9 number of votes shall be declared elected; but if two or more shall have the 10 highest and an equal number of votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor 11 by the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. Contested elec12 tions for Governor shall be decided by a like vote, and the mode of proceeding 13 in such cases shall be prescribed by law. SEC. 3. No person except a citizen of the United States shall be eligible to 2 the office of Governor; and if such person be of foreign birth, he must have 3 been a citizen of the United States for ten years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be eligible to that office unless he shall have attained the 5 age of thirty years, and have been a resident of this State for five years next 6 preceding his election. 4 SEC. 4. The Governor shall reside at the seat of government; shall receive 2 five thousand dollars for each year of his service, and while in office shall 3 receive no other emolument from this or any other government. 2 7 SEC. 5. The Governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; communicate to the General Assembly, at every session, the condition of the 3 Commonwealth; recommend to their consideration such measures as he may 4 deem expedient, and convene the General Assembly, on application of two5 thirds of the members of both houses thereof, or when, in his opinion, the 6 interest of the Commonwealth may require. He shall be commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of the State; have power to embody the militia 8 to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and enforce the execution of the laws; 9 conduct, either in person or in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, all 10 intercourse with other and foreign States; and, during the recess of the 11 General Assembly, shall have power to suspend from office for misbehavior, 12 incapacity, neglect of official duty, or acts performed without due authority 13 of law, all executive officers at the seat of government except the Lieutenant14 Governor; but, in any case in which this power is so exercised, the Governor 15 shall report to the General Assembly, at the beginning of the next session 16 thereof, the fact of such suspension and the cause therefor; whereupon the 17 General Assembly shall determine whether such officer shall be restored or 18 finally removed; and the Governor shall have power, during the recess of the 19 General Assembly, to appoint, pro tempore, successors to all officers so sus20 pended, and to fill, pro tempore, all vacancies in the offices of the State for the 21 filling of which the Constitution and laws make no other provision; but his 22 appointments to such vacancies shall be by commissions to expire at the end 23 of thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the General 24 Assembly. He shall have power to remit fines and penalties in such cases, and 25 under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law, and except 26 when the prosecution has been carried on by the House of Delegates, to grant 27 reprieves and pardons after conviction; to remove political disabilities conse28 quent upon conviction for offences committed prior or subsequent to the 29 adoption of this Constitution, and to commute capital punishment; but he 30 shall communicate to the General Assembly, at each session, particulars of 31 every case of fine or penalty remitted, of reprieve or pardon granted, and of 32 punishment commuted, with his reasons for remitting, granting, or com33 muting the same. SEC. 6. The Governor may require information in writing from the officers 2 of the executive department and superintendents of State institutions upon 3 any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices and institutions, 4 which information shall be given under oath; and he may inspect at any 5 time their official books, accounts, and vouchers, and ascertain the condition 6 of the public funds in their charge, and in that connection may employ expert 7 accountants, if in his judgment necessary. He may require the opinion in 8 writing of the Attorney-General upon any question of law affecting the official duties of the Governor. 9 SEC. 7. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of the Common2 wealth of Virginia, and be attested by the Governor, with the seal of the Commonwealth annexed. 3 SEC. 8. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and House of Dele2 gates, and every resolution requiring the assent of both branches of the Gen 4 7 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 3 eral Assembly, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it; but if not he shall return it, with his objec5 tions, to the house in which it shall have originated, which shall enter the 6 objections at large on its journal and proceed to reconsider the same. If, after such consideration, two-thirds of the members present, which two-thirds 8 shall include a majority of the members elected to that house, shall agree to 9 pass the bill or joint resolution, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members present, which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members elected to that house, it shall become a law, not13 withstanding the objections of the Governor. If he approve the general pur14 pose of any bill or joint resolution, but disapprove any part or parts thereof, he may return it, with recommendations for its amendment, to the house in which it originated; whereupon the same proceedings shall be had in both houses upon the said bill or joint resolution, and his said recommendations in relation to its amendment, as is above provided, in relation to a bill or 19 joint resolution, which he shall have returned without his approval, and his 20 objections thereto: provided, that if after such reconsideration both houses, by a vote of a majority of the members present in each, shall agree to amend 22 the said bill or joint resolution, in accordance with his recommendations in 23 relation thereto, or either house by such vote shall fail or refuse to so amend 24 it, then, and in either case, the said bill or joint resolution shall be again sent to him, and he may act upon it as if it were then before him for the first 26 time. The Governor shall have the right to veto any item or items in an 27 appropriation bill and approve the others. But in all the cases above set 28 forth, the votes of both houses shall be determined by ayes and noes, and the 29 names of the members voting for and against the bill or joint resolution shall 30 be entered on the journal of each house, respectively. If any bill or resolu31 tion shall not be returned by the Governor within five days (Sundays ex32 cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in 33 like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly shall, by their 34 adjournment, prevent such return; in which case it shall be a law if signed 35 by the Governor within ten days after such final adjournment, but not other36 wise. 21 25 2 Lieutenant-Governor. SEC. 9. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the Governor, and his qualifications and the manner of his elec3 tion, in all respects, shall be the same. SEC. 10. In case of the removal of the Governor from office, or of his death, 2 failure to qualify, resignation, removal from the State, or inability to dis3 charge the powers and duties of the office, the said office, with its compensa4 tion, shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor; and the General Assembly shall provide by law for the discharge of the executive functions in other 6 necessary cases. 5 SEC. 11. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Senate, but shall 2 have no vote except in case of an equal division; and while acting as such 3 shall receive a compensation equal to that allowed to the Speaker of the 4 House of Delegates. 2 Secretary of the Commonwealth. SEC. 12. A Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at the same time and for the same term as the Governor, 3 and the fact of his election shall be determined as in the case of the Governor. 4 He shall keep a daily record of the official acts of the Governor, which shall 5 be signed by the Governor and attested by the Secretary, and, when required, 6 he shall lay the same, and any papers, minutes, and vouchers pertaining to 7 his office, before either house of the General Assembly. He shall discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by law. All fees received by the Sec9 retary of the Commonwealth shall be paid into the treasury monthly. 8 SEC. 13. A State Treasurer shall be elected by the qualified voters of the 2 State at the same time and for the same term as the Governor. His powers 3 and duties shall be prescribed by law. SEC. 14. An Auditor of Public Accounts shall be elected by the joint vote of 2 the two houses of the General Assembly for the term of four years. His powers and duties shall be prescribed by law. 3 SEC. 15. The salary of each officer of the executive department, except in 2 those cases where the salary is determined by this Constitution, shall be fixed 3 by law; and the salary of no such officer shall be increased or diminished 4 during the term for which he shall have been elected or appointed. 2 SEC. 16. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient system of checks and balances between the officers at the seat of government entrusted with the collection, receipt, cus4 tody, or disbursement of the revenues of the State. 3 SEC. 17. All State officers, and their deputies, assistants, or employees, 2 charged with the collection, custody, handling, or disbursement of public 3 funds, shall be required to give bond for the faithful performance of such 4 duties, the amount of such bond in each case, and the manner in which secu5 rity shall be furnished, to be specified and regulated by law. 2 SEC. 18. The General Assembly shall have power to esablish and maintain a bureau of labor and statistics, under such regulations as may be prescribed 3 by law. ARTICLE VI. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. SECTION 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a General 2 Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Delegates. SEC. 2. The House of Delegates shall be elected biennially by the voters of 2 the several cities and counties on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, and shall consist of not more than one hundred and not less 4 than ninety members. 3 SEC. 3. The Senate shall consist of not more than forty and not less than 2 thirty-three members. The Senators shall be elected quadrennially by the voters of the several cities and counties on the Tuesday succeeding the first 4 Monday in November. Each county, city, and town of the respective districts shall vote for one or more Senators. 3 5 SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Any person may be elected Senator who, at the time of election, is 2 actually a resident within the district and qualified to vote for members of 3 the General Assembly, and eligible to office according to this Constitution; 4 and any person may be elected a member of the House of Delegates who, at the 5 time of election, is actually a resident within the county, city, town, or elec6 tion district, and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, and 7 eligible to office according to this Constitution. But no person holding a 8 salaried office under the United States Government or under the State Gov9 ernment, and no judge of any court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, 10 sergeant, treasurer, assessor of taxes, commissioner of the revenue, collector 11 of taxes, or clerk of any court, shall be a member of either house of the General Assembly during his continuance in office, and the election of any such 13 person to either house of the General Assembly, and his qualification thereto, 14 shall vacate any such office held by him. The removal of any person, elected to either house of the General Assembly, from the city, county, town, or district for which he is elected, shall vacate his office. 12 15 16 SEC. 6. The members of the General Assembly shall receive for their services a salary to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public treasury; but no 3 act increasing such salary shall take effect until after the end of the term 4 for which the members of the General Assembly voting thereon were elected, and no member of the General Assembly, during the term for which he shall 6 have been elected, shall be appointed or elected to any civil office of profit in the State except offices filled by election by the people. 5 7 2 3 5 SEC. 7. The General Assembly shall meet on the second Wednesday in January next succeeding the election of members thereof. It shall meet in regular session once in two years, and not oftener unless convened in the manner pre4 scribed in this Constitution. No session of the General Assembly, after the first under this Constitution, shall continue longer than sixty days without 6 the concurrence of three-fifths of the members elected to each house, in which case the session may be extended for a further period not exceeding thirty 8 days. Except for the first session held under this Constitution, members shall be allowed, and shall receive, a salary for not exceeding sixty days at any 7 9 10 regular session and for not exceeding thirty days at any extra session. 11 Neither house of the General Assembly shall, without the consent of the 12 other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in 13 which the two houses shall be sitting. A majority of the members elected to each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number 15 may adjourn from day to day, and shall have the power to compel the attend16 ance of absent members in such manner and under such penalty as each house 17 may prescribe. 14 SEC. 8. The House of Delegates shall choose its own Speaker, and in the 2 absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, or when he shall exercise the office of the 3 Governor, the Senate shall choose from their own body a president pro tem4 pore; and each house shall appoint its own officers, settle its own rules of 5 proceeding, and direct writs of election for supplying vacancies which may occur during the session of the General Assembly; but if vacancies shall occur 7 during the recess of the General Assembly such writs may be issued by the 8 Governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. Each house shall judge of the election, qualification, and returns of its members; may 10 punish them for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 11 expel a member. 6 9 2 SEC. 9. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the ses3 sions of their respective houses; and for any speech or debate in either house 4 they shall not be questioned in any other place. They shall not be subject to 5 arrest, under any civil process, either during the sessions of the General 6 Assembly or the fifteen days next before the convening of any session, or the 7 fifteen days next after its termination. 3 SEC. 10. Each house of the General Assembly shall keep a journal of its 2 proceedings, which shall be published from time to time, and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of 4 one-fifth of those present, and in the cases hereinafter provided, be entered on the journal. 5 3 4 9 SEC. 11. No law shall be enacted except by bill. A bill may originate in 2 either of the two houses of the General Assembly, to be approved or rejected by the other, and may be amended by either with the consent of the other. No bill shall become a law unless it shall have been (a) referred to a com5 mittee of each house, acted upon by such committee in session and returned 6 therefrom; (b) printed for the use of members prior to its passage by the 7 house in which it originated; (c) read at length on three different calendar 8 days in each house; and (d) on its final passage in each house, the vote shall have been taken by the yeas and nays, the names of the members voting for 10 and against the bill entered on the journal, and two-fifths of the members elected to each house, including a majority of those voting, shall vote and be 12 recorded as voting in its favor, except that no bill which imposes, continues, 13 or revives any appropriation of public or trust money or property, or releases, 14 discharges, or commutes any claim or demand of the State, shall be passed 15 which does not receive the vote of a majority of all the members elected to 16 each house, the vote in each house to be taken by the yeas and nays, and the 17 names of the members voting for and against the bill to be entered on the 18 journal. But such printing or reading, or both, may be dispensed with in 11 |