, provided that the Commonwealth shall not be
liable for any debt created by such borrowing. The General Assembly
may also provide for the Commonwealth or any political subdivision
thereof to contract with such institutions for the provision of
educational or other related services.
The amendment ratified
November 5, 1974 and effective January 1, 1975—Provided for "grants
to or on behalf of" in addition to loans to students, in the first
sentence. Added the last sentence to permit "the Commonwealth or any
political subdivision thereof to contract with" nonprofit
institutions of higher education.
ARTICLE
IX
Corporations
Section 1. State
Corporation Commission.
There shall be a permanent commission
which shall be known as the State Corporation Commission and which
shall consist of three members. The General Assembly may, by
majority vote of the members elected to each house, increase the
size of the Commission to no more than five members. Members of the
Commission shall be elected by the General Assembly and shall serve
for regular terms of six years. At least one member of the
Commission shall have the qualifications prescribed for judges of
courts of record, and any Commissioner may be impeached or removed
in the manner provided for the impeachment or removal of judges of
courts of record. The General Assembly may enact such laws as it
deems necessary for the retirement of the Commissioners, with such
conditions, compensation, and duties
as it may prescribe. The General Assembly may also provide for the
mandatory retirement of Commissioners after they reach a prescribed
age, beyond which they shall not serve, regardless of the term to
which elected or appointed. Whenever a vacancy in the Commission
shall occur or exist when the General Assembly is in session, the
General Assembly shall elect a successor for such unexpired term. If
the General Assembly is not in session, the Governor shall forthwith
appoint pro tempore a qualified person to fill the vacancy for a
term ending thirty days after the commencement of the next regular
session of the General Assembly and the General Assembly shall elect
a successor for such unexpired term.
The Commission shall annually elect
one of its members chairman. Its subordinates and employees, and the
manner of their appointment and removal, shall be as provided by
law, except that its heads of divisions and assistant heads of
divisions shall be appointed and subject to removal by the
Commission.
Section 2. Powers and duties
of the Commission.
Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution and to such requirements as may be prescribed by law,
the Commission shall be the department of government through which
shall be issued all charters, and amendments or extensions thereof,
of domestic corporations and all licenses of foreign corporations to
do business in this Commonwealth.
Except as may be otherwise
prescribed by this Constitution or by law, the Commission shall be
charged with the duty of administering the laws made in pursuance of
this Constitution for the regulation and control of corporations
doing business in this Commonwealth. Subject to such criteria and
other requirements as may be prescribed by law, the Commission shall
have the power and be charged with the duty of regulating the rates,
charges, and services and, except as may be otherwise authorized by
this Constitution or by general law, the facilities of railroad,
telephone, gas, and electric companies.
The Commission shall
in proceedings before it ensure that the interests of the consumers
of the Commonwealth are represented, unless the General Assembly
otherwise provides for representation of such interests.
The
Commission shall have such other powers and duties not inconsistent
with this Constitution as may be prescribed by law.
Section 3. Procedures of the
Commission.
Before promulgating any general order, rule,
or regulation, the Commission shall give reasonable notice of its
contents.
In all matters within the jurisdiction of the
Commission, it shall have the powers of a court of record to
administer oaths, to compel the attendance of witnesses and the
production of documents, to punish for contempt, and to enforce
compliance with its lawful orders or requirements by adjudging and
enforcing by its own appropriate process such fines or other
penalties as may be prescribed or authorized by law. Before the
Commission shall enter any finding, order, or judgment against a
party it shall afford such party reasonable notice of the time and
place at which he shall be afforded an opportunity to introduce
evidence and be heard.
The Commission may prescribe its own
rules of practice and procedure not inconsistent with those made by
the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall have the power to
adopt such rules, to amend, modify, or set aside the Commission's
rules, or to substitute rules of its own.
Section 4. Appeals from actions of the
Commission.
The Commonwealth, any party in interest, or
any party aggrieved by any final finding, order, or judgment of the
Commission shall have, of right, an appeal to the Supreme Court. The
method of taking and prosecuting an appeal from any action of the
Commission shall be prescribed by law or by the rules of the Supreme
Court. All appeals from the Commission shall be to the Supreme Court
only.
No other court of the Commonwealth shall have jurisdiction to
review, reverse, correct, or annul any action of the Commission or
to enjoin or restrain it in the performance of its official duties,
provided, however, that the writs of mandamus and prohibition shall
lie from the Supreme Court to the Commission.
Section 5. Foreign corporations.
No foreign
corporation shall be authorized to carry on in this Commonwealth the
business of, or to exercise any of the powers or functions of, a
public service enterprise, or be permitted to do anything which
domestic corporations are prohibited from doing, or be relieved from
compliance with any of the requirements made of similar domestic
corporations by the Constitution and laws of this Commonwealth.
However, nothing in this section shall restrict the power of the
General Assembly to enact such laws specially applying to foreign
corporations as the General Assembly may deem appropriate.
Section 6. Corporations subject to
general laws.
The creation of corporations, and the
extension and amendment of charters whether heretofore or hereafter
granted, shall be provided for by general law, and no charter shall
be granted, amended, or extended by special act, nor shall authority
in such matters be conferred upon any tribunal or officer, except to
ascertain whether the applicants have, by complying with the
requirements of the law, entitled themselves to the charter,
amendment, or extension applied for and to issue or refuse the same
accordingly. Such general laws may be amended, repealed, or modified
by the General Assembly. Every corporation chartered in this
Commonwealth shall be deemed to hold its charter and all amendments
thereof under the provisions of, and subject to all the
requirements, terms, and conditions of, this Constitution and any
laws passed in pursuance thereof. The police power of the
Commonwealth to regulate the affairs of corporations, the same as
individuals, shall never be abridged.
Section 7. Exclusions from term "corporation" or
"company."
The term "corporation" or "company" as used in
this article shall exclude all municipal corporations, other
political subdivisions, and public institutions owned or controlled
by the Commonwealth.
ARTICLE X
Taxation and
Finance
Section 1.
Taxable property; uniformity; classification and
segregation.
All property, except as hereinafter
provided, shall be taxed. All taxes shall be levied and collected
under general laws and shall be uniform upon the same class of
subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the
tax, except that the General Assembly may provide for differences in
the rate of taxation to be imposed upon real estate by a city or
town within all or parts of areas added to its territorial limits,
or by a new unit of general government, within its area, created by
or encompassing two or more, or parts of two or more, existing units
of general government. Such differences in the rate of taxation
shall bear a reasonable relationship to differences between
nonrevenue-producing governmental services giving land urban
character which are furnished in one or several areas in contrast to
the services furnished in other areas of such unit of government.
The General Assembly may by general law and within such
restrictions and upon such conditions as may be prescribed authorize
the governing body of any county, city, town or regional government
to provide for differences in the rate of taxation imposed upon
tangible personal property owned by persons not less than sixty-five
years of age or persons permanently and totally disabled as
established by general law who are deemed by the General Assembly to
be bearing an extraordinary tax burden on said tangible personal
property in relation to their income and financial worth.
The
General Assembly may define and classify taxable subjects. Except as
to classes of property herein expressly segregated for either State
or local taxation, the General Assembly may segregate the several
classes of property so as to specify and determine upon what
subjects State taxes, and upon what subjects local taxes, may be
levied.
The amendment ratified
November 6, 1990 and effective January 1, 1991—Added a new paragraph
after paragraph one.
Section 2.
Assessments.
All assessments of real estate and tangible
personal property shall be at their fair market value, to be
ascertained as prescribed by law. The General Assembly may define
and classify real estate devoted to agricultural, horticultural,
forest, or open space uses, and may by general law authorize any
county, city, town, or regional government to allow deferral of, or
relief from, portions of taxes otherwise payable on such real estate
if it were not so classified, provided the General Assembly shall
first determine that classification of such real estate for such
purpose is in the public interest for the preservation or
conservation of real estate for such uses. In the event the General
Assembly defines and classifies real estate for such purposes, it
shall prescribe the limits, conditions, and extent of such deferral
or relief. No such deferral or relief shall be granted within the
territorial limits of any county, city, town, or regional government
except by ordinance adopted by the governing body thereof.
So
long as the Commonwealth shall levy upon any public service
corporation a State franchise, license, or other similar tax based
upon or measured by its gross receipts or gross earnings, or any
part thereof, its real estate and tangible personal property shall
be assessed by a central State agency, as prescribed by
law.
Section 3. Taxes or assessments upon
abutting property owners.
The General Assembly by general
law may authorize any county, city, town, or regional government to
impose taxes or assessments upon abutting property owners for such
local public improvements as may be designated by the General
Assembly; however, such taxes or assessments shall not be in excess
of the peculiar benefits resulting from the improvements to such
abutting property owners.
Section 4.
Property segregated for local taxation; exceptions.
Real
estate, coal and other mineral lands, and tangible personal
property, except the rolling stock of public service corporations,
are hereby segregated for, and made subject to, local taxation only,
and shall be assessed for local taxation in such manner and at such
times as the General Assembly may prescribe by general
law.
Section 5. Franchise taxes; taxation
of corporate stock.
The General Assembly, in imposing a
franchise tax upon corporations, may in its discretion make the same
in lieu of taxes upon other property, in whole or in part, of such
corporations. Whenever a franchise tax shall be imposed upon a
corporation doing business in this Commonwealth, or whenever all the
capital, however invested, of a corporation chartered under the laws
of this Commonwealth shall be taxed, the shares of stock issued by
any such corporation shall not be further taxed.
Section 6. Exempt property.
(a) Except as
otherwise provided in this Constitution, the following property and
no other shall be exempt from taxation, State and local, including
inheritance taxes: (1) Property owned directly or indirectly by
the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, and
obligations of the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof
exempt by law. (2) Real estate and personal property owned and
exclusively occupied or used by churches or religious bodies for
religious worship or for the residences of their ministers. (3)
Private or public burying grounds or cemeteries, provided the same
are not operated for profit. (4) Property owned by public
libraries or by institutions of learning not conducted for profit,
so long as such property is primarily used for literary, scientific,
or educational purposes or purposes incidental thereto. This
provision may also apply to leasehold interests in such property as
may be provided by general law. (5) Intangible personal property, or any class or classes
thereof, as may be exempted in whole or in part by general
law. (6) Property used by its owner for religious, charitable,
patriotic, historical, benevolent, cultural, or public park and
playground purposes, as may be provided by classification or
designation by an ordinance adopted by the local governing body and
subject to such restrictions and conditions as provided by general
law. (7) Land subject to a perpetual easement permitting
inundation by water as may be exempted in whole or in part by
general law. (b) The General Assembly may by general law
authorize the governing body of any county, city, town, or regional
government to provide for the exemption from local property
taxation, or a portion thereof, within such restrictions and upon
such conditions as may be prescribed, of real estate and personal
property designed for continuous habitation owned by, and occupied
as the sole dwelling of, persons not less than sixty-five years of
age or persons permanently and totally disabled as established by
general law who are deemed by the General Assembly to be bearing an
extraordinary tax burden on said property in relation to their
income and financial worth. (c) Except as to property of the
Commonwealth, the General Assembly by general law may restrict or
condition, in whole or in part, but not extend, any or all of the
above exemptions. (d) The General Assembly may define as a
separate subject of taxation any property, including real or
personal property, equipment, facilities, or devices, used primarily
for the purpose of abating or preventing pollution of the atmosphere
or waters of the Commonwealth or for the purpose of transferring or
storing solar energy, and by general law may allow the governing
body of any county, city, town, or regional government to exempt or
partially exempt such property from taxation, or by general law may
directly exempt or partially exempt such property from
taxation. (e) The General Assembly may define as a separate
subject of taxation household goods, personal effects and tangible
farm property and products, and by general law may allow the
governing body of any county, city, town, or regional government to
exempt or partially exempt such property from taxation, or by
general law may directly exempt or partially exempt such property
from taxation. (f) Exemptions of property from taxation as
established or authorized hereby shall be strictly construed;
provided, however, that all property exempt from taxation on the
effective date of this section shall continue to be exempt until
otherwise provided by the General Assembly as herein set
forth. (g) The General Assembly may by general law authorize any
county, city, town, or regional government to impose a service
charge upon the owners of a class or classes of exempt property for
services provided by such governments. (h) The General Assembly
may by general law authorize the governing body of any county, city,
town, or regional government to provide for a partial exemption from
local real property taxation, within such restrictions and upon such
conditions as may be prescribed, of real estate whose improvements,
by virtue of age and use, have undergone substantial renovation,
rehabilitation or replacement. (i) The General Assembly may by
general law allow the governing body of any county, city, or town to
exempt or partially exempt from taxation any generating equipment
installed after December thirty-one, nineteen hundred seventy-four,
for the purpose of converting from oil or natural gas to coal or to
wood, wood bark, wood residue, or to any other alternate energy
source for manufacturing, and any co-generation equipment installed
since such date for use in manufacturing. (j) The General
Assembly may by general law allow the governing body of any county,
city, or town to have the option to exempt or partially exempt from
taxation any business, occupational or professional license or any
merchants' capital, or both. The
amendment ratified November 2, 1976 and effective January 1,
1977—After (a)(6), added subdivision "(7) Land subject to a
perpetual easement . . .". In subsection (b), after "sixty-five
years of age", added the language "or persons permanently and
totally disabled as established by general law". In subsection (d),
after "Commonwealth", added the language "or for the purpose of
transferring or storing solar energy". In subsection (e), after
"personal effects", added the language "and tangible farm property
and products". The amendment ratified November 7, 1978 and
effective January 1, 1979—Added a new subsection (h). The
amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and effective January 1, 1981—In
subsection (b), substituted "exemption from local property taxation"
for "exemption from local real property taxation". After "of real
estate", added "and personal property designed for continuous
habitation". Substituted "property" for "real estate" near the end
of subsection (b). The amendment ratified November 4, 1980 and
effective January 1, 1981—Added a new subsection (i). The
amendment ratified November 3, 1998 and effective January 1,
1999—Added a new subsection (j). The amendment ratified November
5, 2002 and effective January 1, 2003—In paragraph (6), after
"designation by", deleted "a three-fourths vote of the members
elected to each house of the General Assembly" and added "an
ordinance adopted by the local governing body". After "conditions
as" deleted "may be prescribed" and added "provided by general
law".
Section 7. Collection and
disposition of State revenues.
All taxes, licenses, and
other revenues of the Commonwealth shall be collected by its proper
officers and paid into the State treasury. No money shall be paid
out of the State treasury except in pursuance of appropriations made
by law; and no such appropriation shall be made which is payable
more than two years and six months after the end of the session of
the General Assembly at which the law is enacted authorizing the
same. Other than as may be provided for in the debt provisions of
this Constitution, the Governor, subject to such criteria as may be
established by the General Assembly, shall ensure that no expenses
of the Commonwealth be incurred which exceed total revenues on hand
and anticipated during a period not to exceed the two years and six
months period established by this section of the
Constitution. The amendment ratified November 6, 1984 and
effective July 1, 1986—Added the second paragraph.
Section
7-A. Lottery Proceeds Fund; distribution of lottery revenues.
The General Assembly shall establish the Lottery
Proceeds Fund. The Fund shall consist of the net revenues of any
lottery conducted by the Commonwealth. Lottery proceeds shall be
appropriated from the Fund to the Commonwealth's counties, cities
and towns, and the school divisions thereof, to be expended for the
purposes of public education. Any county, city, or town which
accepts a distribution from the Fund shall provide its portion of
the cost of maintaining an educational program meeting the standards
of quality prescribed pursuant to Section 2 of Article VIII of this
Constitution without the use of distributions from the Fund. The
General Assembly shall enact such laws as may be necessary to
implement the Fund and the provisions of this section. The
General Assembly may appropriate amounts from the Fund for other
purposes only by a vote of four-fifths of the members voting in each
house, the name of each member voting and how he voted to be
recorded in the journal of the house. The amendment ratified
November 7, 2000 and effective July 1, 2001—Added a new section
(7-A).
Section 8. Limit of tax or
revenue.
No other or greater amount of tax or revenues
shall, at any time, be levied than may be required for the necessary
expenses of the government, or to pay the indebtedness of the
Commonwealth.
The General Assembly shall establish the
Revenue Stabilization Fund. The Fund shall consist of an amount not
to exceed ten percent of the Commonwealth's average annual tax
revenues derived from taxes on income and retail sales as certified
by the Auditor of Public Accounts for the three fiscal years
immediately preceding. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall compute
the ten percent limitation of such fund annually and report to the
General Assembly not later than the first day of December.
"Certified tax revenues" means the Commonwealth's annual tax
revenues derived from taxes on income and retail sales as certified
by the Auditor of Public Accounts.
The General Assembly shall
make deposits to the Fund to equal at least fifty percent of the
product of the certified tax revenues collected in the most recently
ended fiscal year times the difference between the annual percentage
increase in the certified tax revenues collected for the most
recently ended fiscal year and the average annual percentage
increase in the certified tax revenues collected in the six fiscal
years immediately preceding the most recently ended fiscal year.
However, growth in certified tax revenues, which is the result of
either increases in tax rates on income or retail sales or the
repeal of exemptions therefrom, may be excluded, in whole or in
part, from the computation immediately preceding for a period of
time not to exceed six calendar years from the calendar year in
which such tax rate increase or exemption repeal was effective.
Additional appropriations may be made at any time so long as the ten
percent limitation established herein is not exceeded. All interest
earned on the Fund shall be part thereof; however, if the Fund's
balance exceeds the limitation, the amount in excess of the
limitation shall be paid into the general fund after appropriation
by the General Assembly.
The General Assembly may
appropriate an amount for transfer from the Fund to compensate for
no more than one-half of the difference between the total general
fund revenues appropriated and a revised general fund revenue
forecast presented to the General Assembly prior to or during a
subsequent regular or special legislative session. However, no
transfer shall be made unless the general fund revenues appropriated
exceed such revised general fund revenue forecast by more than two
percent of certified tax revenues collected in the most recently
ended fiscal year. Furthermore, no appropriation or transfer from
such fund in any fiscal year shall exceed more than one-half of the
balance of the Revenue Stabilization Fund. The General Assembly may
enact such laws as may be necessary and appropriate to implement the
Fund. The amendment ratified November 3, 1992 and effective
January 1, 1993—Added the second, third, and fourth
paragraphs.
Section 9. State
debt.
No debt shall be contracted by or in behalf of the
Commonwealth except as provided herein.
(a) Debts to meet
emergencies and redeem previous debt obligations. The General
Assembly may (1) contract debts to suppress insurrection, repel
invasion, or defend the Commonwealth in time of war; (2) contract
debts, or may authorize the Governor to contract debts, to meet
casual deficits in the revenue or in anticipation of the collection
of revenues of the Commonwealth for the then current fiscal year
within the amount of authorized appropriations, provided that the
total of such indebtedness shall not exceed thirty per centum of an
amount equal to 1.15 times the average annual tax revenues of the
Commonwealth derived from taxes on income and retail sales, as
certified by the Auditor of Public Accounts, for the preceding
fiscal year and that each such debt shall mature within twelve
months from the date such debt is incurred; and (3) contract debts
to redeem a previous debt obligation of the Commonwealth.
The
full faith and credit of the Commonwealth shall be pledged to any
debt created under this subsection. The amount of such debt shall
not be included in the limitations on debt hereinafter established,
except that the amount of debt incurred pursuant to clause (3) above
shall be included in determining the limitation on the aggregate
amount of general obligation debt for capital projects permitted
elsewhere in this article unless the debt so incurred pursuant to
clause (3) above is secured by a pledge of net revenues from capital
projects of institutions or agencies administered solely by the
executive department of the Commonwealth or of institutions of
higher learning of the Commonwealth, which net revenues the Governor
shall certify are anticipated to be sufficient to pay the principal
of and interest on such debt and to provide such reserves as the law
authorizing the same may require, in which event the amount thereof
shall be included in determining the limitation on the aggregate
amount of debt contained in the provision of this article which
authorizes general obligation debt for certain revenue-producing
capital projects.
(b) General obligation debt for capital
projects and sinking fund. The General Assembly may, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members elected to each house,
authorize the creation of debt to which the full faith and credit of
the Commonwealth is pledged, for capital projects to be distinctly
specified in the law authorizing the same; provided that any such
law shall specify capital projects constituting a single purpose and
shall not take effect until it shall have been submitted to the
people at an election and a majority of those voting on the question
shall have approved such debt. No such debt shall be authorized by
the General Assembly if the amount thereof when added to amounts
approved by the people or authorized by the General Assembly and not
yet submitted to the people for approval, under this subsection
during the three fiscal years immediately preceding the
authorization by the General Assembly of such debt and the fiscal
year in which such debt is authorized shall exceed twenty-five per
centum of an amount equal to 1.15 times the average annual tax
revenues of the Commonwealth derived from taxes on income and retail
sales, as certified by the Auditor of Public Accounts, for the three
fiscal years immediately preceding the authorization of such debt by
the General Assembly. No debt shall be incurred under this
subsection if the amount thereof when added to the aggregate amount
of all outstanding debt to which the full faith and credit of the
Commonwealth is pledged other than that excluded from this
limitation by the provisions of this article authorizing the
contracting of debts to redeem a previous debt obligation of the
Commonwealth and for certain revenue-producing capital projects,
less any amounts set aside in sinking funds for the repayment of
such outstanding debt, shall exceed an amount equal to 1.15 times
the average annual tax revenues of the Commonwealth derived from
taxes on income and retail sales, as certified by the Auditor of
Public Accounts, for the three fiscal years immediately preceding
the incurring of such debt.
All debt incurred under this
subsection shall mature within a period not to exceed the estimated
useful life of the projects as stated in the authorizing law, which
statement shall be conclusive, or a period of thirty years,
whichever is shorter; and all debt incurred to redeem a previous
debt obligation of the Commonwealth, except that which is secured by
net revenues anticipated to be sufficient to pay the same and
provide reserves therefor, shall mature within a period not to
exceed thirty years. Such debt shall be amortized, by payment into a
sinking fund or otherwise, in annual installments of principal to
begin not later than one-tenth of the term of the bonds, and any
such sinking fund shall not be appropriated for any other purpose;
if such debt be for public road purposes, such payment shall be
first made from revenues segregated by law for the construction and
maintenance of State highways. No such installment shall exceed the
smallest previous installment by more than one hundred per centum.
If sufficient funds are not appropriated in the budget for any
fiscal year for the timely payment of the interest upon and
installments of principal of such debt, there shall be set apart by
direction of the Governor, from the first general fund revenues
received during such fiscal year and thereafter, a sum sufficient to
pay such interest and installments of principal.
(c) Debt for
certain revenue-producing capital projects. The General Assembly
may authorize the creation of debt secured by a pledge of net
revenues derived from rates, fees, or other charges and the full
faith and credit of the Commonwealth, and such debt shall not be
included in determining the limitation on general obligation debt
for capital projects as permitted elsewhere in this article,
provided that (1) the creation of such debt is authorized by the
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house
of the General Assembly; and (2) such debt is created for
specific revenue-producing capital projects (including the
enlargement or improvement thereof), which shall be distinctly
specified in the law authorizing the same, of institutions and
agencies administered solely by the executive department of the
Commonwealth or of institutions of higher learning of the
Commonwealth. Before any such debt shall be authorized by the
General Assembly, and again before it shall be incurred, the
Governor shall certify in writing, filed with the Auditor of Public
Accounts, his opinion, based upon responsible engineering and
economic estimates, that the anticipated net revenues to be pledged
to the payment of principal of and interest on such debt will be
sufficient to meet such payments as the same become due and to
provide such reserves as the law authorizing such debt may require,
and that the projects otherwise comply with the requirements of this
subsection, which certifications shall be conclusive. No debt
shall be incurred under this subsection if the amount thereof when
added to the aggregate amount of all outstanding debt authorized by
this subsection and the amount of all outstanding debt incurred to
redeem a previous debt obligation of the Commonwealth which is to be
included in the limitation of this subsection by virtue of the
provisions of this article authorizing the contracting of debts to
redeem a previous debt obligation of the Commonwealth, less any
amounts set aside in sinking funds for the payment of such debt,
shall exceed an amount equal to 1.15 times the average annual tax
revenues of the Commonwealth derived from taxes on income and retail
sales, as certified by the Auditor of Public Accounts, for the three
fiscal years immediately preceding the incurring of such
debt. This subsection shall not be construed to pledge the full
faith and credit of the Commonwealth to the payment of any
obligation of the Commonwealth, or any institution, agency, or
authority thereof, or to any refinancing or reissuance of such
obligation which was incurred prior to the effective date of this
subsection. (d) Obligations to which section not
applicable. The restrictions of this section shall not apply to
any obligation incurred by the Commonwealth or any institution,
agency, or authority thereof if the full faith and credit of the
Commonwealth is not pledged or committed to the payment of such
obligation.
Section 10. Lending of
credit, stock subscriptions, and works of internal
improvement.
Neither the credit of the Commonwealth nor
of any county, city, town, or regional government shall be directly
or indirectly, under any device or pretense whatsoever, granted to
or in aid of any person, association, or corporation; nor shall the
Commonwealth or any such unit of government subscribe to or become
interested in the stock or obligations of any company, association,
or corporation for the purpose of aiding in the construction or
maintenance of its work; nor shall the Commonwealth become a party
to or become interested in any work of internal improvement, except
public roads and public parks, or engage in carrying on any such
work; nor shall the Commonwealth assume any indebtedness of any
county, city, town, or regional government, nor lend its credit to
the same. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the
General Assembly from establishing an authority with power to insure
and guarantee loans to finance industrial development and industrial
expansion and from making appropriations to such
authority.
The General Assembly shall
maintain a retirement system for state employees and employees of
participating political subdivisions and school divisions. The funds
of the retirement system shall be deemed separate and independent
trust funds, shall be segregated from all other funds of the
Commonwealth, and shall be invested and administered solely in the
interests of the members and beneficiaries thereof. Neither the
General Assembly nor any public officer, employee, or agency shall
use or authorize the use of such trust funds for any purpose other
than as provided in law for benefits, refunds, and administrative
expenses, including but not limited to legislative oversight of the
retirement system. Such trust funds shall be invested as authorized
by law. Retirement system benefits shall be funded using methods
which are consistent with generally accepted actuarial principles.
The retirement system shall be subject to restrictions, terms, and
conditions as may be prescribed by the General Assembly.
The
amendment ratified November 5, 1996 and effective January 1, 1997—In
the heading of the section, substituted "employees" for "employee"
and deleted "fund" after "retirement system". In the text,
substituted "retirement system for state employees and employees of
participating political subdivisions and school divisions" for
"state employees retirement system to be administered in the best
interest of the beneficiaries thereof and subject to such
restrictions or conditions as may be prescribed by the General
Assembly" and added the remainder of the paragraph.
ARTICLE
XI
Conservation
Section 1.
Natural resources and historical sites of the
Commonwealth.
To the end that the people have clean air,
pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate
public lands, waters, and other natural resources, it shall be the
policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and utilize its
natural resources, its public lands, and its historical sites and
buildings. Further, it shall be the Commonwealth's policy to protect
its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or
destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the
people of the Commonwealth.
Section 2.
Conservation and development of natural resources and historical
sites.
In the furtherance of such policy, the General
Assembly may undertake the conservation, development, or utilization
of lands or natural resources of the Commonwealth, the acquisition
and protection of historical sites and buildings, and the protection
of its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or
destruction, by agencies of the Commonwealth or by the creation of
public authorities, or by leases or other contracts with agencies of
the United States, with other states, with units of government in
the Commonwealth, or with private persons or corporations.
Notwithstanding the time limitations of the provisions of Article X,
Section 7, of this Constitution, the Commonwealth may participate
for any period of years in the cost of projects which shall be the
subject of a joint undertaking between the Commonwealth and any
agency of the United States or of other states.
Section 3. Natural oyster beds.
The natural
oyster beds, rocks, and shoals in the waters of the Commonwealth
shall not be leased, rented, or sold but shall be held in trust for
the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth, subject to such
regulations and restriction as the General Assembly may prescribe,
but the General Assembly may, from time to time, define and
determine such natural beds, rocks, or shoals by surveys or
otherwise.
Section 4. Right of the
people to hunt, fish, and harvest game.
The people have a
right to hunt, fish, and harvest game, subject to such regulations
and restrictions as the General Assembly may prescribe by general
law. The amendment ratified November 7, 2000 and effective
January 1, 2001—Added a new section (4).
ARTICLE XII
Future
Changes
Section 1.
Amendments.
Any amendment or amendments to this
Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Delegates,
and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members
elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or
amendments shall be entered on their journals, the name of each
member and how he voted to be recorded, and referred to the General
Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general
election of members of the House of Delegates. If at such regular
session or any subsequent special session of that General Assembly
the proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a
majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be
the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment
or amendments to the voters qualified to vote in elections by the
people, in such manner as it shall prescribe and not sooner than
ninety days after final passage by the General Assembly. If a
majority of those voting vote in favor of any amendment, it shall
become part of the Constitution on the date prescribed by the
General Assembly in submitting the amendment to the
voters.
Section 2.
Constitutional convention.
The General Assembly may, by a
vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, call a
convention to propose a general revision of, or specific amendments
to, this Constitution, as the General Assembly in its call may
stipulate.
The General Assembly shall provide by law for the
election of delegates to such a convention, and shall also provide
for the submission, in such manner as it shall prescribe and not
sooner than ninety days after final adjournment of the convention,
of the proposals of the convention to the voters qualified to vote
in elections by the people. If a majority of those voting vote in
favor of any proposal, it shall become effective on the date
prescribed by the General Assembly in providing for the submission
of the convention proposals to the
voters.
SCHEDULE
Section 1.
Effective date of revised Constitution.
This revised
Constitution shall, except as is otherwise provided herein, go into
effect at noon on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and
seventy-one.
Section 2. Officers and
elections.
Unless otherwise provided herein or by law,
nothing in this revised Constitution shall affect the oath, tenure,
term, status, or compensation of any person holding any public
office, position, or employment in the Commonwealth, nor affect the
date of filling any State or local office, elective or appointive,
which shall be filled on the date on which it would otherwise have
been filled.
Section 3. Laws, proceedings,
and obligations unaffected.
The common and statute law in
force at the time this revised Constitution goes into effect, so far
as not in conflict therewith, shall remain in force until they
expire by their own limitation or are altered or repealed by the
General Assembly. Unless otherwise provided herein or by law, the
adoption of this revised Constitution shall have no effect on
pending judicial proceedings or judgments, on any obligations owing
to or by the Commonwealth or any of its officers, agencies, or
political subdivisions, or on any private obligations or
rights.
Section 4. Qualifications of
judges.
The requirement of Article VI, Section 7, that
justices of the Supreme Court and judges of courts of record shall,
at least five years prior to their election or appointment, have
been members of the bar of the Commonwealth, shall not preclude
justices or judges who were elected or appointed prior to the
effective date of this revised Constitution, and who are otherwise
qualified, from completing the term for which they were elected or
appointed and from being reelected for one additional
term.
Section 5. First session of General
Assembly following adoption of revised Constitution.
The
General Assembly shall convene at the Capitol at noon on the first
Wednesday in January, nineteen hundred and seventy-one. It shall
enact such laws as may be deemed proper, including those necessary
to implement this revised Constitution. The General Assembly shall
reapportion the Commonwealth into electoral districts in accordance
with Article II, Section 6, of this Constitution. The General
Assembly shall be vested with all the powers, charged with all the
duties, and subject to all the limitations prescribed by this
Constitution except that this session shall continue as long as may
be necessary; that the salary and allowances of members shall not be
limited by Section 46 of the Constitution of 1902 as amended and
that effective date limitation of Section 53 of the Constitution of
1902 as amended shall not be
operative.
