Monday, June 9, 2025

Revision of The Constitution of the State of Tennessee

 ✨A Constitution for a Free Tennessee

For Liberty. For the People. For the Future.


What This Constitution Does:

🔹 Restores Representation

  • House of Representatives elected using proportional voting—every vote counts.

  • Senate selected by county governments with representation rotating every 3 years by Grand Division.

🔹 Splits Executive Power to Prevent Abuse

  • A Governor serves as head of state and guardian of the Constitution.

  • A Premier is chosen by the House to lead the administration.

🔹 Eliminates Party Primaries

  • All candidates appear on a single general election ballot.

  • No party gatekeeping. No closed primaries. Just open, competitive elections.

🔹 Protects Your Rights More Strongly

  • Expanded Bill of Rights includes:

    • Stronger protections for speech, property, and due process

    • No judicial deference to bureaucratic agencies

🔹 Restores Local Control

  • Counties help choose Senators.

  • Local governments are constitutional actors—not administrative afterthoughts.

🔹 Imposes Real Fiscal Limits

  • Strict caps on taxes, spending, and debt.

  • No state-owned business ventures or favoritism in commerce.

🔹 Creates an Independent Judiciary

  • Judges serve single, long terms.

  • Merit-based appointments—no campaigning or partisan elections.


Why This Matters:

✔ No more two-party monopoly. ✔ No more top-down control from Nashville. ✔ No more political games at the expense of your liberty. ✔ A government that governs less and protects more.


⚖️ What Stays the Same?

  • Jury trials, open courts, and elected representatives remain.

  • Local governments still serve the people.

  • The right to bear arms is preserved.

  • Courts still protect life, liberty, and property.

But what’s new is how clearly your freedom is defended—and how tightly government is restrained.


👥 Who Supports It?

  • Constitutional scholars

  • Local officials tired of unfunded mandates

  • Business owners who want fair rules

  • Everyday Tennesseans who value liberty


📜 The Bottom Line

This is your Constitution. Built for citizens. Grounded in liberty. Structured to last

This Constitution doesn’t give you new rights—it protects the rights you already have. It brings government back under control. It honors your work, your voice, and your freedom.


✅ Read It. Share It. Support It.


Preamble

 

We, the Delegates and Representatives of the people of the State of Tennessee, duly elected, and in Convention assembled, in pursuance of said Act of Assembly, have ordained and established the following Constitution and form of government for this State, which we recommend to the people of Tennessee for their ratification: That is to say

 

ARTICLE I.

Declaration of Rights.

 

Section 1. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; for the advancement of those ends they have at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.

 

Section 2. That government being instituted for the common benefit, the doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

 

Section 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience; that no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any minister against his consent; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience; and that no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship.

 

Section 4. That no political or religious test, other than an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this State.

 

Section 5. The elections shall be free and equal, and the right of suffrage, as hereinafter declared, shall never be denied to any person entitled thereto, except upon a conviction by a jury of some felony crime, previously ascertained and declared by law, and judgment thereon by court of competent jurisdiction or due to a mental incapacity previously ascertained by a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

Section 6. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and no religious or political test shall ever be required as a qualification for jurors.

 

Section 7. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and that general warrants, whereby an officer may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offences are not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not to be granted.

 

Section 8. That no man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers and the law of the land.

 

Section 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath the right to be heard by himself and his counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof, to meet the witnesses face to face, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and in prosecutions by indictment or presentment, a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the County in which the crime shall have been committed, and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself.

 

Section 10. That no person shall, for the same offence, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.

 

Section 11. That laws made for the punishment of acts committed previous to the existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are contrary to the principles of a free Government; wherefore no Ex post facto law shall be made.

 

Section 12. That no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate. The estate of such persons as shall destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in case of natural death. If any person be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture in consequence thereof.

 

Section 13. That no person arrested and confined in jail shall be treated with unnecessary rigor.

 

Section 14. That no person shall be put to answer any criminal charge but by presentment, indictment or impeachment.

 

Section 15. That no person shall be convicted of a criminal offense unless both a voluntary act or omission and a culpable mental state—defined as criminal intent, knowledge, or recklessness—have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. No criminal law shall be enacted unless it includes one of these levels of culpability as an essential element of the offense.

 

Section 16. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. And the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended.

 

Section 17. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

 

Section 18. That all courts shall be open; and every man, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay. Suits may be brought against the State in such manner and in such courts as the Legislature may by law direct.

 

Section 19. The Legislature shall pass no law authorizing imprisonment for debt in civil cases.

 

Section 20. That the press shall be free to every person to examine the proceedings of the Legislature; or of any branch or officer of the government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. But in prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and in all indictments for libel, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other criminal cases.

 

Section 21. That no retrospective law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts, shall be made.

 

Section 22. That no man’s property shall be taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives and without just compensation being made therefore. Public use shall not include either private use or benefit, or the indirect public benefits resulting from private economic development and private commercial enterprise, including increased tax revenue and increased employment opportunity.

 

Section 23. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State, and shall not be allowed.

 

Section 24. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address or remonstrance.

 

Section 25. That the sure and certain defense of a free people, is a well-regulated militia; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to freedom, they ought to be avoided as far as the circumstances and safety of the community will admit; and that in all cases the military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil authority.

 

Section 26. That no citizen of this State, except such as are employed in the army of the United States, or militia in actual service, shall be subjected to punishment under the martial or military law. That martial law, in the sense of the unrestricted power of military officers, or others, to dispose of the persons, liberties or property of the citizen, is inconsistent with the principles of free government, and is not confided to any department of the government of this State.

 

Section 27. That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms except in consequence to a conviction for violent felony crimes committed against persons or upon an adjudication of incapacity.

 

Section 28. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner.

 

Section 29. That no citizen of this State shall be compelled to bear arms.

 

Section 30. That an equal participation in the free navigation of the Mississippi, is one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State; it cannot, therefore, be conceded to any prince, potentate, power, person or persons whatever.

 

Section 31. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or honors, shall ever be granted or conferred in this State.

 

Section 32. That the limits and boundaries of this State be ascertained, it is declared they are as hereafter mentioned, that is to say: Beginning on the extreme height of the Stone Mountain, at the place where the line of Virginia intersects it, in latitude thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north; running thence along the extreme height of the said mountain, to the place where Watauga river breaks through it; thence a direct course to the top of the Yellow Mountain, where Bright’s road crosses the same; thence along the ridge of said mountain, between the waters of Doe river and the waters of Rock creek, to the place where the road crosses the Iron Mountain; from thence along the extreme height of said mountain, to the place where Nolichucky river runs through the same; thence to the top of the Bald Mountain; thence along the extreme height of said mountain to the Painted Rock on French Broad river; thence along the highest ridge of said mountain, to the place where it is called the Great Iron or Smoky Mountain; thence along the extreme height of said mountain to the place where it is called Unicoi or Unaka Mountain, between the Indian towns of Cowee and Old Chota; thence along the main ridge of the said mountain to the southern boundary of this state, as described in the act of cession of North Carolina to the United States of America; and that all the territory, lands and waters lying west of said line, as before mentioned, and contained within the chartered limits of the state of North Carolina, are within the boundaries and limits of this state, over which the people have the right of exercising sovereignty, and the right of soil, so far as is consistent with the Constitution of the United States, recognizing the Articles of Confederation, the Bill of Rights and Constitution of North Carolina, the cession act of the said State, and the ordinance of Congress for the government of the territory north west of Ohio; Provided, nothing herein contained shall extend to affect the claim or claims of individuals to any part of the soil which is recognized to them by the aforesaid cession act; And provided also, that the limits and jurisdiction of this State shall extend to any other land and territory now acquired, or that may hereafter be acquired, by compact or agreement with other States, or otherwise, although such land and territory are not included within the boundaries herein before designated.

 

Section 33. That the erection of safe prisons, the inspection of prisons, and the humane treatment of prisoners, shall be provided for.

 

Section 34. Slavery shall not exist in the State of Tennessee and the General Assembly shall make no law recognizing the right of property in man.

 

Section 35. To preserve and protect the rights of victims of crime to justice and due process, victims shall be entitled to the following basic rights:

(a). The right to confer with the prosecution.

(b). The right to be free from intimidation, harassment and abuse throughout the criminal justice system.

(c). The right to be present at all proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present.

(d). The right to be heard, when relevant, at all critical stages of the criminal justice process as defined by the General Assembly.

(e). The right to be informed of all proceedings, and of the release, transfer or escape of the accused or convicted person.

(f). The right to a speedy trial or disposition and a prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction or sentence.

(g). The right to restitution from the offender.

(h). The right to be informed of each of the rights established for victims. The General Assembly has the authority to enact substantive and procedural laws to define, implement, preserve and protect the rights guaranteed to victims by this section.

 

Section 36. Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

 

Section 37. The Legislature shall pass no law to interfere in the commerce of the people of the state or mandate actions by any individual in furtherance of any economic or commercial policy.

 

Section 38. The Legislature shall pass no law to create, or engage in, any business, professional, commercial, financial or industrial enterprise.

 

Section 39. The Legislature shall pass no law to abridge the freedoms of production, commerce and the voluntary and free exchange of goods and services.

 

Section 40. That no person shall be deprived of their right to life as punishment for any criminal act.

 

ARTICLE II.

Legislative Department.

 

Section 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Representatives shall hold office for three years and Senators for nine years from the day of the general election, except that the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each shall hold their office as Speaker for three years or until their successor is elected and qualified.

 

Section 2. The Senate shall be composed of sixty-six members, twenty-two from each Grand Division of the State, provided however, that in the first general election after adoption of this amendment Senators shall be divided into three classes, each composed exclusively of the Senators from one of the three Grand Divisions of the State, so that one-third may be selected every third year from a single Grand Division on a rotating basis. Senators shall be selected by the county legislative bodies, exclusive of the County Executive, within each Grand Division, pursuant to procedures prescribed by law, with the vote of each county weighted in proportion to its population within the Grand Division as determined by the most recent federal census, provided that no county shall be wholly excluded from participation in the process.

 

Section 3. The apportionment of Representatives shall be substantially according to population. After each decennial census made by the Bureau of Census of the United States is available the General Assembly shall establish representative districts. Nothing in this Section nor in this Article II shall deny to the General Assembly the right at any time to apportion the House of the General Assembly using geography, political subdivisions, substantially equal population and other criteria as factors; provided such apportionment when effective shall comply with the Constitution of the United States as then amended or authoritatively interpreted. If the Constitution of the United States shall require that Legislative apportionment not based entirely on population be approved by vote of the electorate, the General Assembly shall provide for such vote in the apportionment act.

 

Section 4. The House of Representatives shall consist of one hundred ninety-eight members, elected according to the principles of proportional representation from thirty three districts and each such district shall elect six members. All districts shall be contiguous.

 

Section 5. Elections for the House of Representatives shall be conducted using a proportional voting method that:

 

(a)   Allows each voter to express preferences among multiple candidates in the district, either by ranking, scoring, or other means of indicating relative support on a single ballot;

(b)   Allocates the six seats in each district in a manner that reflects the distribution of voter preferences, so that distinct groups of voters receive representation in proportion to their share of the vote;

(c)   Does not rely on plurality, winner-take-all, or block voting systems that prevent proportional outcomes;

(d)   Ensures that every candidate competes under the same rules and that the method does not structurally advantage or disadvantage any political group or independent candidate; and

(e)   Is designed to minimize wasted votes and to promote fair and effective representation for the electorate.

 

Section 6. At each triennial general election, held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, all Representatives shall be elected by the qualified voters. On the same day, Senators shall be selected only from the Grand Division whose Senators' terms have expired, by the county legislative bodies pursuant to the method prescribed in Section 2. These processes shall conclude on the day of the election.

 

Section 7. Legislative Sessions—Governor’s Inauguration—The General Assembly shall meet in organizational session on the second Tuesday in January next succeeding the election of the members of the House of Representatives, at which session, if in order, the Governor shall be inaugurated. The General Assembly shall remain in session for organizational purposes not longer than fifteen consecutive calendar days, during which session no legislation shall be passed on third and final consideration. Thereafter, the General Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday next following the conclusion of the organizational session unless the General Assembly by joint resolution of both houses sets an earlier date. The General Assembly may by joint resolution recess or adjourn until such time or times as it shall determine. It shall be convened at other times by the Governor as provided in Article III, Section 9, or by the Speakers of both Houses at the written request of two-thirds of the members of each House.

 

Section 8. No person shall be a Representative unless the person shall be a citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, and shall have been a citizen of this State for three years, and a resident in the district the person represents one year, immediately preceding the election.

 

Section 9. No person shall be a Senator unless the person shall be a citizen of the United States, of the age of thirty years, and shall have resided three years in this State, and shall have resided one year in a county within the Grand Division immediately preceding the selection. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which the person was elected, be eligible to any office or place of trust, the appointment to which is vested in the Executive or the General Assembly.

 

Section 10. The Senate and House of Representatives, when assembled, shall each choose a speaker and its other officers; be judges of the qualifications and election of its members, and sit upon its own adjournments from day to day. Not less than two-thirds of all the members to which each house shall be entitled shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized, by law, to compel the attendance of absent members.

 

Section 11. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Legislature of a free State.

 

Section 12. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

 

Section 13. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, during its session, any person not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the House, by any disorderly or any contemptuous behavior in its presence.

 

Section 14. Senate Vacancies.

When the seat of any member of the Senate becomes vacant, the vacancies shall be filled as follows:

 

(a)   The county legislative bodies of the affected Grand Division shall, within ninety days, convene in council to select a replacement for the unexpired term, following the same population-weighted voting procedure as prescribed for regular selections. If the Legislature is in session and the council has not yet acted, the presiding officer of the Senate may request the Governor to convene the county legislative bodies in special session for the purpose of making the selection.

 

(b)   In the event that the county legislative bodies fail to fill the vacancy within ninety days, the Governor shall appoint a temporary Senator from the same Grand Division to serve until the council makes a lawful selection or until the expiration of the term, whichever comes first.

 

(c)   No county shall be excluded from participation in the vacancy-filling process, and all votes shall be weighted in accordance with the most recent federal census.

 

Section 15. House Vacancies.

When the seat of any member of the House becomes vacant, the vacancies shall be filled as follows:

 

(a)   To the extent practicable and in accordance with the principles of proportional representation a successor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the district represented maintaining the electoral percentages of the most recent election, and such successor shall serve the remainder of the original term. The election shall be held within such time as provided by law.

(b)   Only a qualified voter of the district represented shall be eligible to succeed to the vacant seat.

 

Section 16. Neither House shall, during its session, adjourn without the consent of the other for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

 

Section 17. Bills may originate in either House; but may be amended, altered or rejected by the other. No bill shall become a law which embraces more than one subject, that subject to be expressed in the title. All acts which repeal, revive or amend former laws, shall recite in their caption, or otherwise, the title or substance of the law repealed, revived or amended.

 

Section 18. Bills may also originate by an initiative of the people whenever proposed by an application containing the bill to be initiated. The application shall be signed by not less than one hundred qualified voters as sponsors, and shall be filed with the Secretary of State. If he finds it in proper form he shall so certify. Denial of certification shall be subject to judicial review.

 

After certification of the application, a petition containing a summary of the subject matter shall be prepared by the Secretary of State for circulation by the sponsors. If signed by qualified voters who are equal in number to at least ten per cent (10%) of those who voted in the preceding general election, one-third of whom shall be from each of the three grand divisions of the state, it shall be considered by each House of the General Assembly but may be amended, altered or rejected by either. No bill initiated by petition shall become a law which embraces more than one subject, that subject to be expressed in the title. All acts which repeal, revive or amend former laws, shall recite in their caption, or otherwise, the title or substance of the law repealed, revived or amended.

 

Section 19. A bill shall become law when it has been considered and passed on three different days in each House and on third and final consideration has received the assent of a majority of all the members to which each House is entitled under this Constitution, when the respective speakers have signed the bill with the date of such signing appearing in the Journal, and when the bill has been approved by the Governor or otherwise passed under the provisions of this Constitution.

 

Section 20. After a bill has been rejected, no bill containing the same substance shall be passed into a law during the same session.

 

Section 21. The style of the laws of this state shall be, “Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee.” No law of a general nature shall take effect until forty days after its passage unless the same or the caption thereof shall state that the public welfare requires that it should take effect sooner.

 

Section 22. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish it, except such parts as the welfare of the state may require to be kept secret; the ayes and noes shall be taken in each House upon the final passage of every bill of a general character, and bills making appropriations of public moneys; and the ayes and noes of the members on any question, shall, at the request of any five of them, be entered on the journal.

 

Section 23. The doors of each House and of committees of the whole shall be kept open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret.

 

Section 24. Each member of the General Assembly shall receive an annual salary as may be provided by law, payable in equal monthly installments from the date of his election, and in addition, such other allowances for expenses in attending sessions or committee meetings as may be provided by law. The Senators, when sitting as a Court of Impeachment, shall receive the same allowances for expenses as have been provided by law for the members of the General Assembly. The compensation and expenses of the members of the General Assembly may from time to time be reduced or increased by laws enacted by the General Assembly; however, no increase or decrease in the amount thereof shall take effect until the next general election for Representatives to the General Assembly. Provided, further, that the first General Assembly meeting after adoption of this amendment shall be allowed to set its own expenses. However, no member shall be paid expenses, nor travel allowances for more than one hundred thirty-five Legislative days of a regular session, excluding the organization session, nor for more than thirty Legislative days of any extraordinary session.

 

Section 25. Appropriation of public moneys.

No public money shall be expended except pursuant to appropriations made by law. Expenditures for any fiscal year shall not exceed the state’s revenues and reserves, including the proceeds of any debt obligation, for that year. No debt obligation, except as shall be repaid within the fiscal year of issuance, shall be authorized for the current operation of any state service or program, nor shall the proceeds of any debt obligation be expended for a purpose other than that for which it was authorized. In no year shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy as determined by law. No appropriation in excess of this limitation shall be made unless the General Assembly shall, by law containing no other subject matter, set forth the dollar amount and the rate by which the limit will be exceeded. Any law requiring the expenditure of state funds shall be null and void unless, during the session in which the act receives final passage, an appropriation is made for the estimated first year’s funding. No law of general application shall impose increased expenditure requirements on cities or counties unless the General Assembly shall provide that the state share in the cost. An accurate financial statement of the state’s fiscal condition shall be published annually.

 

Section 26. No person who heretofore hath been, or may hereafter be, a collector or holder of Public Moneys, shall have a seat in either House of the General Assembly, or hold any other office under the State Government, until such person shall have accounted for, and paid into the Treasury, all sums for which he may be accountable or liable.

 

Section 27. No Judge of any Court of law or equity, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Register, Clerk of any court of Record, or person holding any office under the authority of the United States, shall have a seat in the General Assembly; nor shall any person in this State hold more than one lucrative office at the same time; provided, that no appointment in the Militia, or to the Office of Justice of the Peace, shall be considered a lucrative office, or operative as a disqualification to a seat in either House of the General Assembly. This section shall not apply with regard to the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor under Article III, Section 12.

 

Section 28. Any member of either House of the General Assembly shall have liberty to dissent from and protest against, any act or resolve which he may think injurious to the Public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for his dissent entered on the journals.

 

ARTICLE III.

Executive Department.

 

Section 1. The Supreme Executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor.

 

Section 2. The Governor shall have the duty to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this State. The Governor shall ensure that no law enacted, nor any action taken by the institutions of this State, shall violate the provisions of this Constitution. The Governor may call public attention to any act or measure that, in the Governor’s judgment, is inconsistent with the Constitution and may recommend its reconsideration

 

Section 3. The Governor shall be chosen by the Grand Council of the State. The Grand Council shall consist of all members of the General Assembly and the chief executive of every county of the State.

 

Section 4. The Governor shall be at least thirty years of age, shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have been a citizen of this State seven years next before his election. He shall not be a member of the General Assembly nor shall the he hold any other office of profit or trust of the United States or State of Tennessee for a period of seven years before his election.

 

Section 5. The Governor shall be elected to hold office for one term of ten years and until a successor is elected and qualified.

 

Section 6. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of this state, and of the Militia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; But the Militia shall not be called into service except in case of rebellion or invasion, and then only when the General Assembly shall declare, by law, that the public safety requires it.

 

Section 7. The Governor shall, with the consent of the Senate, appoint the Judges of the Supreme Court, appellate courts and inferior courts.

 

Section 8. The Governor may request, and the Premier shall provide, reports or recommendations regarding the condition of the State, the conduct of public administration, or any matter affecting constitutional compliance.

 

Section 9. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, after conviction, except in cases of impeachment.

 

Section 10. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.

 

Section 11. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly by proclamation, in which he shall state specifically the purposes for which they are to convene; but they shall enter on no legislative business except that for which they were specifically called together.

 

Section 12. In case of the removal of the Governor from office, or of his death, or resignation, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve on the Speaker of the Senate until a new governor is chosen.

Whenever the Governor transmits to the Premier, the Secretary of State, and the Speaker of the Senate a written, signed declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall be temporarily discharged by the Speaker of the Senate as Acting Governor, until the Governor transmits to the same officials a written, signed declaration that the Governor is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office. 

Whenever a majority of the commissioners of administrative departments of the Executive Department transmits to the Premier, the Secretary of State and the Speaker of the Senate their written, signed declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the Speaker of the Senate shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting Governor until the Governor transmits to the same officials a written, signed declaration that the Governor is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office.

Whenever the Speaker is temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor, such Speaker shall not be required to resign the Speaker's position as the Speaker or to resign as a member of the general assembly and shall retain the Speaker's salary and not receive the Governor's salary, but such Speaker shall not preside as Speaker or vote as a member of the general assembly during the time the Speaker is Acting Governor.

 

Section 13. No member of Congress, or person holding any office under the United States, or this State, shall execute the office of Governor except as provided in Article III, Section 12 with regard to the Speaker of the Senate temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor.

 

Section 14. When any officer, the right of whose appointment is by this Constitution vested in the General Assembly, shall, during the recess, die, or the office, by the expiration of the term, or by other means, become vacant, the Governor shall have the power to fill such vacancy by granting a temporary commission, which shall expire at the end of the next session of the Legislature.

 

Section 15. There shall be a Seal of this State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called the Great Seal of the State of Tennessee.

 

Section 16. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Tennessee, be sealed with the State Seal, and signed by the Governor.

 

Section 17. Every bill which may pass both Houses of the General Assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor for his signature. If he approve, he shall sign it, and the same shall become a law; but if he refuse to sign it, he shall return it with his objections thereto, in writing, to the house in which it originated; and said House shall cause said objections to be entered at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider the Bill. If after such reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that House shall agree to pass the Bill, notwithstanding the objections of the Executive, it shall be sent, with said objections, to the other House, by which it shall be likewise reconsidered. If approved by a majority of the whole number elected to that House, it shall become a law. The votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of all the members voting for or against the Bill shall be entered upon the journals of their respective Houses.

 

If the Governor shall fail to return any bill with his objections in writing within ten calendar days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law without his signature. If the General Assembly by its adjournment prevents the return of any bill within said ten-day period, the bill shall become a law, unless disapproved by the Governor and filed by him with his objections in writing in the office of the Secretary of State within said ten-day period.

 

Every Joint Resolution or order (except on question of adjournment and proposals of specific amendments to the Constitution) shall likewise be presented to the Governor for his signature; and on being disapproved by him shall, in like manner, be returned with his objections; and the same, before it shall take effect, shall be repassed by a majority of all the members elected to both Houses in the manner and according to the rules prescribed in case of a Bill.

 

The Governor may reduce or disapprove the sum of money appropriated by any one or more items or parts of items in any bill appropriating money, while approving other portions of the bill. The portions so approved shall become law, and the items or parts of items disapproved or reduced shall be void to the extent that they have been disapproved or reduced unless repassed as hereinafter provided. The Governor, within ten calendar days (Sundays excepted) after the bill shall have been presented to him, shall report the items or parts of items disapproved or reduced with his objections in writing to the House in which the bill originated, or if the General Assembly shall have adjourned, to the office of the Secretary of State. Any such items or parts of items so disapproved or reduced shall be restored to the bill in the original amount and become law if repassed by the General Assembly according to the rules and limitations prescribed for the passage of other bills over the executive veto.

 

ARTICLE IV.

Judicial Department.

 

Section 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior Courts as the Legislature shall from time to time, ordain and establish; in the Judges thereof, and in Justices of the Peace. The Legislature may also vest such jurisdiction in Corporation Courts as may be deemed necessary. Courts to be holden by Justices of the Peace may also be established.

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases and controversies arising under this Constitution, and the laws enacted pursuant thereto

 

Section 3. The Supreme Court shall consist of five Judges, of whom not more than two shall reside in any one of the grand divisions of the State. The Judges shall designate one of their own number who shall preside as Chief Justice. The concurrence of three of the Judges shall in every case be necessary to a decision. The jurisdiction of this Court shall be appellate only, under such restrictions and regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by law; but it may possess such other jurisdiction as is now conferred by law on the present Supreme Court. Said Court shall be held at Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson.

 

Section 4. Judges of the Supreme Court, intermediate appellate courts, and inferior courts shall be appointed by the Governor for a single term of twenty-five years and shall be confirmed by the Senate. Judges shall not be eligible for reappointment to the same office after completing a full term. Confirmation by default occurs if the Senate fails to reject an appointee within sixty calendar days of either the date of appointment, if made during the annual legislative session, or the convening date of the next annual legislative session, if made out of session. The Legislature is authorized to prescribe such provisions as may be necessary to carry out Sections two and three of this article. Every judge of the Supreme Court and appellate courts shall have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and shall, prior to appointment, have been a resident of the state for five years. Judges of inferior courts shall have attained to the age of twenty-five and shall, before his election, have been a resident of the state for two years.

 

Section 5. An Attorney General and Reporter for the State, shall be appointed by the Judges of the Supreme Court and confirmed by the Senate and shall hold office for a term of eight years, eligible to succeed in office for one term. An Attorney for the State for any circuit or district for which a Judge having criminal jurisdiction shall have been provided by law, shall be appointed by the Attorney General and confirmed by the Senate, and shall hold his office for a term of eight years, eligible to succeed in office for two additional terms, and shall have been a resident of the State five years, and of the circuit or district one year. In all cases where the Attorney for any district fails or refuses to attend and prosecute according to law, the Court shall have power to appoint an Attorney pro tempore.

 

Section 6. Judges and Attorneys for the State may be removed from office by a concurrent vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, each House voting separately; but two-thirds of the members to which each House may be entitled must concur in such vote. The vote shall be determined by ayes and noes, and the names of the members voting for or against the Judge or Attorney for the State together with the cause or causes of removal, shall be entered on the Journals of each House respectively. The Judge or Attorney for the State, against whom the Legislature may be about to proceed, shall receive notice thereof accompanied with a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the day on which either House of the General Assembly shall act thereupon.

 

Section 7. The Judges of the Supreme or Inferior Courts, shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the time for which they are elected. They shall not be allowed any fees or perquisites of office nor hold any other office of trust or profit under this State or the United States.

 

Section 8. The jurisdiction of Courts, shall be as now established by law, until changed by the Legislature.

 

Section 9. The Judges shall not charge juries with respect to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare the law.

 

Section 10. The Judges or Justices of the Inferior Courts shall have power in all civil cases to issue writs of certiorari to remove any cause or the transcript of the record thereof, from any inferior jurisdiction, into such court of law, on sufficient cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

 

Section 11. No Judge of the Supreme or Inferior Courts shall preside on the trial of any cause in the event of which he may be interested, or where either of the parties shall be connected with him by affinity of consanguinity, within such degrees as may be prescribed by law, or in which he may have been of counsel, or in which he may have presided in any inferior Court, except by consent of all the parties. In case all or any of the Judges of the Supreme Court shall thus be disqualified from presiding on the trial of any cause or causes, the Court, or the Judges thereof, shall certify the same to the Governor of the State, and he shall forthwith specially commission the requisite number of men, of law knowledge, for the trial and determination thereof. The Legislature may by general laws make provision that special Judges may be appointed, to hold any Courts the Judge of which shall be unable or fail to attend or sit; or to hear any cause in which the Judge may be incompetent.

 

Section 12. All writs and other process shall run in the name of the State of Tennessee and bear test and be signed by the respective clerks. Indictments shall conclude, “against the peace and dignity of the State.”

 

Section 13. Judges of those courts within each district or circuit shall appoint their clerks. Any Clerk may be removed from office at the discretion of the appointing court and with the concurrence of a majority of the judges of those courts within the district or circuit served by the clerk.

 

Section 14. No fine shall be laid on any citizen of this State that shall exceed fifty dollars, unless it shall be assessed by a jury of his peers, who shall assess the fine at the time they find the fact, if they think the fine should be more than fifty dollars.

 

ARTICLE V.

The Premier.

 

Section 1. The Premier shall be elected by the House of Representatives on the proposal of the Governor.

 

Section 2. The person who receives the votes of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives shall be elected. The person elected shall be appointed by the Governor.

 

Section 3. If the person proposed by the Governor is not elected, the House of Representatives may elect a Premier after the ballot by the votes of more than one half of its members.

 

Section 4. Officers of the executive departments shall be appointed and dismissed by the Governor upon the proposal of the Premier.

 

Section 5. The Premier may require information in writing, from the officers of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

 

Section 6. The Premier shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

 

Section 7. The Premier shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend for their consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient.

 

Section 8. The House of Representatives may express its lack of confidence in the Premier only by electing a successor by the vote of a majority of its members and requesting the Governor to dismiss the Premier. The Governor shall appoint the person elected.

 

 

ARTICLE VI.

Taxation.

 

Section 1. In accordance with the following provisions, all property real, personal, or mixed shall be subject to taxation, but the Legislature shall not levy, authorize, or otherwise permit any state tax upon such property, and the Legislature may except such as may be held by the State, by Counties, Cities or Towns, and used exclusively for public or corporation purposes, and such as may be held and used for purposes purely religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational, and shall except the direct product of the soil in the hands of the producer, and his immediate vendee, and the entire amount of money deposited in an individual’s personal or family checking or savings accounts. For purposes of taxation, property shall be classified into three classes, to wit: Real Property, Tangible Personal Property and Intangible Personal Property. Real property shall be classified into four (4) subclassifications and assessed as follows:

 

(a) Public Utility Property, to be assessed at fifty-five (55%) per cent of its value;

(b) Industrial and Commercial Property, to be assessed at forty (40%) per cent of its value;

(c) Residential Property, to be assessed at twenty-five (25%) per cent of its value, provided that residential property containing two (2) or more rental units is hereby defined as industrial and commercial property; and

(d) Farm Property, to be assessed at twenty-five (25%) per cent of its value.

 

House trailers, mobile homes, and all other similar movable structures used for commercial, industrial, or residential purposes shall be assessed as Real Property as an improvement to the land where located.

 

The Legislature shall provide, in such a manner as it deems appropriate, tax relief to elderly low-income taxpayers through payments by the State to reimburse all or part of the taxes paid by such persons on owner-occupied residential property, but such reimbursement shall not be an obligation imposed, directly or indirectly, upon Counties, Cities, or Towns.

 

By general law, the Legislature may authorize the following program of tax relief:

 

(a) The legislative body of any county or municipality may provide by resolution or ordinance that:

1. Any taxpayer who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older and who owns residential property as the taxpayer’s principal place of residence shall pay taxes on such property in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount of tax on such property imposed at the time the ordinance or resolution is adopted;

2. Any taxpayer who reaches the age of sixty-five (65) after the time the ordinance or resolution is adopted, who owns residential property as the taxpayer’s principal place of residence shall thereafter pay taxes on such property in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount of tax on such property imposed in the tax year in which such taxpayer reaches age sixty-five (65); and 3. Any taxpayer who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older who purchases residential property as the taxpayer’s principal place of residence after the taxpayer’s sixty-fifth birthday shall pay taxes in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount of tax imposed on such property in the tax year in which such property is purchased.

(b) Whenever the full market value of such property is increased as a result of improvements to such property after the time the ordinance or resolution is adopted, then the assessed value of such property shall be adjusted to include such increased value and the taxes shall also be increased proportionally with the value.

(c) Any taxpayer or taxpayers who own residential property as their principal place of residence whose total or combined annual income, or wealth exceeds an amount to be determined by the General Assembly shall not be eligible to receive the tax relief provided in subsection (a) or (b).

 

The Legislature may provide tax relief to home owners totally and permanently disabled, irrespective of age, as provided herein for the elderly. Tangible Personal Property shall be classified into three (3) subclassifications and assessed as follows:

 

(a) Public Utility Property, to be assessed at fifty-five (55%) per cent of its value;

(b) Industrial and Commercial Property, to be assessed at thirty (30%) per cent of its value; and

(c) All other Tangible Personal Property, to be assessed at five (5%) per cent of its value; provided, however, that the Legislature shall exempt Seven Thousand Five Hundred ($7,500) Dollars worth of such Tangible Personal Property which shall cover personal household goods and furnishings, wearing apparel and other such tangible property in the hands of a taxpayer.

 

The Legislature shall have power to classify Intangible Personal Property into subclassifications and to establish a ratio of assessment to value in each class or subclass, and shall provide fair and equitable methods of apportionment of the value of same to this state for purposes of taxation. Banks, Insurance Companies, Loan and Investment Companies, Savings and Loan Associations, and all similar financial institutions, shall be assessed and taxed in such manner as the Legislature shall direct; provided that the taxes imposed upon such financial institutions, and paid by them, shall be in lieu of all taxes on the redeemable or cash value of all of their outstanding shares of capital stock, policies of insurance, customer savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and certificates of investment, by whatever name called, including other intangible corporate property of such financial institutions.

 

The ratio of assessment to value of property in each class or subclass shall be equal and uniform throughout the State, the value and definition of property in each class or subclass to be ascertained in such manner as the Legislature shall direct. Each respective taxing authority shall apply the same tax rate to all property within its jurisdiction.

 

The Legislature shall have power to tax merchants, peddlers, and privileges, in such manner as they may from time to time direct, and the Legislature may levy a gross receipts tax on merchants and businesses in lieu of ad valorem taxes on the inventories of merchandise held by such merchants and businesses for sale or exchange. The portion of a merchant's capital used in the purchase of merchandise sold by him to nonresidents and sent beyond the state, shall not be taxed at a rate higher than the ad valorem tax on property. Notwithstanding the authority to tax privileges or any other authority set forth in this Constitution, the Legislature shall not levy, authorize or otherwise permit any state or local tax upon income derived from stocks and bonds, payroll, earned or unearned personal income or any state or local tax measured by payroll, earned or unearned personal income.

 

Section 2. The General Assembly shall have power to levy a tax on the sales and use of goods and services. Goods and services shall each be taxed equally and uniformly throughout the State and no good or service shall be exempted from taxation. The maximum rate of taxation shall be 3% and may only be increased by one quarter of one percent during any session of the General Assembly, and then only with the assent of three-fifths of each House of the General Assembly.

 

The General Assembly shall have power to authorize the several Counties and incorporated towns and cities of this state to levy a tax on the sales and use of goods and services within their jurisdiction. Goods and services shall each be taxed equally and uniformly and no good or service shall be exempted from taxation. The maximum rate of taxation shall be 1% and may only be increased in the County or Corporation by one eighth of one percent in one of two ways:

 

(a)   during the six months prior to the election in which a new legislative body, of the County or Corporation, as applicable, shall be chosen, and then only with the assent of three-fifths of the legislative body or,

(b)   by a majority of the voters during an election for the legislative body of the County or Corporation, as applicable.

 

Section 3. The General Assembly shall have power to authorize the several Counties and incorporated towns in this State, to impose taxes for County and Corporation purposes respectively, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; and all property shall be taxed according to its value, upon the principles established in regard to state taxation. But the credit of no County, City or Town shall be given or loaned to or in aid of any person, company, association or corporation, except upon an election to be first held by the qualified voters of such county, city or town, and the assent of three-fourths of the votes cast at said election. Nor shall any county, city or town become a stockholder with others in any company, association or corporation except upon a like election, and the assent of a like majority.

 

Section 4. No article, manufactured of the produce of this State, shall be taxed otherwise than to pay inspection fees.

 

 

ARTICLE VII.

Elections.

 

Section 1. Every person, being eighteen years of age, being a citizen of the United States, being a resident of the State for a period of time as prescribed by the General Assembly, and being duly registered in the county of residence for a period of time prior to the day of any election as prescribed by the General Assembly, shall be entitled to vote in all federal, state, and local elections held in the county or district in which such person resides. All such requirements shall be equal and uniform across the state, and there shall be no other qualification attached to the right of suffrage. The General Assembly shall have power to enact laws requiring voters to vote in the election precincts in which they may reside, and laws to secure the freedom of elections and the purity of the ballot box.

 

Section 2. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage persons who may be convicted of felony crimes or determined by courts of competent jurisdiction to have a mental incapacity.

 

Section 3. Electors shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest or summons, during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from them.

 

Section 4. In all elections to be made by the General Assembly, the members thereof shall vote viva voce, and their votes shall be entered on the journal. All other elections shall be by ballot.

 

ARTICLE VIII.

Impeachments.

 

Section 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.

 

Section 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose the Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or if he be on trial, the Senior Associate Judge, shall preside over them. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of forty-four Senators. All Senators shall be sworn to try the officer impeached.

 

Section 3. The House of Representatives shall elect from their own body three members, whose duty it shall be to prosecute impeachments. No impeachment shall be tried until the Legislature shall have adjourned sine die, when the Senate shall proceed to try such impeachment.

 

Section 4. The Governor, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Inferior Courts, Attorneys for the State, Treasurer, Comptroller, and Secretary of State, shall be liable to impeachment, whenever they may, in the opinion of the House of Representatives, commit any crime in their official capacity which may require disqualification; but judgment shall only extend to removal from office, and disqualification to fill any office thereafter. The party shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment according to law. The Legislature now has, and shall continue to have, power to relieve from the penalties imposed, any person disqualified from holding office by the judgment of a Court of Impeachment.

 

Section 5. Justices of the Peace, and other civil officers, not hereinbefore mentioned, for crimes or misdemeanors in office, shall be liable to indictment in such courts as the Legislature may direct; and upon conviction, shall be removed from office by said court, as if found guilty on impeachment; and shall be subject to such other punishment as may be prescribed by law.

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX.

State and County Officers.

 

Section 1. The qualified voters of each county shall elect for terms of four years a legislative body, a county executive, and a Sheriff. Their qualifications and duties shall be prescribed by the General Assembly. Any officer shall be removed for malfeasance or neglect of duty as prescribed by the General Assembly.

 

The legislative body shall be composed of representatives from districts in the county as drawn by the county legislative body pursuant to statutes enacted by the General Assembly. Districts shall be reapportioned at least every ten years based upon the most recent federal census. The legislative body shall not exceed twenty-five members, and no less than five representatives shall be elected from a district. Any county organized under the consolidated government provisions of Article XI, Section 8, of this Constitution shall be exempt from having a county executive and a county legislative body as described in this paragraph.

 

The General Assembly may provide alternate forms of county government including the right to charter and the manner by which a referendum may be called. The new form of government shall replace the existing form if approved by a majority of the voters in the referendum. No officeholder’s current term shall be diminished by the ratification of this article.

 

Section 2. Vacancies in county offices shall be filled by the county legislative body, and any person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next election occurring after the vacancy and is qualified.

 

Section 3. There shall be a Treasurer and a Comptroller of the Treasury appointed for the State, by the joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, who shall hold their offices for three years.

 

Section 4. A Secretary of State shall be appointed by joint vote of the General Assembly, and commissioned during the term of six years; he shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor; and shall, when required lay the same, and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before the General Assembly; and shall perform such other duties as shall be enjoined by law.

 

 

Section 5. The election of all officers, and the filling of all vacancies not otherwise directed or provided by this Constitution, shall be made in such manner as the Legislature shall direct.

 

Section 6. Elections for other civil officers shall be held forever on the first Thursday in August next preceding the expiration of their respective terms of service. The term of each officer so elected shall be computed from the first day of September next succeeding his election. The term of office of the Governor and other executive officers shall be computed from the fifteenth of January next after the election of the Governor. No appointment or election to fill a vacancy shall be made for a period extending beyond the unexpired term. Every officer shall hold his office until his successor is elected or appointed, and qualified. No special election shall be held to fill a vacancy in the office of Judge, but at the time herein fixed for the biennial election of civil officers, and such vacancy shall be filled at the next Biennial election recurring more than thirty days after the vacancy occurs.

 

 

ARTICLE X.

Oaths, Bribery of Electors, New Counties.

 

Section 1. Every person who shall be chosen or appointed to any office of trust or profit under this Constitution, or any law made in pursuance thereof, shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take an oath to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United States, and an oath of office.

 

Section 2. Each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, shall before they proceed to business take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United States and also the following oath: I _____________do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as a member of this General Assembly, I will, in all appointments, vote without favor, affection, partiality, or prejudice; and that I will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to me injurious to the people, or consent to any act or thing, whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State.

 

Section 3. Any elector who shall receive any gift or reward for his vote, in meat, drink, money or otherwise, shall suffer such punishment as the laws shall direct. And any person who shall directly or indirectly give, promise or bestow any such reward to be elected, shall thereby be rendered incapable, for six years, to serve in the office for which he was elected, and be subject to such further punishment as the Legislature shall direct.

 

Section 4. New Counties may be established by the Legislature to consist of not less than two hundred and seventy-five square miles, and which shall contain a population of seven hundred qualified voters; no line of such County shall approach the Court House of any old County from which it may be taken nearer than eleven miles, nor shall such old County be reduced to less than five hundred square miles.

 

No part of a County shall be taken off to form a new County or a part thereof without the consent of two-thirds of the qualified voters in such part taken off; and where an old County is reduced for the purpose of forming a new one, the Seat of Justice in said old County shall not be removed without the concurrence of two-thirds in both branches of the Legislature, nor shall the seat of Justice of any County be removed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the County. The fractions taken from old Counties to form new Counties or taken from one County and added to another shall continue liable for their pro rata of all debts contracted by their respective Counties prior to the separation, and be entitled to their proportion of any stocks or credits belonging to such old Counties.

 

Section 5. The citizens who may be included in any new County shall vote with the County or Counties from which they may have been stricken off, for members of Congress, for Governor and for members of the General Assembly until the next apportionment of members to the General Assembly after the establishment of such new County.

 

ARTICLE XI.

Miscellaneous Provisions.

 

Section 1. All laws and ordinances now in force and use in this State, not inconsistent with this Constitution, shall continue in force and use until they shall expire, be altered or repealed by the Legislature; but ordinances contained in any former Constitution or schedule thereto are hereby abrogated.

 

Section 2. Nothing contained in this Constitution shall impair the validity of any debts or contracts, or affect any rights of property or any suits, actions, rights of action or other proceedings in Courts of Justice.

 

Section 3. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two Houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their Journals with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the General Assembly then next to be chosen; and shall be published six months previous to the time of making such choice; and if in the General Assembly then next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, then it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people, at the next general election in which the House of Representatives is to be chosen. And if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by a three-fifths majority of all the citizens of the State, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this Constitution. When any amendment or amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed in pursuance of the foregoing provisions the same shall at each of said sessions be read three times on three several days in each House.

 

The Legislature shall have the right by law to submit to the people, at any general election, the question of calling a convention to alter, reform, or abolish this Constitution, or to alter, reform or abolish any specified part or parts of it; and when, upon such submission, a majority of all the voters voting upon the proposal submitted shall approve the proposal to call a convention, the delegates to such convention shall be chosen at the next general election and the convention shall assemble for the consideration of such proposals as shall have received a favorable vote in said election, in such mode and manner as shall be prescribed. No change in, or amendment to, this Constitution proposed by such convention shall become effective, unless within the limitations of the call of the convention, and unless approved and ratified by a three-fifths majority of the qualified voters voting separately on such change or amendment at an election to be held in such manner and on such date as may be fixed by the convention. No such convention shall be held oftener than once in six years.

 

Section 4. The Legislature shall have no power to grant divorces; but may authorize the Courts of Justice to grant them for such causes as may be specified by law; but such laws shall be general and uniform in their operation throughout the State.

 

Section 5. The Legislature shall have no power to change the names of persons, or to pass acts adopting or legitimatizing persons; but shall, by general laws, confer this power on the Courts.

 

Section 6. The General Assembly shall define and regulate interest, and set maximum effective rates thereof. If no applicable statute is hereafter enacted, the effective rate of interest collected shall not exceed ten percent (10%) per annum. All provisions of existing statutes regulating rates of interest and other charges on loans shall remain in full force and effect until July 1, 1980, unless earlier amended or repealed.

 

Section 7. The Legislature shall have no power to suspend any general law for the benefit of any particular individual, nor to pass any law for the benefit of individuals inconsistent with the general laws of the land; nor to pass any law granting to any individual or individuals, rights, privileges, immunity, [immunities] or exemptions other than such as may be, by the same law extended to any member of the community, who may be able to bring himself within the provisions of such law. No corporation shall be created or its powers increased or diminished by special laws but the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for the organization of all corporations, hereafter created, which laws may, at any time, be altered or repealed, and no such alteration or repeal shall interfere with or divest rights which have become vested.

 

Section 8. The Legislature shall have the right to vest such powers in the Courts of Justice, with regard to private and local affairs, as may be expedient.

 

The General Assembly shall have no power to pass a special, local or private act having the effect of removing the incumbent from any municipal or county office or abridging the term or altering the salary prior to the end of the term for which such public officer was selected, and any act of the General Assembly private or local in form or effect applicable to a particular county or municipality either in its governmental or its proprietary capacity shall be void and of no effect unless the act by its terms either requires the approval of a two-thirds vote of the local legislative body of the municipality or county, or requires approval in an election by a majority of those voting in said election in the municipality or county affected.

 

Any municipality may by ordinance submit to its qualified voters in a general or special election the question: “Shall this municipality adopt home rule?”

 

In the event of an affirmative vote by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, and until the repeal thereof by the same procedure, such municipality shall be a home rule municipality, and the General Assembly shall act with respect to such home rule municipality only by laws which are general in terms and effect.

 

Any municipality after adopting home rule may continue to operate under its existing charter, or amend the same, or adopt and thereafter amend a new charter to provide for its governmental and proprietary powers, duties and functions, and for the form, structure, personnel and organization of its government, provided that no charter provision except with respect to compensation of municipal personnel shall be effective if inconsistent with any general act of the General Assembly and provided further that the power of taxation of such municipality shall not be enlarged or increased except by general act of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall by general law provide the exclusive methods by which municipalities may be created, merged, consolidated and dissolved and by which municipal boundaries may be altered.

 

A charter or amendment may be proposed by ordinance of any home rule municipality, by a charter commission provided for by act of the General Assembly and elected by the qualified voters of a home rule municipality voting thereon or, in the absence of such act of the General Assembly, by a charter commission of seven (7) members, chosen at large not more often than once in two (2) years, in a municipal election pursuant to petition for such election signed by qualified voters of a home rule municipality not less in number than ten (10%) percent of those voting in the then most recent general municipal election.

 

It shall be the duty of the legislative body of such municipality to publish any proposal so made and to submit the same to its qualified voters at the first general state election which shall be held at least sixty (60) days after such publication and such proposal shall become effective sixty (60) days after approval by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon.

 

The General Assembly shall not authorize any municipality to tax incomes, estates, or inheritances, or to impose any other tax not authorized by Sections 1, 2 or 3 of Article VI of this Constitution. Nothing herein shall be construed as invalidating the provisions of any municipal charter in existence at the time of the adoption of this amendment.

 

The General Assembly may provide for the consolidation of any or all of the governmental and corporate functions now or hereafter vested in municipal corporations with the governmental and corporate functions now or hereafter vested in the counties in which such municipal corporations are located; provided, such consolidations shall not become effective until submitted to the qualified voters residing within the municipal corporation and in the county outside thereof, and approved by a majority of those voting within the municipal corporation and by a majority of those voting in the county outside the municipal corporation.

 

Section 9. There shall be a homestead exemption from execution in an amount of five thousand dollars or such greater amount as the General Assembly may establish. The General Assembly shall also establish personal property exemptions. The definition and application of the homestead and personal property exemptions and the manner in which they may be waived shall be as prescribed by law.

 

Section 10. The General Assembly shall have power to enact laws for the protection and preservation of game and fish, within the state, and such laws may be enacted for and applied and enforced in particular counties or geographical districts, designated by the General Assembly. The citizens of this state shall have the personal right to hunt and fish, subject to reasonable regulations and restrictions prescribed by law. The recognition of this right does not abrogate any private or public property rights, nor does it limit the state’s power to regulate commercial activity. Traditional manners and means may be used to take non-threatened species.

 

Section 11. No person shall in time of peace be required to perform any service to the public on any day set apart by his religion as a day of rest.

 

Section 12. The declaration of rights hereto prefixed is declared to be a part of the Constitution of this State, and shall never be violated on any pretense whatever. And to guard against transgression of the high powers we have delegated, we declare that everything in the bill of rights contained, is excepted out of the General powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate.

 

Section 13. No county office created by the Legislature shall be filled otherwise than by the people or the County Court.

 

Section 14. It is unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or this state or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person's membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.

 

Section 15. The credit of this state shall not be hereafter loaned or given to or in aid of any person, association, company, corporation or municipality: nor shall the State become the owner in whole or in part of any bank or a stockholder with others in any association, company, corporation or municipality.

 

Section 16. No Convention or General Assembly of this State shall act upon any amendment of the Constitution of the United States proposed by Congress to the several States; unless such Convention or General Assembly shall have been elected after such amendment is submitted.

 

Section 17. The Legislature shall pass no law for the licensing of any occupation, except where necessary to protect public safety, property, or fiduciary interests.

 

Section 18. This Constitution, and the laws of the State of Tennessee which shall be made in pursuance thereof; shall adhere to and be interpreted as the organization of the natural right of lawful defense. It is the substitution of a common force for individual forces and this common force is to do only what the individual forces have a natural and lawful right to do: to protect persons, liberties, and properties; to maintain the right of each.

 

Section 19.  The State of Tennessee is a sovereign State and the people of this State and the other states of the United States have never delegated to the federal government the power to regulate matters reserved to the States by the Constitution of the United States.

 

The General Assembly shall have the power, by resolution passed by a majority of both Houses, to declare any federal act, law, executive order or agency rule to be unauthorized by the Constitution of the United States and therefore null and void within this State. Such declaration shall prohibit the use of state resources or personnel to enforce the measure declared void.

 

Nothing in this section shall be construed to criminalize or impede federal personnel acting within their lawful authority.

 

 

Schedule.

 

Section 1. That no inconvenience may arise from a change of the Constitution, it is declared that the current Governor of the State, the members of the General Assembly and all officers shall hold their offices for the terms prescribed in this Constitution after its adoption.

 

Officers appointed by the courts shall be filled by appointment, to be made and to take effect during the first term of the court held by Judges elected under this Constitution.

 

All other officers shall vacate their places thirty days after the day fixed for the election of their successors under this Constitution.

 

The Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer shall hold their offices until the first session of the present General Assembly occurring after the ratification of this Constitution and until their successors are elected and qualified.

 

Section 2. The Attorney General and Reporter for the State shall be appointed after the confirmation of the Judges of the Supreme Court herein provided for.

 

Section 3. Every Judge and every officer of the executive department of this State, and every Sheriff holding over under this Constitution, shall, within twenty days after the ratification of this Constitution is proclaimed, take an oath to support the same, and the failure of any officer to take such oath shall vacate his office.


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