Arkansas Constitution

Arkansas Constitution
Preamble
Articles
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • Schedule • Proclamation
Amendments

The Arkansas Constitution is the state constitution of Arkansas.

• The current Arkansas Constitution was adopted in 1874.
• Arkansas has had five state constitutions.
• The current state constitution has 20 articles.
• The current Arkansas Constitution has been amended 102 times.
• Voters last approved a new amendment to the Arkansas Constitution on November 3, 2020, when voters approved two amendments.

The Arkansas Constitution can be amended with a legislative or citizen-initiated amendment, both of which require voter approval.

A state constitution is the fundamental document that outlines a state's framework for governance, including the powers, structure, and limitations of the state government, individual and civil rights, and other matters.

Background

Arkansas became the 25th state on June 15, 1863. In 1836, Arkansas held a constitutional convention to draft a document in order to qualify for statehood. The constitution created at that convention was ratified by Congress on January 30, 1836. On June 15, 1836, President Andrew Jackson signed the act, making Arkansas a state.

That constitution was the first of five in the state's history. The next constitution was created when the state seceded from the Union in May 1861. It was kept mostly intact from the original but changed references to the United States of America to the Confederate States of America. The third constitution was adopted in 1864 and was a requirement to qualify for wartime reconstruction. The fourth constitution officially brought Arkansas back to the Union in 1868. It was written following the terms of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. The fifth and current constitution was adopted in 1874.

Preamble

See also: Preamble, Arkansas Constitution and Preambles to state constitutions

The Arkansas Constitution Preamble states:

	We, the People of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government; for our civil and religious liberty; and desiring to perpetuate its blessings, and secure the same to our selves and posterity; do ordain and establish this Constitution.

Article 1: Boundaries

See also: Article 1, Arkansas Constitution

Article 1 is entitled "Boundaries" and defines the physical boundaries of the state.

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Article 2: Declaration of Rights

See also: Article 2, Arkansas Constitution

Article 2 is entitled "Declaration of Rights" and extends to citizens the rights granted by the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution, including the right to bear arms, the right to writ of habeas corpus and more.

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Article 3: Franchise and Elections

See also: Article 3, Arkansas Constitution

Article 3 is entitled "Franchise and Elections" and establishes that "elections shall be free and equal" and that "no power, civil or military, shall ever interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage." Parts of this article were superseded by the 39th Amendment. It also ensures that "no idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector."

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Article 4: Departments

See also: Article 4, Arkansas Constitution

Article 4 is entitled "Departments" and establishes the separation of powers. "The powers of the government of the State of Arkansas shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of them to be confided to a separate body of magistracy, to-wit: Those which are legislative, to one, those which are executive, to another, and those which are judicial, to another."

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Article 5: Legislative Department

See also: Article 5, Arkansas Constitution

Article 5 is entitled "Legislative Department" and discusses the operations of the Arkansas General Assembly. It provides that the Assembly shall meet biennially (Section 5) and limited to 60 days unless approved by two-thirds of both houses (Section 17). Section 4 sets the qualifications for members.

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Article 6: Executive Department

See also: Article 6, Arkansas Constitution

Article 6 is entitled "Executive Department" and forms the executive offices of Arkansas government. This article was heavily revised by later amendments.

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Article 7: Judicial Department

See also: Article 7, Arkansas Constitution

Article 7 is entitled "Judicial Department" and forms the judiciary, it was also heavily amended.

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Article 8: Apportionment--Membership in General Assembly

See also: Article 8, Arkansas Constitution

Article 8 is entitled "Apportionment--Membership in General Assembly" and establishes the two houses of the legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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Article 9: Exemption

See also: Article 9, Arkansas Constitution

Article 9 is entitled "Exemption" and creates exemption against the seizure of property, with specific provisions for widows and children.

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Article 10: Agriculture, Mining and Manufacture

See also: Article 10, Arkansas Constitution

Article 10 is entitled "Agriculture, Mining and Manufacture" and authorizes the Assembly to pass laws supporting Arkansas' agriculture, mining, and manufacturing (including a seven-year abatement of all taxes on capital investment in such).

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Article 11: Militia

See also: Article 11, Arkansas Constitution

Article 11 is entitled "Militia" and establishes a state militia. "The militia shall consist of all able-bodied male persons, residents of the State, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years; except such as may be exempted by the laws of the United States, or this State; and shall be organized, officered, armed and equipped and trained in such manner as may be provided by law."

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Article 12: Municipal and Private Corporations

See also: Article 12, Arkansas Constitution

Article 12 is entitled "Municipal and Private Corporations" and delineates the liabilities of private companies.

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Article 13: Counties, County Seats and County Lines

See also: Article 13, Arkansas Constitution

Article 13 is entitled "Counties, County Seats and County Lines" and establishes the conditions for forming and changing the boundaries of counties.

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Article 14: Education

See also: Article 14, Arkansas Constitution

Article 14 is entitled "Education" and establishes a school fund for use in a free public school system.

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Article 15: Impeachment and Address

See also: Article 15, Arkansas Constitution

Article 15 is entitled "Impeachment and Address" and defines the conditions and procedures of impeachment. This article was amended by a 2000 referendum.

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Article 16: Finance and Taxation

See also: Article 16, Arkansas Constitution

Article 16 is entitled "Finance and Taxation" and establishes rules governing state funds and the taxes that may be levied.

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Article 17: Railroads, Canals and Turnpikes

See also: Article 17, Arkansas Constitution

Article 17 is entitled "Railroads, Canals and Turnpikes" and describes these modes of transportation.

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Article 18: Judicial Circuits

See also: Article 18, Arkansas Constitution

Article 18 is entitled "Judicial Circuits" and establishes the Judicial Circuits and states which counties are represented in each circuit.

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Article 19: Miscellaneous Provisions

See also: Article 19, Arkansas Constitution

Article 19 is entitled "Miscellaneous Provisions" and covers miscellaneous items.

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Potential conflict with U.S. Constitution

Article 19, Section 1 is titled "Atheists disqualified from holding office or testifying as witness." It states: "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court." This section is in possible conflict with Article VI of the United States Constitution which says in part, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

Article 20: "Holford" Bonds Not to Be Paid

See also: Article 20, Arkansas Constitution

Article 20, added by Amendment 1, is entitled "'Holford' Bonds Not to Be Paid" and prohibits the General Assembly from making appropriations for payment of principal and interest on several bond issues from 1869-1871, commonly referenced as "Holford" bonds, which were passed during Reconstruction by a Union-dominated General Assembly.

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Schedule

See also: Schedule, Arkansas Constitution

The Schedule provided for a transition between the current Constitution and the prior one.

Amendments

See also: Amendments, Arkansas Constitution

As of May, 2021, 102 amendments had been added to the Arkansas Constitution.

Amending the Arkansas Constitution

See also: Amending state constitutions

The Arkansas Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process and a legislative process. Arkansas requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Initiative

See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Arkansas, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Arkansas requires that a petition must contain qualified signatures equaling at least half of the required percentage of signatures (5%) from each of 50 of the state's 75 counties. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Arkansas State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Arkansas House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Arkansas State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

See also

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

External links

Suggest a link

• Arkansas State Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Arkansas of 1874"
• Ledbetter, Jr., Cal, "The Constitution of 1868: Conqueror's Constitution or Constitutional Continuity?" in The Arkansas Historical Quarterly