Oregon Constitution
| Oregon Constitution |
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| Articles |
| Preamble • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • X-A • XI • XI-A • |
The Oregon Constitution is the state constitution of Oregon.
- The current and first Oregon Constitution was ratified on November 9, 1857, and went into effect when Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859.[1]
- The current state constitution has 18 articles.
- The current constitution has been amended 259 times.[2]
- Voters last approved a new amendment to the Oregon Constitution on November 8, 2022, when voters approved three constitutional amendments.
The Oregon Constitution can be amended with a legislative, citizen-initiated, or covention-referred constitutional amendment, all of which require voter approval.
A state constitution is the fundamental document that outlines a state's framework for governance, including the powers, structure, and limitations of the state government, individual and civil rights, and other matters.
Background
Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. The state has had one constitution from statehood. The constitutional convention was held in 1857 and had 60 delegates. The constitution was approved by a vote of 7,195 to 3,195.[3][4]
The Oregon Constitution was not amended until 1902 when voters approved Measure 1 to establish an initiative and referendum process. It was approved with 91.63% of the vote. Oregon was the third state behind South Dakota (1898) and Utah (1900) to adopt the initiative and referendum process.
Preamble
The preamble to the Oregon Constitution states:
Article I: Bill of Rights
- See also: Article I, Oregon Constitution
Article I of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Bill of Rights" and consists of 46 sections, five of which have been repealed.
Click here to read this article of the Oregon Constitution.
Article II: Suffrage and Elections
- See also: Article II, Oregon Constitution
Article II of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Suffrage and Elections" and consists of 24 sections, four of which have been repealed.
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Article III: Distribution of Powers
- See also: Article III, Oregon Constitution
Article III of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Distribution of Powers" and consists of four sections.
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Article IV: Legislative Branch
- See also: Article IV, Oregon Constitution
Article IV of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Legislative Branch" and consists of 33 sections, one of which has been repealed.
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Article V: Executive Branch
- See also: Article V, Oregon Constitution
Article V of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Executive Branch" and consists of 18 sections.
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Article VI: Administrative Department
- See also: Article VI, Oregon Constitution
Article VI of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Administrative Department" and consists of ten sections.
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Article VII: Judicial Branch
- See also: Article VII, Oregon Constitution
Article VII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Judicial Branch" and consists of nine sections.
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Article VIII: Education and School Lands
- See also: Article VIII, Oregon Constitution
Article VIII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Education and School Lands" and consists of eight sections, one of which has been repealed.
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Article IX: Finance
- See also: Article IX, Oregon Constitution
Article IX of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Finance" and consists of 15 sections.
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Article X: The Militia
- See also: Article X, Oregon Constitution
Article X of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "The Militia" and consists of three sections.
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Article X-A: Catastrophic Disasters
- See also: Article X-A, Oregon Constitution
Article X-A of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Catastrophic Disasters" and consists of six sections.
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Article XI: Corporations and Internal Improvements
- See also: Article XI, Oregon Constitution
Article XI of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Corporations and Internal Improvements" and consists of 15 sections.
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Article XI-A: Farm and Home Loans to Veterans
- See also: Article XI-A, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-A of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Farm and Home Loans to Veterans" and consists of six sections.
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Article XI-B: State Payment of Irrigation and Drainage District Interest
- See also: Article XI-B, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-B of the Oregon Constitution was entitled "State Payment of Irrigation and Drainage District Interest," and was repealed.
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Article XI-C: World War Veterans' State Aid Sinking Fund
- See also: Article XI-C, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-C of the Oregon Constitution was entitled "World War Veterans' State Aid Sinking Fund," and was repealed.
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Article XI-D: State Power Development
- See also: Article XI-D, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-D of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "State Power Development" and consists of four sections.
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Article XI-E: State Reforestation
- See also: Article XI-E, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-E of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "State Reforestation" and contains one section.
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Article XI-F(1): Higher Education Building Projects
- See also: Article XI-F(1), Oregon Constitution
Article XI-F(1) is entitled Higher Education Building Projects and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-F(2): Veterans' Bonus
- See also: Article XI-F(2), Oregon Constitution
Article XI-F(2) of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Veterans' Bonus" and consists of ten sections.
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Article XI-G: Higher Education Institutions and Activities; Community Colleges
- See also: Article XI-G, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-G of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Higher Education Institutions and Activities; Community Colleges" and consists of three sections.
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Article XI-H: Pollution Control
- See also: Article XI-H, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-H of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Pollution Control" and consists of six sections.
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Article XI-I(1): Water Development Projects
- See also: Article XI-I(1), Oregon Constitution
Article XI-I(1) of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Water Development Projects" and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-I(2): Multifamily Housing for Elderly and Disabled
- See also: Article XI-I(2), Oregon Constitution
Article XI-I(2) of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Multifamily Housing for Elderly and Disabled" and consists of four sections.
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Article XI-J: Small Scale Local Energy Loans
- See also: Article XI-J, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-J of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Small Scale Local Energy Loans" and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-K: Guarantee of Bonded Indebtedness of Education Districts
- See also: Article XI-K, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-K of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Guarantee of Bonded Indebtedness of Education Districts" and consists of six sections.
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Article XI-L: Oregon Health and Science University
- See also: Article XI-L, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-L of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Oregon Health and Science University" and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-M: Seismic Rehabilitation of Public Education Buildings
- See also: Article XI-M, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-M of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Seismic Rehabilitation of Public Education Buildings" and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-N: Seismic Rehabilitation of Emergency Services Buildings
- See also: Article XI-N, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-N of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Seismic Rehabilitation of Emergency Services Buildings" and consists of five sections.
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Article XI-O: Pension Liabilities
- See also: Article XI-O, Oregon Constitution
Article XI-O of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Pension Liabilities" and consists of four sections.
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Article XI-P: School District Capital Costs
- See also: Article XI-P, Oregon Constitution
This article of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "School District Capital Costs" and consists of seven sections.
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Article XI-Q: Real or Personal Owned or Operated by State
- See also: Article XI-Q, Oregon Constitution
This article is entitled "Real or Personal Owned or Operated by State" and consists of four sections.
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Article XII: State Printing
- See also: Article XII, Oregon Constitution
Article XII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "State Printing" and consists of one section.
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Article XIII: Salaries
- See also: Article XIII, Oregon Constitution
Article XIII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Salaries" and consists of one section, which was repealed.
Repealed in 1956.
Article XIV: Seat of Government
- See also: Article XIV, Oregon Constitution
Article XIV of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Seat of Government" and consists of two sections.
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Article XV: Miscellaneous
- See also: Article XV, Oregon Constitution
Article XV of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Miscellaneous" and consists of eleven sections.
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Article XVI: Boundaries
- See also: Article XVI, Oregon Constitution
Article XVI of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Boundaries" and consists of one section.
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Article XVII: Amendments and Revisions
- See also: Article XVII, Oregon Constitution
Article XVII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Amendments and Revisions" and consists of two sections.
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Article XVIII: Schedule
- See also: Article XVIII, Oregon Constitution
Article XVIII of the Oregon Constitution is entitled "Schedule" and consists of eleven sections.
Click here to read this article of the Oregon Constitution.
Amending the constitution
The Oregon Constitution lays out four different paths, in two different articles, for how to go about changing the state's constitution.
- The constitutional revision process is established in Section 2 of Article XVII.
- Section 1, Article IV, says that the people of the state can use an initiated constitutional amendment to put an amendment before voters.
- An initiated amendment must be proposed "by a petition signed by a number of qualified voters equal to eight percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the election at which a Governor was elected for a term of four years next preceding the filing of the petition."
- The petition must include the full text of the proposed amendment.
- The signatures must be filed "not less than four months before the election at which the proposed...amendment to the Constitution is to be voted upon."
- Article IV contains several restrictions on the initiative process such as Section 1b, which prohibits pay-per-signature.
- Section 1 of Article XVIII creates the procedures by which the Oregon State Legislature can use a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to put an amendment before voters.
- Amendments can be proposed in either house of the state legislature.
- To earn a spot on the ballot, a "majority of all the members elected to each of the two houses" must vote in favor of a proposed amendment.
- The Legislature can put any such referred amendments on a special election ballot.
- If more than one amendment is proposed by the legislature, they must be voted on separately.
- Section 1 of Article XVIII also states that a constitutional convention can only be held if "the law providing for such convention shall first be approved by the people on a referendum vote at a regular general election."
- The constitution does not define how such a referendum is to be put before voters.
- Possible ways might include a citizen-initiated question or a vote of the legislature.
See also
- State constitution
- Constitutional article
- Constitutional amendment
- Constitutional revision
- Constitutional convention
- Amendments
External links
- Oregon State Legislature, "Constitution of Oregon"
- State of Oregon Blue Book, "Constitution of Oregon: 2011 Version"
Footnotes
- ↑ Oregon Legislature, "Oregon Constitution," accessed April 24, 2015
- ↑ According to the Oregon State Bar, the state constitution had been amended 240 times through 2009. Since 2010, voters approved an additional 19 amendments.
- ↑ Oregon History Project, "Draft of Oregon State Constitution," accessed December 26, 2023
- ↑ Oregon State Legislature, "Oregon Constitution," accessed December 26, 2023
- ↑ Oregon State Legislature, "Constitution of Oregon," accessed March 30, 2014
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