Utah Constitution

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Utah Constitution
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Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XX • XXII • XXIII • XXIV


The Utah Constitution is the state constitution of Utah.

  • The current Utah Constitution was adopted in 1896.
  • Utah has had one state constitution.
  • The current state constitution has 22 articles.
  • The current Utah Constitution has been amended 132 times.[1]
  • Voters last approved new amendments to the Utah Constitution on November 3, 2020, when voters approved seven amendments.

The Utah Constitution can be amended with a legislative or covention-referred constitutional 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

Utah became the 45th state on January 4, 1896. Early Mormon settlers first sought status as a territory in 1849 and drafted a constitution for the State of Deseret. This was the first of seven constitutions that were drafted before Utah was admitted to the Union as a state.[2][3]

In July 1894, the U.S. Congress enacted a law to enable the territory of Utah to be admitted into the Union as a state. A constitutional convention consisting of 107 delegates met from March to May 1895 to develop the state's first constitution.[2][4][5][3][6]

Preamble

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

The preamble to the Utah Constitution states:

Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we, the people of Utah, in order to secure and perpetuate the principles of free government, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION.[7]

Article I: Declaration of Rights

See also: Article I, Utah Constitution

Article I of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Declaration of Rights" and consists of 29 sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article II: State Boundaries

See also: Article II, Utah Constitution

Article II of the Utah Constitution is entitled "State Boundaries" and consists of one section.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article III: Ordinance

See also: Article III, Utah Constitution

Article III of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Ordinance" and consists of four sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article IV: Elections and Right of Suffrage

See also: Article IV, Utah Constitution

Article IV of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Elections and Right of Suffrage" and consists of ten sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article V: Distribution of Powers

See also: Article V, Utah Constitution

Article V of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Distribution of Powers" and consists of a single section.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article VI: Legislative Department

See also: Article VI, Utah Constitution

Article VI of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Legislative Department" and consists of 33 sections and does not have a section 23.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article VII: Executive Department

See also: Article VII, Utah Constitution

Article VII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Executive Department" and consists of 21 sections and does not have a section 13 or 17.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article VIII: Judicial Department

See also: Article VIII, Utah Constitution

Article VIII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Judicial Department" and consists of 16 sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article IX: Congressional and Legislative Apportionment

See also: Article IX, Utah Constitution

Article IX of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Congressional and Legislative Apportionment" and consists of two sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article X: Education

See also: Article X, Utah Constitution

Article X of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Education" and consists of nine sections and does not have a section six.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XI: Local Governments

See also: Article XI, Utah Constitution

Article XI of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Local Governments" and consists of nine sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XII: Corporations

See also: Article XII, Utah Constitution

Article XII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Corporations."

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XIII: Revenue and Taxation

See also: Article XIII, Utah Constitution

Article XIII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Revenue and Taxation" and consists of 8 sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XIV: Public Debt

See also: Article XIV, Utah Constitution

Article XIV of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Public Debt" and consists of seven sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XV: Militia

See also: Article XV, Utah Constitution

Article XV of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Militia" and consists of two sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XVI: Labor

See also: Article XVI, Utah Constitution

Article XVI of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Labor" and consists of eight sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XVII: Water Rights

See also: Article XVII, Utah Constitution

Article XVII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Water Rights" and consists of one section.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XVIII: Forestry

See also: Article XVIII, Utah Constitution

Article XVIII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Forestry" and consists of one section.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XIX

The Utah Constitution does not have an Article XIX.

Article XX: Public Lands

See also: Article XX, Utah Constitution

Article XX of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Public Lands" and consists of two sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XXI

The Utah Constitution does not have an article XXI.

Article XXII: Miscellaneous

See also: Article XII, Utah Constitution

Article XXII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Miscellaneous" and consists of four sections.

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Article XXIII: Amendment and Revision

See also: Article XXIII, Utah Constitution

Article XXIII of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Amendment and Revision" and consists of three sections

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Article XXIV: Schedule

See also: Article XXIV, Utah Constitution

Article XXIV of the Utah Constitution is entitled "Schedule" and consists of 16 sections.

Click here to read this article of the Utah Constitution.

Amending the constitution

See also: Amending state constitutions and Article XXIII, Utah Constitution

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

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XXIII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers vote is required during one legislative session for the Utah State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Utah House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Utah State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 2 of Article XXIII, a ballot question about whether to hold a convention can go on the ballot if two-thirds of the members of the Utah State Legislature vote to put it on the ballot.


See also

State Constitutions Ballotpedia.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ According to Steinglass and Scarselli (2022), the Constitution of 1896 had been amended 91 times through 1996. From 1998 through 2022, Utah voters approved an additional 41 amendments.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah.com, "Statehood," accessed March 30, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steinglass, S., et al. (2022). The Utah State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
  4. ↑ Utah.gov, "History of the Utah constitutional convention of 1895," accessed November 25, 2023
  5. ↑ Paul Wake, Fundamental Principles, Individual Rights, and Free Government: Do Utahns Remember How to Be Free?, accessed March 30, 2014
  6. ↑ University of Oxford: Quill Project, "UTAH STATE CONSTITUTION 1895," accessed November 25, 2023
  7. ↑ Utah.gov, "Utah Constitution," accessed March 30, 2014
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