Virginia Constitution

Virginia Constitution
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • Schedule

The Virginia Constitution is the fundamental governing document of the state of Virginia.

• The current Virginia Constitution was adopted in 1971.
• Virginia has had six state constitutions.
• The current state constitution has 12 articles and a schedule.
• The current Virginia Constitution has been amended 14 times since 2006.
• Voters last approved two constitutional amendments to the Virginia Constitution on November 3, 2020.

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

In conjunction with the Declaration of Independence by the original thirteen states, Virginia enacted it's first constitution in 1776. There have been six major overhauls of the constitution, (in 1830, 1851, 1864, 1870, 1902 and the one currently in effect, in 1971) as well as frequent amendments.

Article I: Bill of Rights

See also: Article I, Virginia Constitution

Article I of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Bill of Rights" and consists of a preamble followed by 17 sections. It contains the entire original Declaration of Rights from the 1776 Constitution. However, several of the sections have been expanded to incorporate concepts from the United States Bill of Rights, including the right to due process, the prohibition against double jeopardy and the right to bear arms.

Click here to read this article of the Virginia Constitution.

Article II: Franchise and Officers

See also: Article II, Virginia Constitution

Article II of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Franchise and Officers" and consists of nine sections. It establishes the procedures and mechanisms for voting and holding office.

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Article III: Division of Powers

See also: Article III, Virginia Constitution

Article III of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Division of Powers" and consists of one section. It confirms the principle of separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

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Article IV: Legislature

See also: Article IV, Virginia Constitution

Article IV of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Legislature" and consists of 18 sections. It establishes the basic structure and authority of the Virginia General Assembly. The legislative power of the state is vested in the Virginia General Assembly, which consists of the Virginia State Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates.

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Article V: Executive

See also: Article V, Virginia Constitution

Article V of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Executive" and consists of 17 sections. It defines the structure and powers of the executive branch. The Governor of Virginia is invested as the chief executive, though Section 1 of Article V, provides that the Governor may not run for successive terms. The offices of Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General are established as supporting elected constitutional positions.

The constitutional powers of the Governor include the ability to sign legislation, veto bills (which may then be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses of the assembly) and issue pardons.

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Article VI: Judiciary

See also: Article VI, Virginia Constitution

Article VI of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Judiciary" and consists of 12 sections. Article VI vests judicial power in the Supreme Court of Virginia, along with the subordinate courts created by the General Assembly. Judges are appointed by a majority vote in the General Assembly to terms of 12 years for Supreme Court Justices and 8 years for other judges. The Supreme Court, pursuant to Section 5, has the authority to make rules governing the practice of law and procedures in the courts of the commonwealth, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is established as the administrative head of the Virginia judicial system.

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Article VII: Local Government

See also: Article VII, Virginia Constitution

Article VII of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Local Government" and consists of ten sections. Article VII established the basic framework for the structure and function of local government in Virginia. Local government may be established at the town (population over 1,000), city (population over 5,000), county or regional government level. Article VII gives the General Assembly the power to create general laws for the organization and governing of these political subdivisions, except that regional governments cannot be created without the consent of the majority of the voters in the region.

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Article VIII: Education

See also: Article VIII, Virginia Constitution

Article VIII of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Education" and consists of 11 sections. A compulsory and free primary and secondary public education for every Virginia child is the focus of Article VIII.

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Article IX: Corporations

See also: Article IX, Virginia Constitution

Article IX of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Corporations" and consists of seven sections. The primary purpose of Article IX is to create the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which is charged with administering the laws that regulate corporations. The State Corporation Commission also issues charters for Virginia corporations and licenses to do business for “foreign” (non-Virginia) corporations. Section 5 of Article IX prohibits such foreign corporations from doing anything in Virginia that a Virginia corporation could not do.

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Article X: Taxation and Finance

See also: Article X, Virginia Constitution

Article X of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Taxation and Finance" and consists of eleven sections. Article X establishes the basic structure for taxation of personal property in Virginia. Pursuant to this article, all non-exempt real and personal property is subject to taxation at its fair market value. Section 6 sets out a lengthy list of exempt property, which includes church property, cemeteries and nonprofit school property.

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Article XI: Conservation

See also: Article XI, Virginia Constitution

Article XI of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Conservation" and consists of four sections. Article XI states that it is the general policy of the Commonwealth to preserve, protect and conserve the state’s natural and historic resources. The General Assembly is permitted to further these policies by entering into public-private partnerships or partnerships with federal agencies.

A 2001 amendment added Section 4, which establishes hunting and fishing as constitutional rights of Virginians, though the legislature may enact appropriate regulations and restrictions on these rights.

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Article XII: Future changes

See also: Article XII, Virginia Constitution

Article XII of the Virginia Constitution is entitled "Future Changes" and consists of two sections. It establishes the mechanism for future changes to the constitution.

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Schedule

See also: Schedule, Virginia Constitution

The Schedule of the Virginia Constitution consists of five sections.

Click here to read the schedule of the Virginia Constitution.

Amending the constitution

The Virginia Constitution can be amended through two different paths—a legislative process, and a constitutional convention. Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Virginia State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Virginia House of Delegates and 21 votes in the Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

Amendments to or revisions of the state's constitution can be proposed by a constitutional convention as established in Section 2 of Article XII. A convention can happen if the state's legislature "by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house" calls a convention.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Virginia's Legislative Information System, "Constitution of Virginia"
• Virginia Government Matters, "Virginia Constitution 1830"
• Virginia Government Matters, "Virginia Constitution 1851"
• Virginia Government Matters, "Virginia Constitution 1870"
• Virginia Government Matters, "Virginia Constitution 1864"
• Virginia Government Matters, "Virginia Constitution 1902"
• Selby, John E. “Henry Lee, John Adams and the Virginia Constitution of 1776” in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 84, No. 4 (Oct. 1976): 387–400