The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the

government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...

. California's original constitution was drafted in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

American pioneer American pioneers were European American and African American settlers who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or used by Nati ...

s, European settlers, and

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sin ...

s (

Hispanics The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

) and adopted at the 1849 Constitutional Convention of Monterey, following the American

Conquest of California The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California (modern-day California), t ...

and the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

and in advance of California's

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in 1850. The constitution was amended and ratified on 7 May 1879, following the Sacramento Convention of 1878-79. The Constitution of California is one of the longest collections of laws in the world, partially due to provisions enacted during the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

limiting powers of elected officials, but largely due to additions by

California ballot proposition In California, a ballot proposition is a referendum or an initiative measure that is submitted to the electorate for a direct decision or direct vote (or plebiscite). If passed, it can alter one or more of the articles of the Constitution of ...

and voter initiatives, which take form as constitutional amendments. Constitutional amendments may be proposed by the California Legislature or by popular

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through the exercise of the initiative power by the voters, giving California one of the most flexible legal systems in the world. It is currently the eighth longest constitution in the world. Many of the individual rights clauses in the state constitution have been construed as protecting rights even broader than the

United States Bill of Rights The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections ra ...

in the Federal Constitution. An example is the case of '' Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins'', in which "free speech" rights beyond those addressed by the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

were found in the California Constitution by the California courts. One of California's most significant prohibitions is against "cruel ''or'' unusual punishment," a stronger prohibition than the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition against "cruel ''and'' unusual punishment."

History

The constitution has undergone numerous changes since its original drafting. It was rewritten from scratch several times before the drafting of the current 1879 constitution, which has itself been amended or revised (see

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). In response to widespread public disgust with the powerful railroads that controlled California's politics and economy at the start of the 20th century,

politicians pioneered the concept of aggressively amending the state constitution by initiative in order to remedy perceived evils. From 1911, the height of the U.S. Progressive Era, to 1986, the California Constitution was amended or revised over 500 times. The constitution gradually became increasingly bloated, leading to abortive efforts towards a third constitutional convention in 1897, 1914, 1919, 1930, 1934 and 1947. By 1962, the constitution had grown to 75,000 words, which at that time was longer than any other state constitution but Louisiana's. That year, the electorate approved the creation of a California Constitution Revision Commission, which worked on a comprehensive revision of the constitution from 1964 to 1976. The electorate ratified the commission's revisions in 1966, 1970, 1972, and 1974, but rejected the 1968 revision, whose primary substantive effect would have been to make the state's superintendent of schools into an appointed rather than an elected official. The Commission ultimately removed about 40,000 words from the constitution.

Provisions

The California Constitution is one of the longest in the world. The length has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as influence of previous Mexican civil law, lack of faith in

elected official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

s and the fact that many

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

s take the form of a constitutional amendment. Several amendments involved the authorization of the creation of state government agencies, including the State Compensation Insurance Fund and the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

; the purpose of such amendments was to insulate the agencies from being attacked as an unconstitutionally broad exercise of police power or inherent judicial power. Unlike other state constitutions, the California Constitution strongly protects the corporate existence of cities and counties and grants them broad plenary home rule powers. The constitution gives charter cities, in particular, supreme authority over municipal affairs, even allowing such cities' local laws to trump state law. By specifically enabling cities to pay counties to perform governmental functions for them, Section 8 of Article XI resulted in the rise of the

contract city Contract city is a term used in some U.S. states for a city that contracts for the provision of one or more municipal services with another unit of government or with a private or commercial organization. Lakewood Lakewood, California was inco ...

. Article 4, section 8(d) defines an "urgency statute" as one "necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety"; any proposed bill including such a provision includes a "statement of facts constituting the necessity" and a two-thirds majority of each house is required to also separately pass the bill's urgency section. Many of the individual rights clauses in the state constitution have been construed as protecting rights broader than the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

in the federal constitution. Two examples include (1) the '' Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins'' case involving an implied right to

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

in private

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s, and (2) the first decision in America in 1972 which found the death penalty unconstitutional, '' California v. Anderson'', 6 Cal. 3d 628. This noted that under California's state constitution a stronger protection applies than under the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment; the former prohibits punishments that are "cruel or unusual", while the latter only prohibits punishments that are "cruel and unusual". The constitution also confers upon women equality of rights in "entering or pursuing a business, profession, vocation, or employment." This is the earliest state constitutional equal rights provision on record. Two universities are expressly mentioned in the constitution: the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

state-run

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

and the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

. UC is one of only nine state-run public universities in the United States whose independence from political interference is expressly guaranteed by the state constitution. Since 1900, Stanford has enjoyed the benefit of a constitutional clause shielding Stanford-owned property from taxes as long as it is used for educational purposes.

Amendments and revisions

The California Constitution distinguishes between constitutional

amendments An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

and constitutional revisions, the latter of which is considered to be a "substantial change to the entire constitution, rather than ... a less extensive change in one or more of its provisions". Both require passage of a

by the voters, but they differ in how they may be proposed. A constitutional amendment may be placed on the ballot by either a two-thirds vote in the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

or by signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...

through the exercise of the initiative power by the voters. The signature requirement for constitutional amendments is among the lowest thresholds for similar measures of any

. , this was 997,139 signatures compared to an estimated 2018 population of 39,557,045. A constitutional revision originally required a constitutional convention but today may be passed with the approval of both two-thirds of the Legislature and approval by a majority of voters; while simplified since its beginnings, the revision process is considered more politically charged and difficult to successfully pass than an amendment. Voters exercising the initiative power are not permitted to propose a constitutional revision.

Signatories of the 1849 Constitution

California Constitution (1849) signature page

Many of the signatories to the state's original 1849 constitution were themselves prominent in their own right, and are listed below. The list notably includes several

Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...

(California-born, Spanish-speaking residents). *Representing the District of Los Angeles :*

José Antonio Carrillo Captain José Antonio Ezequiel Carrillo (1796–1862) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and signer of the Californian Constitution in 1849. He served three terms as Alcalde of Los Angeles (mayor). History A member of the prominent Carrill ...

:* Manuel Domínguez :* Stephen Clark Foster :* Hugo Reid :* Abel Stearns *Representing the District of Monterey :* Charles T. Botts :*

Lewis Dent Lewis T. Dent (also known as Louis Dent, March 3, 1823 – March 22, 1874) was an American explorer, judge, and politician. He was the brother-in-law of Ulysses S. Grant. Dent was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823, the son of Frederick Dent an ...

:* Thomas O. Larkin :* Pacificus Ord :*

Henry Wager Halleck Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...

*Representing the District of Sacramento :* Elisha Oscar Crosby :* Lansford Hastings :* Morton Matthew McCarver :* John McDougall :* William E. Shannon :* Winfield S. Sherwood :* Jacob R. Snyder :*

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

*Representing the District of San Diego :* Miguel de Pedrorena :*

Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...

*Representing the District of San Francisco :* Alfred James Ellis :* Edward Gilbert :*

William M. Gwin William McKendree Gwin (October 9, 1805 – September 3, 1885) was an American medical doctor and politician who served in elected office in Mississippi and California. In California he shared the distinction, along with John C. Frémont, of bein ...

:* Josephn Hobson :*

Francis J. Lippitt Francis James Lippitt (July 19, 1812–September 27, 1902) was an American lawyer and veteran of the Mexican–American War, the Bald Hills War and the American Civil War. For the later he was made a brevet brigadier general. Early life Lippitt ...

:* Myron Norton :* William Morris Stewart :* Rodman M. Price *Representing the District of San Joaquin :* John McHenry Hollingsworth :*

James McHall Jones James McHall Jones (December 31, 1823 – December 15, 1851) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Education and career Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, Jones read law to ...

:* Benjamin S. Lippincott :* Benjamin F. Moore :* Thomas L. Vermeule :* Oliver Wozencraft *Representing the District of San Luis Obispo :* José María Covarrubias :* Henry A. Tefft *Representing the District of Santa Barbara :* Pablo de la Guerra :* Jacinto Rodríguez *Representing the District of San José :* Joseph Aram :* Elam Brown :* Kimball Hale Dimmick :* Julian Hanks :* Jacob David Hoppe :* Antonio María Pico :* Pedro Sainsevain *Representing the District of Sonoma :*

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don (honorific), Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californios, Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of ...

Robert B. Semple Doctor Robert Baylor Semple (1806–1854) was a 19th-century California newspaperman and politician. Biography A newspaperman in Kentucky, he came west over the California Trail with Lansford Hastings in 1845, before the gold rush. During the 1846 ...

:* Joel P. Walker

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Official current text of the California Constitution

Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1849
California State Archives * 1849 California Constitution
full original English text
California State Archives * 1849 California Constitution (

:''Constitución del Estado de California'')
full original Spanish text
California State Archives * 1879 California Constitution
original unamended full text
California State Archives
1878–1879 Constitutional Convention Working Papers
California State Archives {{Constitutions of the United States

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Amendments to the Constitution of California California ballot propositions 1849 in California 1879 in California 1849 in law 1879 in law 1849 establishments in California 1879 establishments in California Pre-statehood history of California History of California