Constitution of Michigan

The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government.

There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The first was approved in October 5th and 6th 1835, written as Michigan was preparing to become a state of the Union, which occurred in January 1837. Subsequent constitutions were ratified in 1850 and 1908. The current constitution was approved by voters in 1963.

Article I: Declaration of Rights

Many provisions of Article I of the Michigan Constitution appear to be taken from the United States Bill of Rights, with some sections being verbatim ones found there.

Article one of the Michigan Constitution is analogous to the United States Bill of Rights and consists of 27 sections, though originally consisting of only 23 sections when the current constitution was adopted in 1963. It is similar to the declaration of rights in many other state constitutions and mirrors many of the provisions found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Section one spells out how “All political power is inherent in the people.” Section two establishes the rule of law, equality before the law, and principles of non-discrimination. Section three describes the rights of assembly, consultation, instruction, and petition; the rights of association and protest can also be derived from this section. Section four establishes the freedom of religion by saying, “Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.” It also establishes a clear separation of church and state. Section five protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. Section six consists of the right to bear arms.

Section seven provides that the military power is subordinate to the civil power and section eight provides protection against the quartering of soldiers on private property and the undue intrusion of agents of the state. Section nine prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, but specifically allows for criminal punishments that amount to community service. Section ten says, “No bill of attainder, ex post facto law or law impairing the obligation of contract shall be enacted.”

Section eleven protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and creates the necessity for law enforcement to obtain warrants to conduct either one. Part of section eleven was struck down numerous times in court as being in violation of the United States Constitution (Lucas v. People, Caver v. Kropp,, People v. Pennington, and People v. Andrews), that part reads, “The provisions of this section shall not be construed to bar from evidence in any criminal proceeding any narcotic drug, firearm, bomb, explosive or any other dangerous weapon, seized by a peace officer outside the curtilage of any dwelling house in this state.” Section twelve protects the writ of habeas corpus, while section thirteen provides “A suitor in any court of this state has the right to prosecute or defend his suit, either in his own proper person or by an attorney.” It could be interpreted as the right of access to the courts.

Section fourteen preserve the right to trial by jury, in both civil (for those with remedies at law; juries for equitable remedies require a special process) and criminal cases. Section fifteen prohibits double jeopardy, provides that “All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties”, but goes on to list the limited instances where bail can be denied and the remedies for those who were denied bail. Section sixteen protects against excessive punishments, including cruel or unusual punishment, excessive bail, and excessive fines. It also prohibits the unreasonable detention of witnesses. Section seventeen protects a person against forced self-incrimination and provides for fair treatment during investigations and hearings. Section eighteen prohibits witnesses from being dismissed because of religious beliefs. Section nineteen provides the right to truth as a defense against defamation accusations. Section twenty provides for the rights of the accused during criminal proceedings. Section twenty-one prohibits imprisonment for debt, and section twenty-two provides for the definition of treason and the requirements to convict someone of it. Section twenty-three proclaims “The enumeration in this constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Section twenty-four provides for the rights of crime victims and was adopted by initiative in 1988. Section twenty-five was adopted by initiative in 2004 and defines marriage as between one man and one woman, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage and polygamy. Section twenty-six prohibits affirmative action programs and calls for the equal treatment of all candidates for public education, employment, and contracts; it was adopted in 2006 by initiative. Section twenty-seven provides for human embryonic stem cell research in the state; it was adopted by initiative in 2008.

Article II: Elections

U.S. Senator from Michigan, Carl Levin, is an example of someone who benefited from the Supreme Court's ruling overturning state-imposed term limits on Members of Congress like those found in Article II of the Michigan Constitution. He has served in the Senate since 1979.

Article two establishes the basic rules, procedures, and guidelines for elections in the State of Michigan. It provides that all citizens of the United States who are at least 21 years of age (though the 26th amendment to the United States Constitution lowers this to 18 years), have resided in the state at least six months, and who meets the requirements of local residence shall be entitled to vote. It also empowers the legislature to exclude people from voting because of mental incompetence (though in Doe v. Rowe, the Supreme Court of the United States found it to be unconstitutional to deny a person the right to vote solely because of the existence of a mental illness) or commitment to a jail or prison. It also allows the legislature to lessen these requirements for presidential elections.

The article also establishes the time, place, and manner of elections, in addition to the necessity of a vote of the resident electors for increases in property taxes above certain thresholds on the county and municipal level as well as for the issuing of municipal and county bonds. Article two establishes a state board of canvassers and primary elections. It prohibits ballot designations of candidates, except in cases of similar surnames. It also instructs the legislature to “enact laws to preserve the purity of elections, to preserve the secrecy of the ballot, to guard against abuses of the elective franchise, and to provide for a system of voter registration and absentee voting.”

Article two provides for limited direct democracy through the initiative, referendum, and recall, establishing a process for all three. All three are invoked by petitions followed up by ballot votes.

Article two also attempts to restrict the number of terms United States Senators and Representatives from the State of Michigan can serve. For senators, its twice within any given twenty-four year period (no more than two-consecutive terms without a break of two terms), while for representatives its three times during any given twelve year period (no more than three consecutive terms without a break of three terms). Such term limits were adopted in 1992 by ballot initiative but were ruled to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

Article III: General Government

The seal of the State of Michigan as provided for in Section 3 of Article 3

Article three outlines some of the basics of the Michigan government, including that the state capital is Lansing and that within the government there shall be a separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It also establishes a great seal and a militia, providing that law will regulate both. The article also allows the state and its subdivisions to enter into agreements with other governments, including other states, the United States, and Canada, and any subdivisions therein.

Section six limits internal improvements. Section seven of the article continues the common law and statutes already in effect at the time it takes force which do not conflict with the constitution itself. Section eight says that “Either house of the legislature or the governor may request the opinion of the supreme court on important questions of law upon solemn occasions as to the constitutionality of legislation after it has been enacted into law but before its effective date.”

Article IV: Legislative Branch

The floor of the Michigan House of Representatives

Article four has fifty four sections, originally having only fifty three sections before the addition of term limits for members of the State Legislature.

Section one vests the legislative powers of the state in a house of representatives and a senate. It continues by stating that the number of senators is to be 38 and their terms are to be for four years. It describes the process to create senatorial districts and apportionment factors and rules. It then fixes the number of representatives at 110 and their terms for periods of two years.

It continues by describing the apportionment rules and factors for representative districts, including the method, the process to form areas for districts, the annexation or merger with a city for apportionment purposes, the contiguity of islands. The article also describes the composition of and empowers the commission which draws state legislative districts, including eligibility for membership on the commission, terms, the filling of vacancies, officers, compensation, public hearings, and public records. It also handles disagreement by the commission as to which plan is the best or most appropriate, which is settled by the Supreme Court. The same section also empowers any elector to challenge the lines drawn by the commission in the Supreme Court an any basis of bias or discrimination or otherwise not meeting the standards set forth in the constitution.

Section seven sets forth the qualifications of senators and representatives: "Each senator and representative must be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, and an elector of the district he represents. The removal of his domicile from the district shall be deemed a vacation of the office. No person who has been convicted of subversion or who has within the preceding 20 years been convicted of a felony involving a breach of public trust shall be eligible for either house of the legislature."

Sections eight and nine describe the ineligibility of legislators to be federal, state, or local employees or officials, but allows them to be in the armed forces reserves and or a notary public. Section ten prohibits conflicts of interest in state, county, and municipal contracts for legislators and other state employees. Section eleven describes the privileges of members of the legislature, all of which are similar to those of Members of Congress. Section twelve establishes the state compensation commission and allows the legislature to override it only be active action.

Sections thirteen and fourteen deal with specific procedural issues of the legislature, including quorums, convening, adjournment, and related topics.

Article V: Executive Branch

Article V has a total of 30 sections which pertain, among other things, to executive powers, departments, the governorship, the succession of the governorship, salaries, and term limits of officers.

Section 1 states that "executive power is vested in the governor."

Article VII: Local Government

Article VII provides for local units of government, particularly counties, townships, cities, and villages.

Counties are to be governed by an elected board of commissioners, as well as a popularly elected sheriff, clerk, treasurer, register of deeds, and prosecuting attorney. State law also provides for an optional form of county government which includes a popularly elected county executive. Currently, only Oakland and Bay Counties are governed in this fashion. Counties are also granted the authority to adopt a charter, subject to a vote of the people. Currently, only Wayne and Macomb Counties have adopted county charters.

Article VIII: Education

Article VIII provides for a system of public education in the state, stating that "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

The Legislature is charged with the maintenance of the state's public schools and assigns supervision of education in the state to a popularly elected State Board of Education; the State Board, in turn, selects a state superintendent of public instruction who is the principal officer of the Michigan Department of Education.

Michigan's 15 public universities are each governed by a board, which is either elected (in the cases of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the University of Michigan Board of Regents, and Wayne State University Board of Governors) or appointed by the governor (in the cases of the other 12 universities' boards of control or trustees). Each board selects the university's president.

The Legislature also establishes and supports public community and junior colleges and public libraries.

Article XII: Amendment and Revision

Article XII establishes the rules by which the constitution can be amended. Several methods can be employed to propose and ratify amendments. Section 1 allows amendment by proposal of the legislature, and ratification by popular vote. Section 2, however, allows the electorate to propose amendments by petition, and ratification by popular vote.

Section 3 establishes the precedent that, starting with 1978 and every 16th year thereafter, the electors of the state will be asked whether the constitution shall be revised. If a majority of the popular vote finds this to be the case, there will be a constitutional convention.

External links

• Constitution of 1835
• Constitution of 1850
• Constitution of 1908
• Constitution of 1963
• Constitution of 1963 (PDF format)