Constitution of the State of Minnesota (1970)

''Preamble. We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings and secure the same to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution:''

ARTICLE I: BILL OF RIGHTS
Object of government. Section 1. Government is instituted for the security, benefit and protection of the people, in whom all political power is inherent, together with the right to alter, modify or reform such government, whenever the public good may require it.

Rights and privileges. Sec. 2 No member of this State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the State otherwise than the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Liberty of the press. Sec. 3. The liberty of the press shall forever remain inviolate, and all persons may freely speak, write and publish their sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such right.

Trial by jury. Sec. 4. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and shall extend to all cases at law without regard to the amount in controversy, but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all cases in the manner prescribed by law; [and the legislature may provide that the agreement of five-sixths of any jury in any civil action or proceeding, after not less than six (6) hours' deliberation, shall be a sufficient verdict therein.]

No excessive bail or unusual punishments. Sec. 5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor shall excessive fines be imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted.

Rights of accused in criminal prosecutions. Sec. 6. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the county or district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which county or district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in his defense.

Due process; prosecutions; second jeopardy; self-incrimination; bail; habeas corpus. Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law, and no person for the same offense shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require.

Redress of injuries or wrongs. Sec. 8. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or character; he ought to obtain justice freely and without purchase; completely and without denial; promptly and without delay, conformable to the laws.

Treason defined. Sec. 9. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against the same, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

Right against unreasonable searches. Sec. 10. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized.

Prohibits ex post facto laws, or laws impairing contracts. Sec. 11. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts shall ever be passed, and no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate.

Imprisonment for debt; property exemption. Sec. 12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in this state, but this shall not prevent the legislature from providing for imprisonment, or holding to bail, persons charged with fraud in contracting said debt. A reasonable amount of property shall be exempt from seizure or sale for the payment of any debt or liability. The amount of such exemption shall be determined by law. [Provided, however, that all property so exempted shall be liable to seizure and sale for any debts incurred to any person for work done or materials furnished in the construction, repair or improvement of the same, and provided further, that such liability to seizure and sale shall also extend to all real property for any debt incurred to any laborer or servant for labor or service performed.]

Private property for public use. Sec. 13. Private property shall not be taken, destroyed or damaged for public use without just compensation therefor, first paid or secured.

Military power subordinate. Sec. 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power, and no standing army shall be kept up in this State in times of peace.

Lands declared allodial; leases, when void. Sec. 15. All lands within the State are declared to be allodial, and feudal tenures of every description, with all their incidents, are prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural lands for a longer period than twenty-one years hereafter made, in which shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, shall be void.

Freedom of conscience; no preference to be given to any religious establishment or mode of worship. Sec. 16. The enumeration of rights in this constitution shall not be construed to deny or impair others retained by and inherent in the people. The right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be infringed, nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any religious or ecclesiastical ministry, against his consent; nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State, nor shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious societies, or religious or theological seminaries.

No religious test or property qualifications to be required. Sec. 17. No religious test or amount of property shall ever be required as a qualification for any office of public trust under the State. No religious test or amount of property shall ever be required as a qualification of any voter at any election in this State; nor shall any person be rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of law or equity in consequence of his opinion upon the subject of religion.

No license to peddle. Sec. 18. Any person may sell or peddle the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him without obtaining a license therefor.

ARTICLE II: NAME AND BOUNDARIES
Name and boundaries. Section 1. This State shall be called and known by the name of the State of Minnesota, and shall consist of and have jurisdiction over the territory embraced in the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the point in the center of the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the boundary line between the United States and British Possessions crosses the same; thence up the main channel of said river to that of the Bois des Sioux river; thence up the main channel of said river to Lake Traverse, thence up the center of said lake to the southern extremity thereof; thence in a direct line to the head of Big Stone lake; thence through its center to its outlet; thence by a due south line to the north line of the State of Iowa; thence east along the northern boundary of said State to the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence up the main channel of said river and following the boundary line of the State of Wisconsin until the same intersects the St. Louis river; thence down the said river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michigan, until it intersects the dividing line between the United States and British Possessions; thence up Pigeon river and following said dividing line to the place of beginning. The northern boundary of the state at the Lake of the Woods is projected beyond the 49th parallel a distance of about twenty miles, making a wedge-shaped jog through the lake until it strikes firm ground on the west bank of the lake; thence in a due south line to the 49th parallel. The explanation of this jog is found in the subjoined paragraphs. In the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent, section 19 reads as follows: See. 19. Resolved that the following described (also represented on said map as before mentioned), is, in the opinion of the commissioners, so far as the same extends, the true boundary intended by the before mentioned treaties, namely: * * * thence through the middle of the waters of this bay to the northwest extremity of the same; being the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, and from a monument in this bay, on the nearest firm ground to the above northwest extremity of said bay, the courses and distances are as follows: 56° W. 1,565½ feet; 2nd, N. 6° W. 861½ feet; 3rd, N. 28° W. 615.4 feet; 4th, N. 27° 10' W. 495.4 feet; 5th, N. 5° 10' E. 1,322½ feet; 6th, N. 70° 45' W. 493 feet, the variation being 12° east. The termination of this 6th and last course and distance being the above said most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, as designated by the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent, and being in latitude 49° 23' 55" north of the equator, and in longitude 95° 14' 38" west from Greenwich. The second article of the convention of 1818 is as follows: Article 2. It Is agreed that a line drawn from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods along the 49th parallel of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the 49th parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall Intersect the said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west, along and with the said parallel, shall be the line of demarkation between the territories of the United States and His Britannic Majesty, and that the said line shall form the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States and the southern boundary of His Britannic Majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains. This boundary was re-established and determined by a commission authorized by congress, and the surveys embracing four years were made and reported to congress in 1877.

Jurisdiction on bordering rivers. Sec. 2. The State of Minnesota shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the Mississippi and on all other rivers and waters bordering on the said State of Minnesota, so far as the same shall form a common boundary to said State, and any other state or states now or hereafter to be formed by the same; and said rivers and waters, and navigable waters leading into the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said State as to other citizens of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor.

Acceptance of propositions in enabling act. Sec. 3. The propositions contained in the act of Congress entitled, “An act to authorize the people of the Territory of Minnesota to form a constitution and state government, preparatory to their admission into the Union on equal footing with the original states,” are hereby accepted, ratified and confirmed, and shall remain irrevocable without the consent of the United States; and it is hereby ordained that this State shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil within the same, by the United States, or with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title to said soil to bona fide purchasers thereof; and no tax shall be imposed on lands belonging to the United States and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents.

ARTICLE III: DISTRIBUTION OF THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT
Division of powers. Section 1. The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments—legislative, executive, and judicial; and no person or persons belonging to or constituting one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances expressly provided in this constitution.

ARTICLE IV: LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
Legislature meets biennially; length of session. Section 1. The legislature shall consist of the Senate and House of Representatives. The senate shall be composed of members elected for a term of four years and the house of representatives shall be composed of members elected for a term of two years by the qualified voters at the general election.

The legislature shall meet at the seat of government in regular session in each odd numbered year at the time prescribed by law for a term not exceeding 120 legislative days; and no new bill shall be introduced in either branch, except on the written request of the Governor, during the last 30 days of such sessions.

A special session of the legislature may be called as otherwise provided by this constitution.

Apportionment of members. Sec. 2. The number of members who compose the Senate and House of Representatives shall be prescribed by law, but the representation in the Senate shall never exceed one member for every 5,000 inhabitants, and in the House of Representatives one member for every 2,000 inhabitants. The representation in both houses shall be apportioned equally throughout the different sections of the state, in proportion to the population thereof.

Eligibility of members; quorum. Sec. 3. Each house shall be the judge of the election returns and eligibility of its own members; a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as it may provide.

Rules of government. Sec. 4. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, sit upon its own adjournment, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled the second time for the same offense.

Officers; journal of proceedings. Sec. 5. The House of Representatives shall elect its presiding officer and the Senate and House of Representatives shall elect such other officers as may be provided by law; they shall keep journals of their proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, and the yeas and nays, when taken on any question, shall be entered on such journals.

Length of adjournments. Sec. 6. Neither house shall, during a session of the legislature, adjourn for more than three days (Sundays excepted), nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be assembled, without the consent of the other house.

Compensation. Sec. 7. The compensation of senators and representatives shall be prescribed by law. But no increase of compensation shall be prescribed which shall take effect during the period for which the members of the existing House of Representatives may have been elected.

Privilege from arrest. Sec. 8. The members of each house shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of their respective houses, and in going to or returning from the same. For any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other place.

Restriction as to holding office. Sec. 9. No senator or representative shall hold any other office under the authority of the United States or the State of Minnesota, except that of postmaster or of notary public. If elected or appointed to another office, a legislator may resign from the legislature by tendering his resignation to the governor.

Bills of revenue to originate in House. Sec. 10. All bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose and concur with the amendments as on other bills.

Approval of bills by Governor; action on non-approval. Sec. 11. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and the House of Representatives, in conformity to the rules of each house and the joint rules of the two houses, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the state. If he approves, he shall sign and deposit it in the office of secretary of state for preservation, and notify the house where it originated of the fact. But if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated; when such objections shall be entered at large on the journal of the same, and the house shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; and if it be approved by two-thirds of that house it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house, respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature, by adjournment within that time, prevents its return. Bills may be presented to the governor during the three days following the day of the final adjournment of the legislature and the legislature may prescribe the method of performing the acts necessary to present bills to the governor after adjournment. The governor may approve, sign and file in the office of the secretary of state, within 14 days after the adjournment of the legislature, any act passed during the last three days of the session, and the same shall become a law. If any bill passed during the last three days of the session is not signed and filed within 14 days after the adjournment, it shall not become a law.

If any bill presented to the governor contain several items of appropriation of money, he may object to one or more of such items, while approving of the other portion of the bill. In such case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement of the items to which he objects, and the appropriation so objected to shall not take effect. If the legislature be in session, he shall transmit to the house in which the bill originated a copy of such statement, and the items objected to shall be separately reconsidered. If, on reconsideration, one or more of such items be approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each house, the same shall be a part of the law, notwithstanding the objections of the governor. All the provisions of this section, in relation to bills not approved by the governor, shall apply in cases in which he shall withhold his approval from any item or items contained in a bill appropriating money.

Money appropriations, how made. Sec. 12. No money shall be appropriated except by bill. Every order, resolution or vote requiring the concurrence of the two houses (except such as relate to the business or adjournment of the same) shall be presented to the governor for his signature, and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being returned by him with his objections, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the members of the two houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.

Majority vote of all members-elect to pass a law. Sec. 13. The style of all laws of this State shall be: “Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota.” No law shall be passed unless voted for by a majority of all the members elected to each branch of the legislature, and the vote entered upon the journal of each house.

Impeachment powers. Sec. 14. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment, through a concurrence of a majority of all the members elected to seats therein. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when sitting for that purpose the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

Exclusion from civil rights. Sec. 15. The legislature shall have full power to exclude from the privilege of electing or being elected any person convicted of bribery, perjury, or any other infamous crime.

Protest and dissent of members. Sec. 16. Two or more members of either house shall have liberty to dissent and protest against any act or resolution which they may think injurious to the public or to any individual, and have the reason of their dissent entered on the journal.

Vacancies in legislature. Sec. 17. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as may occur, by resignation or any other cause, in either house of the legislature. The legislature shall prescribe by law the manner in which evidence in cases of contested seats in either house shall be taken.

Punishment for disorderly conduct. Sec. 18. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during its session, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in their presence, but no such imprisonment shall at any time exceed twenty-four hours.

Open sessions. Sec. 19. Each house shall be open to the public during the sessions thereof, except in such cases as in their opinion may require secrecy.

Reading of bills. Sec. 20. Every bill shall be read on three different days in each separate house, unless, in case of urgency, two-thirds of the house where such bill is pending shall deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; and no bill shall be passed by either house until it shall have been previously read twice at length.

Enrollment of bills. Sec. 21. Every bill having passed both houses shall be carefully enrolled, and shall be signed by the presiding officer of each house. Any presiding officer refusing to sign a bill which shall have previously passed both houses shall thereafter be incapable of holding a seat in either branch of the legislature, or hold any other office of honor or profit in the State, and in case of such refusal, each house shall, by rule, provide the manner in which such bill shall be properly certified for presentation to the governor.

Passage of bills on last day of session prohibited. Sec. 22. No bill shall be passed by either house of the legislature upon the day prescribed for the adjournment of the two houses. But this section shall not be so construed as to preclude the enrollment of a bill, or the signature and passage from one house to the other, or the reports thereon from committees, or its transmission to the executive for his signature.

Census enumeration apportionment. Sec. 23. The legislature shall have the power to provide by law for an enumeration of the inhabitants of this State, and also have the power at their first session after each enumeration of the inhabitants of this state made by the authority of the United States, to prescribe the bounds of congressional, senatorial and representative districts, and to apportion anew the senators and representatives among the several districts according to the provisions of section second of this article.

Senatorial districts; term of office of senators and representatives. Sec. 24. The senators shall also be chosen by single districts of convenient contiguous territory, at the same time that members of the house of representatives are required to be chosen, and in the same manner; and no representative district shall be divided in the formation of a senate district. The senate districts shall be numbered in a regular series. The terms of office of senators and representatives shall be the same as now prescribed by law until the general election of the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight (1878), at which time there shall be an entire new election of all senators and representatives. Representatives chosen at such election, or at any election thereafter, shall hold their office for the term of two years, except it be to fill a vacancy; and the senators chosen at such election by districts designated as odd numbers shall go out of office at the expiration of the second year, and senators chosen by districts designated by even numbers shall go out of office at the expiration of the fourth year; and thereafter senators shall be chosen for four years, except there shall be an entire new election of all the senators at the election of representatives next succeeding each new apportionment provided for in this article.

Qualification of legislators. Sec. 25. Senators and representatives shall be qualified voters of the State, and shall have resided one year in the State and six months immediately preceding the election in the district from which they are elected.

Laws to embrace only one subject. Sec. 27. No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.

Divorces. Sec. 28. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature.

Oath of office. Sec. 29. All members and officers of both branches of the legislature shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective trusts, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Minnesota, and faithfully and impartially to discharge the duties devolving upon him as such member or officer.

Elections viva voce. Sec. 30. In all elections to be made by the legislature, the members thereof shall vote viva voce, and their votes shall be entered on the journal.

Prohibition of lotteries. Sec. 31. The legislature shall never authorize any lottery or the sale of lottery tickets.

Change of form of taxation of railroads to be voted upon. Sec. 32. [a] Any law providing for the repeal or amendment of any law or laws heretofore or hereafter enacted, which provides that any railroad company now existing in this State or operating its road therein, or which may be hereafter organized, shall, in lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon their real estate, roads, rolling stock, and other personal property, at and during the time and periods therein specified, pay into the treasury of this State a certain percentage therein mentioned of the gross earnings of such railroad companies now existing or hereafter organized, shall, before the same shall take effect or be in force, be submitted to a vote of the people of the State, and be adopted and ratified by a majority of the electors of the State voting at the election at which the same shall be submitted to them.

Internal improvement lands; investment of proceeds in bonds. Sec. 32. [b] All lands donated to the State of Minnesota for the purpose of internal improvement, under the eighth section of the act of Congress, approved September fourth, eighteen hundred and forty-one, being “An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sale of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights,” shall be appraised and sold, in the same manner and by the same officers, and the minimum price shall be the same as is provided by law for the appraisement and sale of the school lands, under the provisions of title one (1), chapter thirty-eight, of the General Statutes, except the modifications hereinafter mentioned. All moneys derived from the sales of said lands shall be invested in the bonds of the United States, or of the State of Minnesota issued since 1860; and the moneys so invested shall constitute the Internal Improvement Land Fund of the State. All moneys received by the county treasurer under the provisions of title one (1), chapter thirty-eight (38), aforesaid, derived from the sale of internal improvement lands, shall be held at all times subject to the order and direction of the state treasurer, for the benefit of the fund to which it belongs; and on the fifteenth day of June in each year, and at such other times as he may be requested so to do by the state treasurer, he shall pay over to the said state treasurer all moneys received on account of such fund.

The bonds purchased in accordance with this amendment shall be transferable only upon the order of the governor, and on each bond shall be written “Minnesota Internal Improvement Land Fund of the State, transferable only on the order of the governor.”

Principal not to be reduced. The principal sum from all sales of internal improvement lands shall not be reduced by any charges or costs of officers, by fees, or by any other means whatever; and section fifty (50), of title one (1), chapter thirty-eight (38), of the General Statutes, shall not be applicable to the provisions of this amendment, and wherever the words “school lands” are used in said title, it shall read as applicable to this amendment, “Internal Improvement Lands.”

Appropriations therefrom to be voted upon before valid. The force of this amendment shall be to authorize the sale of the internal improvement lands, without further legislative enactment.

Against special legislation. Sec. 33. In all cases when a general law can be made applicable, no special law shall be enacted, except as provided in Article XI; and whether a general law could have been made applicable in any case is hereby declared a judicial question, and as such shall be judicially determined without regard to any legislative assertion on that subject. The legislature shall pass no local or special law authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, vacating or maintaining roads, highways, streets or alleys; remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures; changing the names of persons, places, lakes or rivers; authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children; changing the law of descent or succession; conferring rights upon minors; declaring any named person of age; giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds, or affecting the estates of minors or persons under disability; exempting property from taxation or regulating the rate of interest on money; creating private corporations, or amending, renewing, extending or explaining the charters thereof; granting to any private corporation, association, or individual any special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever or authorizing public taxation for a private purpose. The inhibitions of local or special laws in this section shall not be construed to prevent the passage of general laws on any of the subjects enumerated.

Repeal of existing special laws. The legislature may repeal any existing special or local law, but shall not amend, extend or modify any of the same except as provided in Article XI.

General laws under 1881 amendment. Sec. 34. The legislature shall provide general laws for the transaction of any business that may be prohibited by section one (1) of this amendment, and all such laws shall be uniform in their operation throughout the State.

Against combinations or pools to affect markets. Sec. 35. Any combinations of persons, either as individuals or as members or officers of any corporation, to monopolize the markets for food products in this State, or to interfere with, or restrict the freedom of, such markets, is hereby declared to be a criminal conspiracy, and shall be punished in such manner as the legislature may provide.

ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Officers in executive department. Section 1. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and attorney general, who shall be chosen by the electors of the State.

Election returns to be sent to secretary of state. Sec. 2. The returns of every election for the officers named in the foregoing section shall be made to the secretary of state, who shall call to his assistance two or more of the judges of the supreme court, and two disinterested judges of the district courts of the State, who shall constitute a board of canvassers, who shall open and canvass said returns and declare the result within three days after such canvass.

Official term of governor and lieutenant governor; qualifications. Sec. 3. The term of office for the Governor and lieutenant governor shall be four years, and until their successors are chosen and qualified. Each shall have attained the age of 25 years and shall have been a bona fide resident of the state for one year next preceding his election. Both shall be citizens of the United States.

Powers and duties of governor. Sec. 4. The governor shall communicate by message to each session of the legislature such information touching the state and condition of the country as he may deem expedient. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces, and may call out such forces to execute the laws, suppress insurrection and repel invasion. He may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; and he shall have power, in conjunction with the board of pardons, of which the governor shall be ex officio a member, and the other members of which shall consist of the attorney general of the State of Minnesota and the chief justice of the supreme court of the State of Minnesota, and whose powers and duties shall be defined and regulated by law, to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction for offenses against the State, except in cases of impeachment. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint notaries public, and such other officers as may be provided by law. He shall have power to appoint commissioners to take the acknowledgment of deeds or other instruments in writing, to be used in the State. He shall have a negative upon all laws passed by the legislature, under such rules and limitations as are in this Constitution prescribed. He may on extraordinary occasions convene both houses of the legislature. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, fill any vacancy that may occur in the office of secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and such other state and district offices as may be hereafter created by law, until the end of the term for which the person who had vacated the office was elected, or the first Monday in January following the next general election whichever is sooner, and until their successors are chosen and qualified.

Official term of other executive officers. Sec. 5. The official term of the secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, and state auditor shall be four years, and each shall continue in office until his successor shall have been elected and qualified. The further duties and salaries of the executive officers shall each be prescribed by law.

Duties of Lieutenant Governor and succession to office of Governor during emergency. Sec. 6. The Lieutenant Governor shall be ex officio president of the Senate; and in case a vacancy should occur, from any cause whatever, in the office of Governor, he shall be Governor during such vacancy. The compensation of Lieutenant Governor shall be double the compensation of a State Senator. Before the close of each session of the Senate they shall elect a president pro tempore, who shall be Lieutenant Governor in case a vacancy should occur in that office. In case the Governor shall be unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the same shall devolve on the Lieutenant Governor. The legislature may by law provide for the case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to discharge the duties of Governor and may provide by law for continuity of government in periods of emergency resulting from disasters caused by enemy attack in this state, including but not limited to, succession to the powers and duties of public office and change of the seat of government.

Terms of first state officers. Sec. 7. The term of each of the Executive officers named in this Article, shall commence on taking the oath of office on or after the first day of May, 1858, and continue until the first Monday of January, 1860, except the Auditor, who shall continue in office till the first Monday of January, 1861, and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified; and the same abovementioned time for qualification and entry upon the duties of their respective offices shall extend and apply to all other officers elected under the State Constitution, who have not already taken the oath of office, and commenced the performance of their official duties.

Oath of office to be taken by State officers. Sec. 8. Each officer created by this article shall, before entering upon his duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, and faithfully discharge the duties of his office to the best of his judgment and ability.

ARTICLE VI : JUDICIARY
Judicial power. Section 1. The judicial power of the state is hereby vested in a supreme court, a district court, a probate court, and such other courts, minor judicial officers and commissioners with jurisdiction inferior to the district court as the legislature may establish.

Supreme court. Sec. 2. The supreme court shall consist of one chief judge and not less than six nor more than eight associate judges, as the legislature may establish. It shall have original jurisdiction in such remedial cases as may be prescribed by law, and appellate jurisdiction in all cases, but there shall be no trial by jury in said court.

A judge of the district court may be assigned as provided by law temporarily to act as a judge of the supreme court upon its request.

The supreme court shall appoint, to serve at its pleasure, a clerk, a reporter, a state law librarian, and such other employees as it may deem necessary.

Judicial districts; district judges. Sec. 3. The number and boundaries of judicial districts shall be established or changed in the manner provided by law but the office of a district judge may not be abolished during his term. There shall be two or more district judges in each district. Each judge of the district court in any district shall be a resident of such district at the time of his selection and during his continuance in office.

District court clerks. Sec. 4. There shall be elected in each county one clerk of the district court, whose qualifications and duties shall be prescribed by law, and whose term of office shall be four years. His compensation shall be prescribed by law and shall not be diminished during his term of office.

Jurisdiction of district court. Sec. 5. The district court shall have original jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases, and shall have such appellate jurisdiction as may be prescribed by law.

Jurisdiction of probate court. Sec. 6. The probate court shall have unlimited original jurisdiction in law and equity for the administration of the estates of deceased persons and all guardianship and incompetency proceedings, and such further jurisdiction as the legislature may establish, including jurisdiction over the administration of trust estates and for the determination of taxes contingent upon death. Until otherwise provided by law, each county shall constitute a probate court district and there shall be one or more probate judges in each district. Each judge of the probate court in any district shall be a resident of such district at the time of his selection and during his continuance in office.

Qualifications; compensation. Sec. 7. Judges of the supreme court, the district court, and the probate court shall be learned in the law. The qualifications of all other judges and judicial officers shall be prescribed by law. The compensation of all judges shall be prescribed by the legislature and shall not be diminished during their term of office.

Terms of office; election; reelection. Sec. 8. The term of office of all judges shall be six years and until their successors are qualified, and they shall be elected in the manner provided by law by the electors of the state, district, county, municipality, or other territory wherein they are to serve.

Holding other office. Sec. 9. Judges of the supreme court and the district court shall not hold any office under the United States except a commission in a reserve component of the military forces of the United States and shall not hold any other office under this state. The term of office of any such judge shall terminate at the time he files as a candidate for an elective office of the United States or for a nonjudicial office of this state.

Retirement. Sec. 10. The legislature may provide by law for retirement of all judges, for the extension of the term of any judge who shall become eligible for retirement within three years after expiration of the term for which he is selected and for the removal of any judge who is incapacitated while in office.

Vacancy. Sec. 11. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of judge the governor shall appoint in the manner provided by law a qualified person to fill the vacancy, to hold office until his successor is elected and qualified. The successor shall be elected for a six year term at the next general election occurring more than one year after such appointment.

Retired judges. Sec. 12. As provided by law, a retired judge may be assigned to hear and decide any cause over which the court to which he is assigned shall have jurisdiction.

SCHEDULE
(a) All justices of the peace shall continue in office each for the remainder of his term which remains unexpired at the time this Article takes effect.

(b) All probate judges in office at the time this Article takes effect shall be deemed learned in the law for the purpose of continuance in, and reelection to, any judicial office inferior to the district court.

(c) All municipal courts in existence at the time this Article takes effect shall continue in existence until otherwise provided by law.

(d) Salary schedules, in effect when this Article takes effect for the compensation of judges, court commissioners, clerks of court, and other court employees, shall remain in effect until otherwise prescribed by the legislature or provided by law.

(e) Statutory provisions fixing the retirement compensation of judges, in effect when this Article takes effect shall remain in effect until otherwise provided by law.

(f) The office of court commissioner in any county at the time this Article takes effect shall continue in existence until otherwise provided by law.

ARTICLE VII: ELECTIVE FRANCHISE
Elective franchise. Section 1. Every person of the age of 19 years or more who has been a citizen of the United States for three months and who has resided in this state six months and in the precinct for thirty days next preceding an election shall be entitled to vote in that precinct, and the place of voting by one otherwise qualified who has changed his residence within thirty days preceding the election may be prescribed by law.

Non-eligible. Sec. 2. No person not belonging to one of the classes specified in the preceding section; no person who has been convicted of treason or any felony, unless restored to civil rights; and no person under guardianship, or who may be non compos mentis or insane, shall be entitled or permitted to vote at any election in this State.

Residence not lost in certain cases. Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have lost a residence by reason of his absence while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged upon the waters of this State or of the United States; nor while a student in any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse or asylum; nor while confined in any public prison.

Soldiers and sailors; restriction. Sec. 4. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State in consequence of being stationed within the same.

Civil process suspended on election day. Sec. 5. During the day on which any election shall be held, no person shall be arrested by virtue of any civil process.

Elections by ballots. Sec. 6. All elections shall be by ballot, except for such town officers as may be directed by law to be otherwise chosen.

Right to hold office. Sec. 7. Every person who by the provisions of this article shall be entitled to vote at any election and is twenty-one years of age shall be eligible to any office which now is, or hereafter shall be, elective by the people in the district wherein he shall have resided thirty days previous to such election, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, or the Constitution and law of the United States.

Official year of the state. Sec. 9. The official year for the State of Minnesota shall commence on the first Monday in January in each year, and all terms of office shall terminate at that time; and the general election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The general election shall be held biennially in each even numbered year.

ARTICLE VIII: SCHOOL FUNDS, EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Uniform system of public schools. Section 1. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools.

Public schools in each township to be established. Sec. 2. The legislature shall make such provisions, by taxation or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools in each township in the State.

Prohibition as to aiding sectarian school. But in no case shall the moneys derived as aforesaid, or any portion thereof, or any public moneys or property, be appropriated or used for the support of schools wherein the distinctive doctrines, creeds or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect are promulgated or taught.

University of Minnesota; location confirmed. Sec. 3. The location of the University of Minnesota, as established by existing laws, is hereby confirmed, and said institution is hereby declared to be the University of the State of Minnesota. All the rights, immunities, franchises and endowments heretofore granted or conferred are hereby perpetuated unto the said university; and all lands which may be granted hereafter by Congress, or other donations for said university purposes, shall vest in the institution referred to in this section.

Permanent school fund; source; investment. Sec. 4. The permanent school fund of the state shall consist of (a) the proceeds of such lands as are or hereafter may be granted by the United States for the use of schools within each township, (b) the proceeds derived from swamp lands granted to the state, and (c) all cash and investments now or hereafter credited to the permanent school fund and to the swamp land fund. No portion of said lands shall be sold otherwise than at public sale, and in the manner provided by law. All funds arising from the sale or other disposition of such lands, or income accruing in any way before the sale or disposition thereof, shall be credited to the permanent school fund. Within limitations prescribed by law, to secure the maximum return thereon consistent with the maintenance of the perpetuity of the fund, such fund may be invested in: (1) interest bearing fixed income securities of the United States and of its agencies, fixed income securities guaranteed in full as to payment of principal and interest by the United States, bonds of the state of Minnesota, or its political subdivisions or agencies, or of other states, but not more than 50 percent of any issue by a political subdivision, shall be purchased; (2) stocks of corporations on which cash dividends have been paid from earnings for five consecutive years or longer immediately prior to purchase, but not more than 20 percent of said fund shall be invested therein at any given time, nor more than one percent in stock of any one corporation, nor shall more than five percent of the voting stock of any one corporation be owned; (3) bonds of corporations whose earnings have been at least three times the interest requirements on outstanding bonds for five consecutive years or longer immediately prior to purchase, but not more than 40 percent of said fund shall be invested in corporate bonds at any given time. The percentages referred to above shall be computed using the cost price of the stocks or bonds. The principal of the permanent school fund shall be perpetual and inviolate forever; provided, that this shall not prevent the sale of any public or private stocks or bonds at less than the cost thereof to the fund; however, all losses not offset by all gains, shall be repaid to the fund from the interest and dividends earned thereafter. The net interest and dividends arising from the investment thereof shall be distributed to the different school districts of the state in proportion to the number of scholars in each district between the ages of five and twenty-one years. No such investment shall be made until approved by a board of investment consisting of the governor, the state auditor, the state treasurer, the secretary of state, and the attorney general, who are hereby constituted a state board of investment for the purpose of administering and directing the investment of all state funds.

The state board of investment shall not permit the fund to be used for the underwriting or direct purchase of municipal securities from the issuer or his agent.

Investment of permanent university fund; approval; bonded indebtedness not to exceed 15 percent, draw not less than two percent, run not less than one year nor more than 30 years. Sec. 5. The permanent university fund of this state may be loaned to or invested in the bonds of any county, school district, city, town, or village of this state and in first mortgage loans secured upon improved and cultivated farm lands of this state, but no such investment or loan shall be made until approved by the board of commissioners designated by law to regulate the investment of the permanent school fund and the permanent university fund of this state; nor shall such loan or investment be made when the bonds to be issued or purchased would make the entire bonded indebtedness exceed 15 percent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, school district, city, town, or village issuing such bonds; nor shall any such farm loan or investment be made when such investment or loan would exceed 30 percent of the actual cash value of the farm land mortgaged to secure said investment; nor shall such investments or loans be made at a lower rate of interest than two percent per annum, nor for a shorter period than one year nor for a longer period than 30 years and no change of the town, school district, city, village, or county lines shall relieve the real property in such town, school district, county, village, or city in this state at the time of issuing such bonds from any liability for taxation to pay such bonds.

Timber lands set apart as state forests; disposition of revenue. Sec. 6. Such of the school and other public lands of the state as are better adapted for the production of timber than for agriculture, may be set apart as state school forests, or other state forests, as the legislature may provide, and the legislature may provide for the management of the same on forestry principles. The net revenue therefrom shall be used for the purposes for which the lands were granted to the State.

Exchange of public lands; reservation of rights. Sec. 7. Any of the public lands of the state, including lands held in trust for any purpose, may, with the unanimous approval of a commission consisting of the governor, the attorney general and the state auditor, be exchanged for lands of the United States and/or privately owned lands in such manner as the legislature may provide, and the lands so acquired shall be subject to the trust, if any, to which the lands exchanged therefor were subject, and the state shall reserve all mineral and water power rights in lands so transferred by the state.

ARTICLE IX: FINANCES OF THE STATE AND BANKS AND BANKING
Power of taxation; legislature may authorize. Section 1. The power of taxation shall never be surrendered, suspended or contracted away. Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects, and shall be levied and collected for public purposes, but public burying grounds, public school houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, universities, and all seminaries of learning, all churches, church property and houses of worship, institutions of purely public charity, and public property used exclusively for any public purpose, shall be exempt from taxation except as provided in this section, and there may be exempted from taxation personal property not exceeding in value $200, for each household, individual or head of a family, and household goods and farm machinery, as the legislature may determine; Provided, that the legislature may authorize municipal corporations to levy and collect assessments for local improvements upon property benefited thereby without regard to a cash valuation. The legislature may by law define or limit the property exempt under this section, other than churches, houses of worship, and property solely used for educational purposes by academies, colleges, universities and seminaries of learning.

Occupation tax. Sec. 1A. Every person, co-partnership, company, joint stock company, corporation, or association however or for whatever purpose organized, engaged in the business of mining or producing iron ore or other ores in this State, shall pay to the State of Minnesota an occupation tax on the valuation of all ores mined or produced, which tax shall be in addition to all other taxes provided by law, said tax to be due and payable from such person, co-partnership, company, joint stock company, corporation, or association however or for whatever purpose organized, on May first of the calendar year next following the mining or producing thereof. The valuation of ore for the purpose of determining the amount of tax to be paid shall be ascertained in the manner and method provided by law. Funds derived from the tax herein provided for shall be used as follows: 50 percent to the state general revenue fund, 40 percent for the support of elementary and secondary schools and ten percent for the general support of the university. The legislature shall by law make the necessary provisions for carrying out the provisions of this section.

N.B. Section 1B expired on December 31, 1958.

Sections 2, 3 and 4 obsolete, because in 1906 there was adopted the section which now is Section 1 in this article. It supplanted Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the unnumbered section of 1896. This amendment is sometimes called the wide open tax amendment. No amendments have been adopted to take the place of the old Sections 2, 3 and 4. There Is therefore a gap In the numbering from 1 to 5.

State debt limited; how contracted. Sec. 5. The state shall never be a party in carrying on works of internal improvements, except as authorized by this Constitution, but it may levy an excise tax upon any substance, material, fluid, force, or other means or instrumentality, or the business of dealing in, selling, or producing any or all thereof, used or useful, in producing or generating power for propelling motor or other vehicles used on the public highways of this state, and shall place the proceeds of such tax in the highway user tax distribution fund provided for in this Constitution, and further except in cases where grants of land or other property shall have been made to the state, especially dedicated by the grant to specific purposes, and in such cases the state shall devote thereto the avails of such grants, and may pledge or appropriate the revenues derived from such works in aid of their completion.

Power to contract public debts; purposes; certificates of indebtedness; bonds. Sec. 6. Subdivision 1. The state may contract public debts, for which its full faith, credit, and taxing powers may be pledged, at such times and in such manner as shall be authorized by law, but only for the purposes and subject to the conditions stated in this section.

Subd. 2. Public debt may be contracted:

(a) for the acquisition and betterment of public land and buildings and other public improvements of a capital nature, and to provide moneys to be appropriated or loaned to any agency or political subdivision of the state for such purposes; provided any law authorizing such debt is adopted by the vote of at least three fifths of the members of each branch of the legislature;

(b) as authorized in any other section or article of this Constitution;

(c) for temporary borrowing as authorized in subdivision 3;

(d) for refunding outstanding bonds of the state or any of its agencies, whether or not the full faith and credit of the state has been pledged for the payment of such bonds; and for refunding certificates of indebtedness authorized by the legislature prior to January 1, 1963.

Subd. 3. As authorized by law, certificates of indebtedness may be issued during each biennium, commencing on July 1 in each odd-numbered year and ending on and including June 30 in the next odd-numbered year, in anticipation of the collection of taxes levied for and other revenues appropriated to any fund of the state for expenditure during that biennium.

No such certificates shall be issued with respect to any fund when the amount thereof with interest thereon to maturity, added to the then outstanding certificates against the same fund and interest thereon to maturity, will exceed the then unexpended balance of all moneys which will be credited to that fund during the biennium under existing laws; except that the maturities of any such certificates may be extended by refunding to a date not later than December 1 of the first full calendar year following the biennium in which such certificates were issued. If moneys on hand in any fund are not sufficient to pay all non-refunding certificates of indebtedness issued on such fund during any biennium and all certificates refunding the same, plus interest thereon, which are outstanding on December 1 immediately following the close of such biennium, the state auditor shall levy upon all taxable property in the state a tax collectible in the then ensuing year sufficient to pay the same on or before December 1 of such ensuing year, with interest to the date or dates of payment.

Subd. 4. Public debt other than certificates of indebtedness authorized in subdivision 3 shall be evidenced by the issuance of the bonds of this state. All bonds issued under the provisions of this section shall mature within not more than 20 years from their respective dates of issue, and each law authorizing the issuance of such bonds shall distinctly specify the purpose or purposes thereof and the maximum amount of the proceeds authorized to be expended for each purpose. The state treasurer shall maintain a separate and special state bond fund on his official books and records, and when the full faith and credit of the state has been pledged for the payment of such bonds the state auditor shall levy each year on all taxable property within the state a tax sufficient, with the balance then on hand in said fund, to pay all principal and interest on state bonds issued under the provisions of this section, due and to become due within the then ensuing year and to and including July 1 in the second ensuing year. The legislature may by law appropriate funds from any source to the state bond fund, and the amount of moneys actually received and on hand pursuant to such appropriations prior to the levy of such tax in any year, shall be used to reduce the amount of tax otherwise required to be levied.

Limitation as to when debt may be contracted; public debt defined. Sec. 7. The state shall never contract any public debt, unless in time of war, to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, except in the cases and in the manner provided and referred to in the sixth section of this article. Public debt includes any obligation payable directly, in whole or in part, from a tax of state-wide application on any class of property, income, transaction or privilege, but does not include any obligation which is payable from revenues other than taxes.

Disposition of funds received for bonds. Sec. 8. The money arising from any loan made, or debt or liability contracted, shall be applied to the object specified in the act authorizing such debt or liability, or to the repayment of such debt or liability, and to no other purpose whatever.

Money drawn from the State treasury. Sec. 9. No money shall ever be paid out of the treasury of this State except in pursuance of an appropriation by law.

Credit of the State limited. Sec. 10. The credit of the State shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation, except as hereinafter provided. Nor shall there be any further issue of bonds denominated "Minnesota State Railroad Bonds," under what purports to be an amendment to Section ten (10) of Article nine (9) of the Constitution, adopted April 15th, 1858, which is hereby expunged from the Constitution, saving, excepting and reserving to the State, nevertheless, all rights, remedies and forfeitures accruing under said amendment. Provided, however, that for the purpose of developing the agricultural resources of the state, the State may establish and maintain a system of rural credits and thereby loan money and extend credit to the people of the State upon real estate security in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by law, and to issue and negotiate bonds to provide money to be so loaned. The limit of indebtedness contained in Section 5 of this Article shall not apply to the provisions of this Section, and the purposes for which the credit of the State or the aforesaid municipal subdivisions thereof may be given or loaned as herein provided are declared to be public purposes.

Publication of receipts and expenditures by treasurer. Sec. 11. There shall be published by the treasurer, in at least one newspaper printed at the seat of government, during the first week in January in each year, and in the next volume of the acts of the legislature, detailed statements of all moneys drawn from the treasury during the preceding year, for what purpose and to whom paid, and by what law authorized; and also of all moneys received, and by what authority and from whom.

State school fund; investment; safe keeping; all State funds to be deposited in name of State. Sec. 12. Suitable laws shall be passed by the legislature for the safe keeping, transfer and disbursements of the State and school funds; and all officers and other persons charged with the same or any part of the same, or the safe keeping thereof, shall be required to give ample security for all moneys and funds of any kind received by them; to make forthwith and keep an accurate entry of each sum received, and of each payment and transfer; and if any of said officers or other persons shall convert to his own use in any manner or form, or shall loan, with or without interest, or shall deposit in his own name, or otherwise than in the name of the State of Minnesota; or shall deposit in banks or with any person or persons, or exchange for other funds or property, any portion of the funds of the State or the school funds aforesaid, except in the manner prescribed by law, every such act shall be and constitute an embezzlement of so much of the aforesaid State and school funds, or either of the same, as shall thus be taken, or loaned, or deposited or exchanged, and shall be a felony; and any failure to pay over, produce or account for the State school funds, or any part of the same entrusted to such officer or persons as by law required on demand, shall be held and be taken to be prima facie evidence of such embezzlement.

General banking law; provision and restrictions. Sec. 13. The legislature may, by a two-thirds vote, pass a general banking law, with the following restrictions and requirements, viz.:

First—The legislature shall have no power to pass any law sanctioning in any manner, directly, or indirectly, the suspension of specie payments by any person, association or corporation issuing bank notes of any description.

Second—The legislature shall provide by law for the registry of all bills or notes issued or put in circulation as money, and shall require ample security in United States stock or State stocks for the redemption of the same in specie; and in case of a depreciation of said stocks, or any part thereof, to the amount of ten percent or more on the dollar, the bank or banks owning said stocks shall be required to make up said deficiency by additional stocks.

Third—The stockholders in any corporation and joint association for banking purposes, issuing bank notes, shall be individually liable in an amount equal to double the amount of stock owned by them for all the debts of such corporation or association; and such individual liability shall continue for one year after any transfer or sale of stock by any stockholder or stockholders.

Fourth—In case of the insolvency of any bank or banking association, the bill holders thereof shall be entitled to preference in payment over all other creditors of such bank or association.

Fifth—Any general banking law which may be passed in accordance with this Article shall provide for recording the names of all stockholders in such corporation, the amount of stock held by each, the time of transfer, and to whom transferred.

County, city or township aid to railroads limited. Sec. 14(b). Appears to be superseded by Section 15.

County, city or township aid to railroads limited. Sec. 15. The legislature shall not authorize any county, township, city, or other municipal corporation to issue bonds, or to become indebted in any manner, to aid in the construction or equipment of any or all railroads to any amount that shall exceed five (5) per centum of the value of the taxable property within such county, township, city, or other municipal corporation. The amount of such taxable property to be ascertained, and determined by the last assessment of said property made, for the purpose of state and county taxation, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness.

State Road and Bridge Fund. Sec. 16. Superseded by Article XVI as adopted November 6, 1956.

ARTICLE X: CORPORATIONS HAVING NO BANKING PRIVILEGES
Corporation for general purposes. Section 1. The term “Corporation,” as used in this Article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint stock companies having any of the powers and privileges not possessed by individuals or partnerships, except such as embrace banking privileges and all corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be liable to be sued in all courts, in like manner as natural persons.

Not to be created by special act. Sec. 2. No corporations shall be formed under special acts, except for municipal purposes.

Liability of stockholders. Sec. 3. The legislature shall have power from time to time to provide for, limit and otherwise regulate the liability of stockholders or members of corporations and co-operative corporations or associations, however organized.

Lands may be taken for public use. Sec. 4. Lands may be taken for public way, for the purpose of granting to any corporation the franchise of way for public use. In all cases, however, a fair and equitable compensation shall be paid for such land, and the damages arising from the taking of the same; but all corporations being common carriers enjoying the right of way in pursuance of the provisions of this section, shall be bound to carry the mineral, agricultural and other productions of manufacturers on equal and reasonable terms.

ARTICLE XI : LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Local government, legislation affecting. Section 1. The legislature may provide by law for the creation, organization, administration, consolidation, division, and dissolution of local government units and their functions, for the change of boundaries thereof, for their officers, including qualifications for office, both elective and appointive, and for the transfer of county seats. No county boundary shall be changed or county seat transferred until approved by a majority of the voters of each county affected voting thereon.

Special laws. Sec. 2. Every law which upon its effective date applies to a single local government unit or to a group of such units in a single county or a number of contiguous counties is a special law and shall name the unit or, in the latter case, the counties, to which it applies. The legislature may enact special laws relating to local government units, but a special law, unless otherwise provided by general law, shall become effective only after its approval by the affected unit expressed through the voters or the governing body and by such majority as the legislature may direct. Any special law may be modified or superseded by a later home rule charter or amendment applicable to the same local government unit, but this does not prevent the adoption of subsequent laws on the same subject.

Home rule charters. Sec. 3. Any city or village, and any county or other local government unit when authorized by law, may adopt a home rule charter for its government in accordance with this constitution and the laws. No such charter shall become effective without the approval of the voters of the local government unit affected by such majority as the legislature may prescribe by general law. If a charter provides for the consolidation or separation of a city and a county, in whole or in part, it shall not be effective without approval of the voters both in the city and in the remainder of the county by the majority required by law.

Charter commissions. Sec. 4. The legislature shall provide by law for charter commissions. Notwithstanding any other constitutional limitations, the legislature may require that commission members shall be freeholders, provide for their appointment by judges of the district court, and permit any member to hold any other elective or appointive office other than judicial. Home rule charter amendments may be proposed by a charter commission or by a petition of five percent of the voters of the local government unit as determined by law and shall not become effective until approved by the voters by the majority required by law. Amendments may be proposed and adopted in any other manner provided by law. A local government unit may repeal its home rule charter and adopt a statutory form of government or a new charter upon the same majority vote as is required by law for the adoption of a charter in the first instance.

Existing laws and charters. Sec. 5. Existing laws and charters, valid when adopted shall continue in effect until amended or repealed in accordance with this article.

ARTICLE XII: THE MILITIA
Militia organization. Section 1. It shall be the duty of the legislature to pass such laws for the organization, discipline and service of the militia of the State as may be deemed necessary.

ARTICLE XIII: IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Impeachment and removal from office. Section 1. The governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and the judges of the supreme and district courts, may be impeached for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors; but judgment in such case shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit in this State. The party convicted thereof shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.

Sec. 2. The legislature of this State may provide for the removal of inferior officers from office, for malfeasance or nonfeasance in the performance of their duties.

Sec. 3. No officer shall exercise the duties of his office after he shall have been impeached and before his acquittal.

Sec. 4. On the trial of an impeachment against the governor, the lieutenant governor shall not act as a member of the court.

Sec. 5. No person shall be tried on impeachment before he shall have been served with a copy thereof at least twenty days previous to the day set for trial.

ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Amendments to constitution; majority vote of electors voting: makes amendment valid. Section 1. Whenever a majority of both houses of the legislature shall deem it necessary to alter or amend this Constitution, they may propose such alterations or amendments, which proposed amendments shall be published with the laws which have been passed at the same session, and said amendments shall be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at any general election, and if it shall appear, in a manner to be provided by law, that a majority of all the electors voting at said election shall have voted for and ratified such alterations or amendments, the same shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of this Constitution. If two or more alterations or amendments shall be submitted at the same time, it shall be so regulated that the voters shall vote for or against each separately.

Revision of constitution. Sec. 2. Whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the legislature shall think it necessary to call a convention to revise this Constitution, they shall recommend to the electors to vote at the next election for members of the legislature, for or against a convention; and if a majority of all the electors voting at said election shall have voted for a convention, the legislature shall, at their next session, provide by law for calling the same. The convention shall consist of as many members as the House of Representatives, who shall be chosen in the same manner, and shall meet within three months after their election for the purpose aforesaid.

Submission to people of revised constitution drafted at convention. Sec. 3. Any convention called to revise this constitution shall submit any revision thereof by said convention to the people of the State of Minnesota for their approval or rejection at the next general election held not less than 90 days after the adoption of such revision, and, if it shall appear in the manner provided by law that three-fifths of all the electors voting on the question shall have voted for and ratified such revision, the same shall constitute a new constitution of the State of Minnesota. Without such submission and ratification, said revision shall be of no force or effect. Section 9 of Article IV of the Constitution shall not apply to election to the convention.

ARTICLE XV: MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS
Seat of government. Section 1. The seat of government of the State shall be at the city of St. Paul, but the legislature, at their first or any future session, may provide by law for a change of the seat of government by a vote of the people, or may locate the same upon the land granted by Congress for a seat of government to the State; and in the event of the seat of government being removed from the city of St. Paul to any other place in the State, the capitol building and grounds shall be dedicated to an institution for the promotion of science, literature and the arts, to be organized by the legislature of the State, and of which institution the Minnesota Historical Society shall always be a department.

Residents on Indian lands. Sec. 2. Persons residing on Indian lands within the State shall enjoy all rights and privileges of citizens, as though they lived in any other portion of the State, and shall be subject to taxation.

Uniform oath at elections. Sec. 3. The legislature shall provide for a uniform oath or affirmation to be administered at elections, and no person shall be compelled to take any other or different form of oath to entitle him to vote.

State seal. Sec. 4. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the secretary of state, and be used by him officially, and shall be called the great seal of the State of Minnesota, and shall be attached to all the official acts of the governor (his signature to acts and resolves of the legislature excepted) requiring authentication. The legislature shall provide for an appropriate device and motto for said seal.

State prison location. Sec. 5. The territorial prison, as located under existing laws, shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, be and remain one of the state prisons of the State of Minnesota.

ARTICLE XVI : PUBLIC HIGHWAY SYSTEM
Authority of state. Section 1. Subject to the limitations of this article the state may establish, locate, construct, reconstruct, improve and maintain public highways and may assist political subdivisions in such work.

Trunk highway system. Sec. 2. There is hereby created a trunk highway system which shall be established, located, constructed, reconstructed, improved and maintained as public highways by the state. Said trunk highway system shall consist of the trunk highway routes numbered 1 through 70 described in the constitutional amendment adopted November 2, 1920, the trunk highway routes added to said foregoing routes by the legislature prior to the effective date of this article, and such additional routes as may be added to the trunk highway system hereby created pursuant to authority in this article contained. The said highways shall extend as nearly as may be along the routes number 1 through 70 described in said constitutional amendment adopted November 2, 1920, and the routes described in any act of the legislature which has made or will hereafter make a route a part of the said trunk highway system. The more specific and definite location of said routes shall be fixed and determined' by such boards, officers or tribunals and in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, but in fixing such specific and definite routes there shall not be any deviation from the starting points or terminals set forth in said routes nor shall there be any deviation in fixing such routes from the various villages and cities named therein through which such routes are to pass.

The legislature may add by law new routes to said trunk highway system. Said trunk highway system shall not exceed 12,200 miles in extent, provided however that the legislature may add by law trunk highways to said system in excess of said foregoing mileage limitation as the legislature may determine as necessary or expedient to meet, use, or otherwise take advantage of any federal aid made available by the United States to the State of Minnesota for highway purposes.

Any route added by the legislature to the trunk highway system either prior or subsequent to the effective date of this article may be altered, amended, relocated, changed or removed from said system, as provided by law. The definite location of said trunk highways numbered 1 through 70 heretofore fixed pursuant to this article may be thereafter changed and relocated as provided by law but no such change or relocation shall be authorized which would cause a deviation from the starting points or terminals set forth in said routes nor cause any deviation from the various villages and cities named therein through which such routes are to pass.

County state-aid highway system. Sec. 3. The legislature is hereby authorized to provide by law for the establishment of a system of county state-aid highways. The county state-aid highway system shall be established, located, constructed, reconstructed, improved and maintained by the counties as public highways in such a manner as shall be provided by law. Such system shall include streets in cities, villages, and boroughs of less than 5,000 population where necessary, as provided by law, to provide an integrated and coordinated highway system and it may include similar streets in other cities, villages, and boroughs. The county state-aid highway system as herein authorized shall not exceed 30,000 miles in extent, provided however that said limitation of 30,000 miles may be increased or decreased by the legislature by law.

Municipal state-aid street system. Sec. 4. The legislature is hereby authorized to provide by law for the establishment of a system of municipal state-aid streets within cities, villages and boroughs having a population of 5,000 or more. The municipal state-aid street system shall be established, located, constructed, reconstructed, improved and maintained as public highways by such cities, villages and boroughs in such manner as shall be provided by law. The municipal state-aid street system as herein authorized shall not exceed 1,200 miles in extent, provided that said limitation of 1,200 miles may be increased or decreased by the legislature by law.

Highway user tax distribution fund. Sec. 5. There is hereby created a fund which shall be known as the highway user tax distribution fund. The highway user tax distribution fund shall be used solely for highway purposes as specified in this article. Said fund shall consist of the proceeds of any taxes authorized to be imposed by sections 9 and 10 of this article. After the deduction of collection costs as provided by law and the payment of refunds authorized by law, the net proceeds of such taxes shall be transferred to the following funds in the following proportions; 62 percent to the trunk highway fund; 29 percent to the county state-aid highway fund; nine percent to the municipal state-aid street fund. After January 1, 1963, the legislature is authorized to provide by law that five percent of the net proceeds of the highway user tax distribution fund may be set aside and if so set aside shall be apportioned as provided by law to one or more of the three foregoing funds on such basis as the legislature may determine. After said five percent may have been so set aside the balance of the highway user tax distribution fund shall in all events be transferred to the trunk highway fund, the county state aid highway fund, and the municipal state aid street fund in accordance with the percentages hereinbefore set forth. No change in the apportionment of the proceeds so set aside shall be made within six years of the commencement of the year in which the last previous change occurred.

Trunk highway fund. Sec. 6. There is hereby created a trunk highway fund which shall be used solely for the purposes specified in section 2 of this article and the payment of principal and interest of any bonds which may be issued under the authority of section 12 of this article and any bonds issued for trunk highway purposes under the constitution prior to July 1, 1957. All payments of principal and interest on any such bonds issued shall be a first charge on moneys coming into this fund during the year in which such principal or interest is payable. The fund created by this section shall also be used for the carrying on of work undertaken and the discharge of obligations incurred payable out of or chargeable to the trunk highway fund or the trunk highway sinking fund constituted and established by the constitution prior to July 1, 1957, and all money in said funds on the effective date of this article are hereby transferred to the fund created by this section.

County state-aid highway fund. Sec. 7. There is hereby created a county state-aid highway fund. Said fund shall, in addition to the share of the highway user tax distribution fund transferred to it by section 5, receive and include all moneys accruing from the income derived from investments in the internal improvement land fund. All moneys in the state road and bridge fund as constituted and established by the constitution prior to July 1, 1957, are hereby transferred on the effective date of this article to the fund created by this section. To render aid for highway purposes the county state-aid highway fund shall be apportioned among the counties as provided by law. Except as provided herein, the funds apportioned shall be used by the counties as provided by law for aid in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of county state-aid highways. The legislature may authorize the counties, as provided by law, to use a part of said funds so apportioned to them to render aid in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of other county highways, township roads, municipal streets, and any other public highways, including but hot limited to trunk highways and municipal state-aid streets within the respective counties.

Municipal state-aid street fund. Sec. 8. There is hereby created a municipal state-aid street fund. To render aid for highway purposes the municipal state-aid street fund shall be apportioned as provided by law among the cities, villages and boroughs having a population of 5,000 or more. Except as provided herein, the funds apportioned shall be used by such cities, villages and boroughs as provided by law for aid in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of municipal state-aid streets. The legislature may authorize such cities, villages and boroughs, as provided by law, to use a part of said funds so apportioned to them to render aid in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of other municipal streets and any other public streets, including but not limited to trunk highways within such cities, villages and boroughs and county state-aid highways within the counties wherein such cities, villages and boroughs are located.

Taxation of motor vehicles. Sec. 9. The legislature is hereby authorized to provide by law for the taxation of motor vehicles using the public streets and highways of this state on a more onerous basis than other personal property; provided, however, that any such tax on motor vehicles shall be in lieu of all other taxes thereon, except wheelage taxes imposed by political subdivisions solely for highway purposes and except that the legislature may impose such tax upon motor vehicles of companies paying taxes under gross earnings system of taxation and upon the right to use such vehicles upon the public highways notwithstanding the fact that earnings from such vehicles may be included in the earnings of such companies upon which such gross earnings taxes are computed. Any such law may, in the discretion of the legislature, provide for the exemption from taxation of any motor vehicle owned by a nonresident of the state but properly licensed in another state, and transiently or temporarily using the streets and highways of the state. The proceeds of such tax shall be paid into highway user tax distribution fund.

Taxation of motor fuel. Sec. 10. The state may levy an excise tax upon any substance, material, fluid, force or other means or instrumentality, or the business of dealing in, selling or producing any or all thereof, used or useful, in producing or generating power for propelling motor or other vehicles used on the public highways of this state. The proceeds of such tax shall be paid into the highway user tax distribution fund.

Participation of political subdivisions in trunk highway work. Sec. 11. The legislature may authorize any political subdivision, upon such terms, conditions and in such manner as shall be provided by law, to aid or lend aid in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of trunk highways within their respective boundaries. The enumeration as in this section contained of the power of the legislature to authorize political subdivisions to participate in trunk highway work shall never operate or be construed so as to limit, prejudice or curtail in any degree or manner whatsoever any power or authority now vested in the legislature concerning or relating to any other public highways.

Bonds. Sec. 12. The legislature may provide by law for the issue and sale of the bonds of the state in such amount as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of section 2 of this article; provided, however, that the total amount of such bonds issued and unpaid shall not at any time exceed $150,000,000, par value. The proceeds of the sale of such bonds shall be paid into the trunk highway fund. Any bonds so issued and sold shall mature serially over a term not exceeding 20 years. They shall not be sold for less than par and accrued interest and shall not bear interest at a greater rate than five percent per annum. In case the trunk highway fund shall not be adequate to meet the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds authorized by the legislature as hereinbefore provided, the legislature may provide by law for the taxation of all taxable property of the state in an amount sufficient to meet the deficiency, or it may, in its discretion, appropriate to such fund moneys in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Supersedure; repeal of inconsistent provisions. Sec. 13. Article XVI and Article IX, section 16, are hereby superseded in their entirety; and any and all provisions of the constitution of the State of Minnesota inconsistent herewith are repealed so far but only so far as the same prohibit or limit the power of the legislature to enact laws authorizing or permitting the doing of the things hereinbefore authorized.

Effective date. Sec. 14. This article shall take effect on the first day of July, 1957.

ARTICLE XVII: FOREST FIRES; PREVENTION, ABATEMENT
Section 1. The state and (or) any of its political subdivisions, if and whenever authorized by the legislature, may contract debts and pledge the public credit for and engage in any work reasonably tending to prevent or abate forest fires, including the compulsory clearing and improvement of wild lands (whether belonging to the public or privately owned) and the assessment against such lands of the value of all benefits so conferred and the payment of damages so sustained in excess of such benefits.

Sec. 2. Any and all provisions of the constitution of the state of Minnesota inconsistent with the provisions of this article, are hereby repealed, so far, but only so far, as the same prohibit or limit the power of the legislature to enact laws authorizing or permitting the doing of the things hereinbefore authorized.

ARTICLE XVIII: FORESTATION AND REFORESTATION
Section 1. Laws may be enacted for the purpose of encouraging and promoting forestation and reforestation of lands in this state, whether owned by private persons or the public, including the fixing in advance of a definite and limited annual tax on such lands for a term of years and a yield tax at or after the end of such term upon the timber and other forest products so grown, but the taxation of mineral deposits shall not be affected by this amendment.

Sec. 2. Any and all provisions of the constitution of the state of Minnesota, inconsistent with the provisions of this article, are hereby repealed, so far, but only so far, as the same prohibit or limit the power of the legislature to enact laws authorizing or permitting the doing of the things hereinbefore authorized.

ARTICLE XIX: AERONAUTICS
Section 1. The state may construct, improve, maintain, and operate and may assist counties, cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and public corporations in constructing, improving, maintaining, and operating airports and other air navigation facilities.

Sec. 2. For the purpose of carrying on or assisting in carrying on such work it may expend monies, including such monies as the legislature may see fit to appropriate, may incur debts, and may issue and negotiate bonds to provide money therefor. The provisions of Section 5 of Article 9 of the Constitution shall not apply to the provisions of this section, and the purposes for which the credit of the state may be given or loaned as herein provided are declared to be public purposes.

Sec. 3. The state may levy a state excise tax upon any fluid or other means or instrumentalities, or the business of dealing in, selling, or producing any or all thereof, used in producing or generating power for propellmg aircraft of any kind now known or hereafter invented, or for propelling or operating motor or other vehicles, or other equipment used for airport purposes and not used on the public highways of this state.

Sec. 4. The legislature is hereby authorized to provide, by law, for the taxation of aircraft using the air space overlying the State of Minnesota and the airports thereof, including any contrivance, now known or hereafter invented, used or designed for navigation of or flight in the air, on a more onerous basis than other personal property; provided, however, that any such tax on aircraft shall be in lieu of all other taxation thereon, and except that the legislature may impose such tax upon aircraft of companies paying taxes under any gross earnings system of taxation, and upon the right to use such aircraft in the air space overlying the State of Minnesota and upon the airports thereof, notwithstanding the fact that earnings from such aircraft may be included in the earnings of such companies upon which such gross earnings taxes are computed. Any such law may, in the discretion of the legislature, provide for the exemption from taxation of any aircraft owned by a nonresident of the state and transiently or temporarily using the air space overlying the State of Minnesota or the airports thereof.

Sec. 5. Any and all provisions of the Constitution of the State of Minnesota inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed, so far, but only so far, as the same prohibit or limit the power of the legislature to enact laws authorizing or permitting the doing of the things hereinbefore authorized.

ARTICLE XX: VETERANS BONUS
Section 1. The state may at any time pay an adjusted compensation to persons who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period from and including September 16, 1940, through December 30, 1946; may levy taxes and appropriate monies for such purpose; and if and whenever authorized, and in such amounts and on such terms as may be fixed by the Legislature, may expend monies, may contract debts, may issue and negotiate bonds or certificates of indebtedness, or both, and may pledge the public credit, to provide money therefor. The provisions of section 5 of Article 9 of the Constitution shall not apply to the provisions of this section, and the purposes for which the credit of the state may be given or loaned as herein provided are declared to be public purposes.

Sec. 2. Any and all provisions of the Constitution of the state of Minnesota inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed, so far, but only so far, as the same prohibit or limit the power of the Legislature to enact laws authorizing or permitting the doing of the things hereinbefore authorized.

ARTICLE XXI: TACONITE TAXATION
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution, Laws of Minnesota 1963, Chapter 81, relating to the taxation of taconite and semi-taconite, and facilities for the mining, production and beneficiation thereof shall not be repealed, modified or amended, nor shall any laws in conflict therewith be valid, for a period of 25 years after the adoption of this amendment; and laws may be enacted, fixing or limiting for a period of not more than 25 years but not extending beyond the year 1990, the tax to be imposed upon persons or corporations engaged in (1) the mining, production or beneficiation of copper, (2) in the mining, production or beneficiation of copper-nickel, or (3) in the mining, production or beneficiation of nickel. Taxes imposed upon the mining or quarrying of taconite or semi-taconite and upon the production of iron ore concentrates therefrom, which are in lieu of a tax on real or personal property, shall not be considered to be occupation, royalty, or excise taxes within the meaning of this amendment.