Constitution of Arizona

The Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the U.S. state of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona.

History

The Arizona Territory was authorized to hold a constitutional convention in 1910 at which the constitution was drafted and submitted to Congress. The original constitution was approved by Congress, but subsequently vetoed by President William H. Taft on his objections concerning the recalling of judges. The constitution was amended by the constitutional convention removing the recalling of judges and resubmitted upon which President Taft approved Arizona's statehood as the 48th state on February 14, 1912.[1]

Fairly quickly after Arizona became a state, the state legislature approved a constitutional amendment which restored the ability to recall judges, which was approved in the 1912 general election.[1]

Preamble

We the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution.

Summary

The Arizona Constitution is divided into a preamble and 30 articles, numbered 1–6, 6.1, 7–22, and 25–30, with articles 23 and 24 having been repealed.

Oddities

Two sections in the Constitution are duplicated, having resulted from three constitutional amendments being approved in 1992 (Propositions 100, 101, and 107 all amending term limits with Proposition 107 creating a second version in both sections).

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled Article 28 unconstitutional, however the declaration of its inapplicability does not remove any part of Article 28 from the Constitution.

References

  1. 1 2 Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Record - The Road to Statehood Accessed November 6, 2006
  2. http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/const/27/2.htm
  3. State of Arizona. "Article 5". Arizona Constitution. Arizona Legislature.
  4. State of Arizona. "Article 5, section 1". Arizona Constitution. Arizona Legislature.
  5. State of Arizona. "Article 19". Arizona Constitution. Arizona Legislature.
  6. State of Arizona. "Article 19, section 1". Arizona Constitution. Arizona Legislature.

Further reading

McClory, T. Understanding the Arizona Constitution, The University of Arizona Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0-8165-2096-1

External links

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