Constitution of Nevada
Encyclopedia
The Constitution of the State of Nevada is the organic law
of the state of Nevada
, and the basis for Nevada's statehood as one of the United States
.
. The convention adjourned on July 28, was approved by public vote on the 1st Wednesday in September, and became effective on October 31, when on that date President
Abraham Lincoln
declared Nevada to be a state.
Nevada
's entry into full statehood in the United States was expedited. Union sympathizers were so eager to gain statehood for Nevada that they rushed to send the entire state constitution by telegraph to the United States Congress
before the presidential election and they did not believe that sending it by train would guarantee that it would arrive on time. The constitution was sent October 26-27, 1864, just two weeks before the election on November 7, 1864
. The transmission took two days; it consisted of 16,543 words and cost $4303.27 to send. It was, at the time, the longest telegraph transmission ever made, a record it held for seventeen years, until a copy of the 118,000-word English Standard Version of the New Testament was sent by telegraph on May 22, 1881.
The articles of the Nevada Constitution are as follows:
The preamble reads
Organic law
An organic or fundamental law is a law or system of laws which forms the foundation of a government, corporation or other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state....
of the state of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and the basis for Nevada's statehood as one of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The Nevada Constitution was created in 1864 at a convention on July 4 in Carson CityCarson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
. The convention adjourned on July 28, was approved by public vote on the 1st Wednesday in September, and became effective on October 31, when on that date President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
declared Nevada to be a state.
Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
's entry into full statehood in the United States was expedited. Union sympathizers were so eager to gain statehood for Nevada that they rushed to send the entire state constitution by telegraph to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
before the presidential election and they did not believe that sending it by train would guarantee that it would arrive on time. The constitution was sent October 26-27, 1864, just two weeks before the election on November 7, 1864
United States presidential election, 1864
In the United States Presidential election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president. The election was held during the Civil War. Lincoln ran under the National Union ticket against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan, his former top general. McClellan ran as the "peace candidate",...
. The transmission took two days; it consisted of 16,543 words and cost $4303.27 to send. It was, at the time, the longest telegraph transmission ever made, a record it held for seventeen years, until a copy of the 118,000-word English Standard Version of the New Testament was sent by telegraph on May 22, 1881.
General provisions
The current document as shown on the Website of the Secretary of the State of Nevada, shows the document to have two prefix provisions; a preamble; 19 articles (one having been repealed); and a suffix provision- The first prefix provision, Preliminary Action, which defines the requirement that the state have a constitutional convention;
- The second prefix provision, ordinance declares certain mandates applicable to the state, including a prohibition on slavery, religious freedom, and declaring the public lands to be property of the United States. Later amendments changed this provision.
- The suffix provision specified how the election for the constitution was to be established.
The articles of the Nevada Constitution are as follows:
- Declaration of Rights
- Right of Suffrage
- Distribution of Powers
- Legislative Department
- Executive Department
- Judicial Department
- Impeachment and Removal From Office
- Municipal and Other Corporations
- Finance and State Debt
- Taxation
- Education
- Militia
- Public Institutions
- Boundary
- Miscellaneous Provisions
- Amendments
- Schedule
- [Right of Suffrage] Repealed in 1992
- Initiative and Referendum
The preamble reads
Miscellaneous provisions
- Article 1, Section 21 provides "Only a marriage between a male and female person shall be recognized and given effect in this state."
- A proposed Article 1, section 23, which if approved by the voters would be effective in 2008, would limit the power of the state to use eminent domain, which may be in response to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo v. City of New LondonKelo v. City of New LondonKelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development...
. - Article 2, Section 10, requires the legislature to set a limit on initiative, referendum, primary or general election contributions to $5,000 each, and to provide for felony penalties for contributions above this limit.
- Article 4, Section 38, permits the use of medical marijuana.
- Article 5, Section 3, limits the Governor to two terms, or one if (s)he has served more than two years of someone else's term.
- Article 15, Section 16, sets a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour if the employer provides health insurance, or $6.15 if not.