Page images
PDF
EPUB

ARTICLE THIRD.

Of the Legislative Department.

Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two distinct houses or branches; the one to be styled The Senate, the other The House of Representatives, and both together The General Assembly. The style of their laws shall be, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened.

Sec. 2. There shall be one stated session of the General Assembly, to be holden in each year, alternately at Hartford and New Haven, on the first Wednesday of May (altered by amendments of 1872, 1875, 1876 and 1884) and and at such other times as the General Assembly shall judge necessary; the first session to be holden at Hartford; but the person administering the office of Governor may, on special emergencies, convene the General Assembly at either of said places, at any other time. And in case of danger from the prevalence of contagious diseases in either of said places, or other circumstances, the person administering the office of Governor may by proclamation convene said Assembly at any other place in this State.

Sec. 3. The House of Representatives shall consist of electors residing in towns from which they are elected. The number of Representatives from each town shall be the same as at present practiced and allowed. In case a new town shall hereafter be incorporated, such new town shall be entitled to one representative only (altered by amendments of 1828, 1836 and 1875); and if such new town shall be made from one or more towns, the town or towns from which the same shall be made shall be entitled to the same number of Representatives as at present allowed, unless the number shall be reduced by the consent of such town or towns.

Sec. 4. The Senate shall consist of twelve members, to be chosen annually by the electors (altered by amendments of 1828, 1836 and 1875).

Sec. 5. At the meetings of the electors, held in the several towns in this State in April annually, after the election of Rep resentatives, the electors present shall be called upon to bring in their written ballots for Senators (altered by amendments of 1836, 1875 and 1884). The presiding officer shall receive the votes of the electors, and count and declare them in open meeting. The presiding officer shall also make duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of

votes for each, which shall be certified by the presiding officer; one of which lists shall be delivered to the Town Clerk, and the other, within ten days after said meeting, shall be delivered, under seal, either to the Secretary or to the sheriff of the county in which said town is situated: which list shall be directed to the Secretary, with a superscription expressing the purport of the contents thereof: and each sheriff who shall receive such votes shall, within fifteen days after said meeting, deliver, or cause them to be delivered. to the Secretary.

Sec. 6. The Treasurer, Secretary, and Comptroller, for the time being, shall canvass the votes publicly. The twelve persons having the greatest number of votes for Senators shall be declared to be elected (altered by amendments of 1828 and 1875). But in cases where no choice is made by the electors in consequence of an equality of votes, the House of Representatives shall designate. by ballot, which of the candidates having such equal number of votes shall be declared to be elected. The return of votes. and the result of the canvass, shall be submitted to the House of Representatives, and also to the Senate, on the first day of the session of the General Assembly; and each House shall be the final judge of the election, returns, and qualifications of its own members.

Sec. 7. The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a speaker, clerk, and other officers. The Senate shall choose its clerk and other officers except the President. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number mav adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may prescribe.

Sec. 8. Each House shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Legislature of a free and independent State.

Sec. 9. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and pubiish the same when required by one-fifth of its members, except such parts as, in the judgment of a majority, require secrecy. The yeas and nays of the members of either House shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journals.

Sec. 10. The Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and for four days before the commencement and after the termination of any session thereof. And for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

Sec. 11. The debates of each house shall be public, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy.

ARTICLE FOURTH.

Of the Executive Department.

Section 1. The supreme executive power of the State shall be vested in a Governor, who shall be chosen by the electors of the State, and shall hold his office for one year from the first Wednesday of May (made to apply to biennial elections by amendment of 1875) next succeeding his election, and until his successor be duly qualified. No person who is not an elector of this State, and who has not arrived at the age of thirty years, shall be eligible.

Sec. 2. At the meetings of the electors in the respective towns, in the month of April in each year (made to apply to biennial elections by amendment of 1876), immediately after the election of Senators, the presiding officers shall call upon the electors to bring in their ballots for him whom they would elect to be Governor, with his name fairly written. When such ballots shall have been received and counted in the presence of the electors, duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of votes given for each, shall be made and certified by the presiding officer, one of which lists shall be deposited in the office of the Town Clerk within three days, and the other within ten days, after said election, shall be transmitted to the Secretary, or to the sheriff of the county in which such election shall have been held. The sheriff receiving said votes shall deliver, or cause them to be delivered, to the Secretary within fifteen days next after said election. The votes so returned shall be counted by the Treasurer, Secretary and Comptroller, within the month of April. A fair list of the persons and number of votes given for each, together with the returns of the presiding officers, shall be, by the Treasurer, Secretary and Comptroller, made and laid before the General Assembly, then next to be holden, on the first day of the session thereof; and said Assembly shall, after examination of the same, declare the person whom they shall

find to be legally chosen, and give him notice accordingly. If no person shall have a majority of the whole number of said votes, or if two or more shall have an equal and the greatest number of said votes, then said Assembly, on the second day of their session, by joint ballot of both houses, shall proceed, without debate, to choose a Governor from a list of the names of the two persons having the greatest number of votes, or of the names of the persons having an equal and highest number of votes so returned as aforesaid. The General Assembly shall by law prescribe the manner in which all questions concerning the election of a Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor, shall be determined. Sec. 3. At the annual meetings of the electors, immediately after the election of Governor, there shall also be chosen, in the same manner as is hereinbefore provided for the election of Governor, a Lieutenant-Governor (altered by amendment of 1875), who shall continue in office for the same time, and possess the same qualifications.

Sec. 4. The compensations of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Senators and Representatives shall be established by law, and shall not be varied so as to take effect until after an election, which shall next succeed the passage of the law establishing said compensations.

Sec. 5. The Governor shall be Captain General of the militia of the State, except when called into the service of the United States.

Sec. 6. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

a

Sec. 7. The Governor, in case of a disagreement between the two houses of the General Assembly respecting the time of adjournment, may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next stated session.

Sec. 8. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient.

Sec. 9. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

Sec. 10. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves after conviction, in all cases except those of impeachment, until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, and no longer.

Sec. 11. All commissions shall be in the name and by authority of the State of Connecticut; shall be sealed with the State seal, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary.

Sec. 12. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor. If he approves, he shall sign and transmit it to the Secretary, but if not he shall return it to the house in which it originated, with his objections, which shall be entered on the journals of the house; who shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, that house shall again pass it, it shall be sent, with objections, to the other house, which shall also reconsider it. If approved, it shall become a law. But in such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respectively. If the 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 General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevents its return; in which case it shall not be a law.

Sec. 13. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be President of the Senate, and have, when in Committee of the Whole, a right to debate; and when the Senate is equally divided, to give the casting vote.

Sec. 14. In case of the death, resignation, refusal to serve, or removal from office of the Governor, or of his impeachment or absence from the State, the Lieutenant-Governor shall exercise the powers and authority appertaining to the office of Governor, until another be chosen at the next periodical election for Governor, and be duly qualified; or until the Governor, impeached or absent, shall be acquitted or return.

Sec. 15. When the government shall be administered by the Lieutenant-Governor, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their members as President pro tempore. And if, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall die, resign, refuse to serve, or be removed from office, or if he shall be impeached or absent from the State, the President of the Senate pro tempore shall, in like manner, administer the government, until he be superseded by a Governor or Lieutenant-Governor.

« PreviousContinue »