ESTABLISHED OCTOBER 3l, l783 TO TAKE EFFECT JUNE 2, l784
AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED AND IN FORCE DECEMBER 1990
PART FIRST- BILL OF RIGHTS
Article
l. Equality of men; origin and object of government.
2. Natural rights.
2-a. The bearing of arms.
3. Society, its organization and purposes.
4. Rights of conscience unalienable.
5. Religious freedom recognized.
6. Morality and piety.
7. State sovereignty.
8. Accountability of magistrates and officers; public's right to know.
9. No hereditary office or place.
l0. Right of revolution.
ll. Elections and elective franchises.
l2. Protection and taxation reciprocal.
l3. Conscientious objectors not compelled to bear arms.
l4. Legal remedies to be free, complete, and prompt.
l5. Right of accused.
16. Former jeopardy; jury trial in capital cases.
l7. Venue of criminal prosecution.
l8. Penalties to be proportioned to offenses; true design of punishment.
19. Searches and seizures regulated.
20. Jury trial in civil causes.
2l. Jurors; compensation
22. Free speech; liberty of the press.
23. Retrospective laws prohibited.
24. Militia.
25. Standing armies.
26. Military, subject to civil power.
27. Quartering of soldiers.
28. Taxes, by whom levied.
28-a. Mandated programs.
29. Suspension of laws by legislature only.
30. Freedom of speech.
3l. Meetings of legislature, for what purposes.
32. Rights of assembly, instruction, and petition.
33. Excessive bail, fines, and punishments prohibited.
34. Martial law limited.
35. The judiciary; tenure of office, etc.
36. Pensions.
36-a. Use of retirement funds.
37. Separation of powers.
38. Social virtues inculcated.
39. Changes in town and city charters; referendum required.
PART SECOND --- FORM OF GOVERNMENT
l. Name of body politic.
2. Legislature, how constituted.
3. General court, when to meet and dissolve.
4. Power of general court to establish courts.
5. Power to make laws, elect officers, define their powers and duties, impose fines, and assess taxes; prohibited from authorizing towns to aid certain corporations.
5-a. Continuity of government in case of enemy attack.
5-b. Power to provide for tax valuations based on use.
6. Valuation and taxation.
6-a. Use of certain revenues restricted to highways.
7. Members of legislature not to take fees or act as counsel.
8. Open sessions of legislature.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9. Representatives elected every second year; apportionment of representatives.
9-a. Legislative adjustments of census with reference to non-residents.
l0. [Repealed, l889.]
ll. Small towns, representation by districts.
ll-a. Division of town, ward, or place; representative districts.
l2. Biennial election of representatives in November.
l3. [Repealed, l976.]
l4. Representatives, how elected, qualifications of.
l5. Compensation of the legislature.
l6. Vacancies in house, how filled.
l7. House to impeach before the senate.
l8. Money bills to originate in house.
l8-a. Budget bills.
l9. Adjournment.
20. Quorum, what constitutes.
2l. Privileges of members of the legislature.
22. House to elect speaker and officers, settle rules of proceedings, and punish misconduct.
23. Senate and executive have like powers; imprisonment limited.
24. Journals and laws to be pub lished; yeas and nays, and protests.
SENATE
25. Senate; how constituted.
26. Senatorial districts, how constituted.
26-a. Division of town, ward, or lace; senatorial districts.
27. Election of senators.
28. [Repealed, l976.]
29. Qualifications of senators.
30. Inhabitant defined.
3l. Inhabitants of unincorporated places; their rights, etc.
32. Biennial meetings, how warned, governed, and conducted; return of votes, etc.
33. Secretary of state to count votes for senators and notify persons elected.
34. Vacancies in senate, how filled.
35. Senate, judges of their own elections.
36. Adjournment.
37. Senate to elect their own officers; quorum.
38. Senate to try impeachments; mode of proceeding.
39. Judgment on impeachment limited.
40. Chief justice to preside on impeachment of governor.
EXECUTIVE POWER --- GOVERNOR
4l. Governor, supreme executive magistrate.
42. Election of governor, return of votes; electors; if no choice, legislature to elect one of two highest candidates; qualifications for governor.
43. In cases of disagreement, governor to adjourn or prorogue legislature; if causes exist, may convene them elsewhere.
44. Veto to bills.
45. Resolves to be treated like bills.
46. Nomination and appointment of officers.
47. Governor and council have negative on each other.
48. [Repealed, l976.]
49. President of senate, etc. to act as governor when office vacant; speaker of house to act when office of president of senate also vacant.
49-a. Prolonged failure to qualify; vacancy in office of governor due to physical or mental incapacity, etc.
50. Governor to prorogue or adjourn legislature, and call extra sessions.
5l. Powers and duties of governor as commander-in-chief.
52. Pardoning power.
53. [Repealed, l976.]
54. [Repealed, l976.]
55. [Repealed, l976.]
56. Disbursements from treasury.
57. [Repealed, l950.]
58. Compensation of governor and council.
59. Salaries of judges.
COUNCIL
60. Councilors; mode of election, etc.
6l. Vacancies, how filled, if no choice.
62. Subsequent vacancies; governor to convene; duties.
63. Impeachment of councilors.
64. Secretary to record proceedings of council.
65. Councilor districts provided for.
66. Elections by legislature may be adjourned from day to day; order thereof.
SECRETARY, TREASURER, ETC.
67. Election of secretary and treasurer.
68. State records, where kept; duty of secretary.
69. Deputy secretary.
70. Secretary to give bond.
COUNTY TREASURER, ETC.
7l. County treasurers, registers of probate, county attorneys, sheriffs, and registers of deeds elected.
72. Counties may be divided into districts for registering deeds.
JUDICIARY POWER
72-a. Supreme and superior courts.
73. Tenure of office to be expressed in commissions; judges to hold office during good behavior, etc.; removal.
73-a. Supreme court, administration
74. Judges to give opinions, when.
75. Justices of peace commissioned for five years.
76. Divorce and probate appeals, where tried.
77. Jurisdiction of justices in civil causes.
78. Judges and sheriffs, when disqualified by age.
79. Judges and justices not to act as counsel.
80. Jurisdiction and term of probate courts.
8l. Judges and registers of probate not to act as counsel.
CLERKS OF COURTS82. Clerks of courts, by whom appointed.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF LITERATURE, TRADE, ETC.
83. Encouragement of literature, etc.; control of corporations, monopolies, etc.
OATHS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS EXCLUSION FROM OFFICES, ETC.
84. Oath of civil officers.
85. Before whom taken.
86. Form of commissions.
87. Form of writs.
88. Form of indictments, etc.
89. Suicides and deodands.
90. Existing laws continued if not repugnant.
9l. Habeas corpus.
92. Enacting style of statutes.
93. Governor and judges prohibited from holding other offices.
94. Incompatibility of offices; only two offices of profit to be holden at same time.
95. Incompatibility of certain offices.
96. Bribery and corruption disqualify for office.
97. [Repealed, l950.]
98. Constitution, when to take effect.
99. [Repealed, l980.]
100. Alternate methods of Proposing amendments.
l0l. Enrollment of constitution.
CONSTITUTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
PART FIRST
BILL OF RIGHTS
Article l. [Equality of Men; Origin and Object of Government.]. All men are born equally free and independent; therefore, all government of right originates from the people, is founded in consent, and instituted for the general good.
June 2, l784*
*The date on which each article was proclaimed as having been adopted
is given after each article. This is followed by the year in which
amendments were adopted and the subject matter of all the amendments.
[Art.] 2. [Natural Rights.] All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights - among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin.
June 2, l784
Amended l974 adding sentence to prohibit discrimination.
[Art.] 2-a. [The Bearing of Arms.]. All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.
December l, l982
[Art.] 3. [Society, its Organization and Purposes.] When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the protection of others; and, without such an equivalent, the surrender is void.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 4. [Rights of Conscience Unalienable.] Among the natural rights, some are, in their very nature unalienable, because no equivalent can be given or received for them. Of this kind are the Rights of Conscience.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 5. [Religious Freedom Recognized.] Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and reason; and no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession, sentiments, or persuasion; provided he doth not disturb the public peace or disturb others in their religious worship.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 6. [Morality and Piety.] As morality and piety, rightly grounded on high principles, will give the best and greatest security to government, and will lay, in the hearts of men, the strongest obligations to due subjection; and as the knowledge of these is most likely to be propagated through a society, therefore, the several parishes, bodies, corporate, or religious societies shall at all times have the right of electing their own teachers, and of contracting with them for their support or maintenance, or both. But no person shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the schools of any sect or denomination. And every person, denomination or sect shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect, denomination or persuasion to another shall ever be established.
June 2, l784
Amended l968 to remove obsolete sectarian references.
[Art.] 7. [State Sovereignty.] The people of this state have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, pertaining thereto, which is not, or may not hereafter be, by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in congress assembled.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public's
Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public's right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.
June 2, l784
Amended l976 by providing right of access to governmental proceedings
and records.
[Art.] 9. [No Hereditary Office or Place.] No office or place, whatsoever, in government, shall be hereditary - the abilities and integrity requisite in all, not being transmissible to posterity or relations.
June 2, l784
[Art.] l0. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
June 2, l784
[Art.] ll. [Elections and Elective Franchises.] All elections are to be free, and every inhabitant of the state of l8 years of age and upwards shall have an equal right to vote in any election. Every person shall be considered an inhabitant for the purposes of voting in the town, ward, or unincorporated place where he has his domicile. No person shall have the right to vote under the constitution of this state who has been convicted of treason, bribery or any willful violation of the election laws of this state or of the United States; but the supreme court may, on notice to the attorney general, restore the privilege to vote to any person who may have forfeited it by conviction of such offenses. The general court shall provide by law for voting by qualified voters who at the time of the biennial or state elections, or of the primary elections therefor, or of city elections, or of town elections by official ballot, are absent from the city or town of which they are inhabitants, or who by reason of physical disability are unable to vote in person, in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election. Voting registration and polling places shall be easily accessible to all persons including disabled and elderly persons who are otherwise qualified to vote in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election. The right to vote shall not be denied to any person because of the non-payment of any tax. Every inhabitant of the state, having the proper qualifications, has equal right to be elected into office.
June 2, l784
Amended l903 to provide that in order to vote or be eligible for
office a person must be able to read the English language and to
write.
Amended l9l2 to prohibit those convicted of treason, bribery or
willfull violation of the election laws from voting or holding
elective office.
Amended l942 to provide for absentee voting in general elections.
Amended l956 to provide for absentee voting in primary elections.
Amended l968 to provide right to vote not denied because of nonpayment of taxes. Also amended in 1968 to delete an obsolete phrase.
Amended 1976 to reduce voting age to 18.
Amended 1984 to provide accessibility to all registration and polling places.
[Art.] l2. [Protection and Taxation Reciprocal.] Every member of the community has a right to be protected by it, in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property; he is therefore bound to contribute his share in the expense of such protection, and to yield his personal service when necessary. But no part of a man's property shall be taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. Nor are the inhabitants of this state controllable by any other laws than those to which they, or their representative body, have given their consent.
June 2, l784
Amended l964 by striking out reference to buying one's way out of
military service.
[Art.] l3. [Conscientious Objectors not Compelled to Bear Arms.]No person, who is conscientiously scrupulous about the lawfulness of bearing arms, shall be compelled thereto.
June 2, l784
Amended l964 by striking out reference to buying one's way out of
military service.
[Art.] l4. [Legal Remedies to be Free, Complete, and Prompt.] Every subject of this state is entitled to a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries he may receive in his person, property, or character; to obtain right and justice freely, without being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay; conformably to the laws.
June 2, l784
[Art.] l5. [Right of Accused.] No subject shall be held to answer for any crime, or offense, until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally, described to him; or be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence against himself. Every subject shall have a right to produce all proofs that may be favorable to himself; to meet the witnesses against him face to face, and to be fully heard in his defense, by himself, and counsel. No subject shall be arrested, imprisoned, despoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities, or privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled or deprived of his life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land; provided that, in any proceeding to commit a person acquitted of a criminal charge by reason of insanity, due process shall require that clear and convincing evidence that the person is potentially dangerous to himself or to others and that the person suffers from a mental disorder must be established. Every person held to answer in any crime or offense punishable by deprivation of liberty shall have the right to counsel at the expense of the state if need is shown; this right he is at liberty to waive, but only after the matter has been thoroughly explained by the court.
June 2, l784
Amended l966 to provide the right to counsel at state expense if the
need is shown.
Amended l984 reducing legal requirement proof beyond a reasonable
doubt to clear and convincing evidence in insanity hearings.
[Art.] l6. [Former Jeopardy; Jury Trial in Capital Cases.] No subject shall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offense. Nor shall the legislature make any law that shall subject any person to a capital punishment, (excepting for the government of the army and navy, and the militia in actual service) without trial by jury.
June 2, l784
[Art.] l7. [Venue of Criminal Prosecutions.] In criminal prosecutions, the trial of facts, in the vicinity where they happened, is so essential to the security of the life, liberty and estate of the citizen, that no crime or offense ought to be tried in any other county or judicial district than that in which it is committed; except in any case in any particular county or judicial district, upon motion by the defendant, and after a finding by the court that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had where the offense may be committed, the court shall direct the trial to a county or judicial district in which a fair and impartial trial can be obtained.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 to change "assembly" to: legislature.
Amended l978 so that court at defendant's request may change trial
to another county or judicial district.
[Art.] l8. [Penalties to be Proportioned to Offenses; True Design
of Punishment.] All penalities ought to be proportioned to the nature of the offense. No wise legislature will affix the same punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of murder and treason. Where the same undistinguishing severity is exerted against all offenses, the people are led to forget the real distinction in the crimes themselves, and to commit the most flagrant with as little compunction as they do the lightest offenses. For the same reason a multitude of sanguinary laws is both impolitic and unjust. The true design of all punishments being to reform, not to exterminate mankind. June 2, l784
Amended l792 deleting "those of" after do in 3d sentence and
changing "dye" to: offenses.
[Art.] l9. [Searches and Seizures Regulated.] Every subject hath a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions. Therefore, all warrants to search suspected places, or arrest a person for examination or trial in prosecutions for criminal matters, are contrary to this right, if the cause or foundation of them be not previously supported by oath or affirmation; and if the order, in a warrant to a civil officer, to make search in suspected places, or to arrest one or more suspected persons or to seize their property, be not accompanied with a special designation of the persons or objects of search, arrest, or seizure; and no warrant ought to be issued; but in cases and with the formalities, prescribed by law.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 to change order of words.
[Art.] 20. [Jury Trial in Civil Causes.] In all controversies concerning property, and in all suits between two or more persons except those in which another practice is and has been customary and except those in which the value in controversy does not exceed $1,500 and no title to real estate is involved, the parties have a right to a trial by jury. This method of procedure shall be held sacred, unless, in cases* arising on the high seas and in cases relating to mariners' wages, the legislature shall think it necessary hereafter to alter it.
June 2, l784
Amended in l877 to prohibit jury trials unless the amount in
controversy exceeds $l00.
Amended in l960 to increase the amount to $500 before a jury trial
may be requested.
*"Cases" appears in l792 parchment copy of constitution. Original
constitution had "causes."
Amended in 1988 to change $500 to $1,500
[Art.] 2l. [Jurors; Compensation.] In order to reap the fullest advantage of the inestimable privilege of the trial by jury, great care ought to be taken, that none but qualified persons should be appointed to serve; and such ought to be fully compensated for their travel, time and attendance.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 22. [Free Speech; Liberty of the Press.] Free speech and liberty of the press are essential to the security of freedom in a state: They ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.
June 2, l784
Amended l968 to include free speech.
[Art.] 23. [Retrospective Laws Prohibited.] Retrospective laws are highly injurious, oppressive, and unjust. No such laws, therefore, should be made, either for the decision of civil causes, or the punishment of offenses.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 24. [Militia.] A well regulated militia is the proper, natural, and sure defense, of a state.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 25. [Standing Armies.] Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be raised, or kept up, without the consent of the legislature.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 26. [Military Subject to Civil Power.] In all cases, and at all times, the military ought to be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 27. [Quartering of Soldiers.] No soldier in time of peace, shall be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; and in time of war, such quarters ought not to be made but by the civil authorities in a manner ordained by the legislature.
June 2, l784
Amended in l980 substituting "authorities" for "magistrate."
[Art.] 28. [Taxes, by Whom Levied.] No subsidy, charge, tax, impost, or duty, shall be established, fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext whatsoever, without the consent of the people, or their representatives in the legislature, or authority derived from that body.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 28-a. [Mandated Programs.] The state shall not mandate or assign any new, expanded or modified programs or responsibilities to any political subdivision in such a way as to necessitate additional local expenditures by the political subdivision unless such programs or responsibilities are fully funded by the state or unless such programs or responsibilities are approved for funding by a vote of the local legislative body of the political subdivision.
November 28, l984
[Art.] 29. [Suspension of Laws by Legislature Only.] The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the legislature shall expressly provide for.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 30. [Freedom of Speech.] The freedom of deliberation, speech, and debate, in either house of the legislature, is so essential to the rights of the people, that it cannot be the foundation of any action, complaint, or prosecution, in any other court or place whatsoever.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 3l. [Meetings of Legislature, for What Purposes.] The legislature shall assemble for the redress of public grievances and for making such laws as the public good may require.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 generally rewording sentence and omitting "for
correcting, strengthening and confirming the laws."
[Art.] 32. [Rights of Assembly, Instruction, and Petition.] The people have a right, in an orderly and peaceable manner, to assemble and consult upon the common good, give instructions to their representatives, and to request of the legislative body, by way of petition or remonstrance, redress of the wrongs done them, and of the grievances they suffer.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 33. [Excessive Bail, Fines, and Punishments Prohibited.] No magistrate, or court of law, shall demand excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 34. [Martial Law Limited.] No person can, in any case, be subjected to law martial, or to any pains or penalties by virtue of that law, except those employed in the army or navy, and except the militia in actual service, but by authority of the legislature.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 35. [The Judiciary; Tenure of Office, etc.] It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every individual, his life, liberty, property, and character, that there be an impartial interpretation of the laws, and administration of justice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as the lot of humanity will admit. It is therefore not only the best policy, but for the security of the rights of the people, that the judges of the supreme judicial court should hold their offices so long as they behave well; subject, however, to such limitations, on account of age, as may be provided by the constitution of the state; and that they should have honorable salaries, ascertained and established by standing laws.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 to provide for age limitation as provided by the
constitution.
[Art.] 36. [Pensions.] Economy being a most essential virtue in all states, especially in a young one, no pension shall be granted, but in consideration of actual services; and such pensions ought to be granted with great caution, by the legislature, and never for more than one year at a time.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 36-a [Use of Retirement Funds.] The employer contributions certified as payable to the New Hampshire retirement system or any successor system to fund the system's liabilities, as shall be determined by sound actuarial valuation and practice, independent of the executive office, shall be appropriated each fiscal year to the same extent as is certified. All of the assets and proceeds, and income therefrom, of the New Hampshire retirement system and of any and all other retirement systems for public officers and employees operated by the state or by any of its political subdivisions, and of any successor system, and all contributions and payments made to any such system to provide for retirement and related benefits shall be held, invested or disbursed as in trust for the exclusive purpose of providing for such benefits and shall not be encumbered for, or diverted to, any other purposes.
November 28, l984
[Art.] 37. [Separation of Powers.] In the government of this state, the three essential powers thereof, to wit, the legislative, executive, and judicial, ought to be kept as separate from, and independent of, each other, as the nature of a free government will admit, or as is consistent with that chain of connection that binds the whole fabric of the constitution in one indissoluble bond of union and amity.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 38. [Social Virtues Inculcated.] A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the constitution, and a constant adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, frugality, and all the social virtues, are indispensably necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and good government; the people ought, therefore, to have a particular regard to all those principles in the choice of their officers and representatives, and they have a right to require of their lawgivers and magistrates, an exact and constant observance of them, in the formation and execution of the laws necessary for the good administration of government.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 39. [Changes in Town and City Charters, Referendum
Required.] No law changing the charter or form of government of a particular city or town shall be enacted by the legislature except to become effective upon the approval of the voters of such city or town upon a referendum to be provided for in said law. The legislature may by general law authorize cities and towns to adopt or amend their charters or forms of government in any way which is not in conflict with general law, provided that such charters or amendments shall become effective only upon the approval of the voters of each such city or town on a referendum.
November l6, l966
PART SECOND
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
Article l. [Name of Body Politic.] The people inhabiting the territory formerly called the province of New Hampshire, do hereby solemnly and mutually agree with each other, to form themselves into a free, sovereign and independent body-politic, or state, by the name of THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
June 2, l784
GENERAL COURT
[Art.] 2. [Legislature, How Constituted.] The supreme legislative power, within this state, shall be vested in the senate and house of representatives, each of which shall have a negative on the other.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 3. [General Court, When to Meet and Dissolve.] The senate and house shall assemble biennially on the first Wednesday of December for organizational purposes in even numbered years, and shall assemble annually on the first Wednesday following the first Tuesday in January, and at such other times as they may judge necessary; and shall dissolve and be dissolved at l2:0l A.M. on the first Wednesday of December in even numbered years and shall be styled THE GENERAL COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
June 2, l784
Amended l877 changing annual sessions to biennial sessions.
Amended l889 calling for the legislature to meet in January instead
of June.
l966 amendment permitting annual sessions was ruled invalid in
Gerber v. King, l07 NH 495.
Amended l974 to permit organizational meetings in December and the
January meeting to be on the first Wednesday after the first
Tuesday.
Amended l984 changing biennial sessions to annual sessions.
[Art.] 4. [Power of General Court to Establish Courts.] The general court (except as otherwise provided by Article 72-a of Part 2) shall forever have full power and authority to erect and constitute judicatories and courts of record, or other courts, to be holden, in the name of the state, for the hearing, trying, and determining, all manner of crimes, offenses, pleas, processes, plaints, action, causes, matters and things whatsoever arising or happening within this state, or between or concerning persons inhabiting or residing, or brought, within the same, whether the same be criminal or civil, or whether the crimes be capital, or not capital, and whether the said pleas be real, personal or mixed, and for the awarding and issuing execution thereon. To which courts and judicatories, are hereby given and granted, full power and authority, from time to time, to administer oaths or affirmations, for the better discovery of truth in any matter in controversy, or depending before them.
June 2, l784
Amended l966 to add exception relating to Art. 72-a, Part 2.
[Art.] 5. [Power to Make Laws, Elect Officers, Define Their Powers
and Duties, Impose Fines and Assess Taxes; Prohibited from
Authorizing Towns to Aid Certain Corporations.] And farther, full power and authority are hereby given and granted to the said general court, from time to time, to make, ordain, and establish, all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, directions, and instructions, either with penalties, or without, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this constitution, as they may judge for the benefit and welfare of this state, and for the governing and ordering thereof, and of the subjects of the same, for the necessary support and defense of the government thereof, and to name and settle biennially, or provide by fixed laws for the naming and settling, all civil officers within this state, such officers excepted, the election and appointment of whom are hereafter in this form of government otherwise provided for; and to set forth the several duties, powers, and limits, of the several civil and military officers of this state, and the forms of such oaths or affirmations as shall be respectively administered unto them, for the execution of their several offices and places, so as the same be not repugnant or contrary to this constitution; and also to impose fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and other punishments, and to impose and levy proportional and reasonable assessments, rates, and taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and residents within, the said state; and upon all estates within the same; to be issued and disposed of by warrant, under the hand of the governor of this state for the time being, with the advice and consent of the council, for the public service, in the necessary defense and support of the government of this state, and the protection and preservation of the subjects thereof, according to such acts as are, or shall be, in force within the same; provided that the general court shall not authorize any town to loan or give its money or credit directly or indirectly for the benefit of any corporation having for its object a dividend of profits or in any way aid the same by taking its stocks or bonds. For the purpose of encouraging conservation of the forest resources of the state, the general court may provide for special assessments, rates and taxes on growing wood and timber.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 changing "president" to "governor."
Amended l877 changing "annually" to "biennially." Also amended to
prohibit towns and cities from loaning money or credit to
corporations.
Amended l942 to permit a timber tax.
[Art.] 5-a. [Continuity of Government in Case of Enemy Attack.]Notwithstanding any general or special provision of this constitution, the general court, in order to insure continuity of state and local government operations in periods of emergency resulting from disasters caused by enemy attack, shall have the power and the immediate duty to provide for prompt and temporary succession to the powers and duties of public offices, of whatever nature and whether filled by election or appointment, the incumbents of which may become unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such offices, and to adopt such other measures as may be necessary and proper for insuring the continuity of governmental operations including but not limited to the financing thereof. In the exercise of the powers hereby conferred the general court shall in all respects conform to the requirements of this constitution except to the extent that in the judgment of the general court so to do would be impracticable or would admit of undue delay.
November 30, l942
[Art.] 5-b. [Power to Provide for Tax Valuations Based on Use.] The general court may provide for the assessment of any class of real estate at valuations based upon the current use thereof.
November l5, l968
[Art.] 6. [Valuation and Taxation.] The public charges of government, or any part thereof, may be raised by taxation upon polls, estates, and other classes of property, including franchises and property when passing by will or inheritance; and there shall be a valuation of the estates within the state taken anew once in every five years, at least, and as much oftener as the general court shall order.
June 2, l784
Amended l903 to permit taxes on other classes of property including
franchises and property passing by inheritances.
[Art.] 6-a. [Use of Certain Revenues Restricted to Highways.] All revenue in excess of the necessary cost of collection and administration accruing to the state from registration fees, operators' licenses, gasoline road tolls or any other special charges or taxes with respect to the operation of motor vehicles or the sale or consumption of motor vehicle fuels shall be appropriated and used exclusively for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of public highways within this state, including the supervision of traffic thereon and payment of the interest and principal of obligations incurred for said purposes; and no part of such revenues shall, by transfer of funds or otherwise, be diverted to any other purpose whatsoever.
November 29, l938
[Art.] 6-b. [Use of Lottery Revenues Restricted to Educational Purposes.] All
moneys received from a state-run lottery and all the interest received on such
moneys shall, after deducting the necessary costs of administration, be appropriated
and used exclusively for the school districts of the state. Such moneys shall be
used exclusively for the purpose of state aid to education and shall not be transferred
or diverted to any other purpose.
November 6, 1990
[Art.] 7. [Members of Legislature Not to Take Fees or Act as
Counsel.] No member of the general court shall take fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate, in any cause before either branch of the legislature; and upon due proof thereof, such member shall forfeit his seat in the legislature.
September 5, l792
[Art.] 8. [Open Sessions of Legislature.] The doors of the galleries, of each house of the legislature, shall be kept open to all persons who behave decently, except when the welfare of the state, in the opinion of either branch, shall require secrecy.
September 5, l792
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
[Art.] 9. [Representatives Elected Every Second Year;
Apportionment of Representatives.] There shall be in the legislature of this state a house of representatives, biennially elected and founded on principles of equality, and representation therein shall be as equal as circumstances will admit. The whole number of representatives to be chosen from the towns, wards, places, and representative districts thereof established hereunder, shall be not less than three hundred seventy-five or more than four hundred. As soon as possible after the convening of the next regular session of the legislature, and at the session in l97l, and every ten years thereafter, the legislature shall make an apportionment of representatives according to the last general census of the inhabitants of the state taken by authority of the United States or of this state. In making such apportionment, no town, ward or place shall be divided nor the boundaries thereof altered.
June 2, l784
Amended l877 three times providing for biennial elections; increasing
representation from l50 rateable polls to 600; prohibiting towns
and wards from being altered so as to increase representation.
Amended l942 limiting size of House to between 375 and 400.
Amended l964 providing for equal representation.
[Art.] 9-a. [Legislative Adjustments of Census with Reference to
Non-Residents.] The general court shall have the power to provide by statute for making suitable adjustments to the general census of the inhabitants of the state taken by the authority of the United States or of this state on account of non-residents temporarily residing in this state.
November 30, l960
[Art.] l0. [Representation of Small Towns.] (Repealed)
June 2, l784. Small towns grouped together to provide one
representative for l50 rateable polls. The election meeting
was to rotate annually between the towns.
Amended l877 increasing districts to 600 inhabitants; rotation of
meeting changed to biennially.
Repealed in l889. Provisions incorporated into Art. ll.
[Art.] ll. [Small Towns; Representation by Districts.] When any town, ward, or unincorporated place, according to the last federal decennial census, has less than the number of inhabitants necessary to entitle it to one representative, the legislature shall form those towns, wards, or unincorporated places into representative districts which contain a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle each district so formed to one or more representatives for the entire district. In forming the districts, the boundaries of towns, wards and unincorporated places shall be preserved and the towns, wards and unincorporated places forming one district shall be reasonably proximate to one another. The legislature shall form the representative districts at its next session after approval of this article by the voters of the state, and thereafter at the regular session following every decennial federal census.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 changing General Assembly to General Court.
Amended l877 changing l50 rateable polls to 600 inhabitants.
Amended l889 providing that towns of less than 600 should be
represented a proportional amount of time instead of being
classed as formerly provided in Art. l0.
Amended l942 deleting reference to 600 and providing that small
towns should be represented at least once in every l0 years.
Amended l964 to permit small towns to be districted for one or more
representatives.
[Art.] ll-a. [Division of Town, Ward or Place; Representative
Districts.] Notwithstanding Articles 9 and ll, a law providing for an apportionment to form representative districts under Articles 9 and ll of Part Second may divide a town, ward or unincorporated place into two or more representative districts if such town, ward or place, by referendum requests such division.
November 22, l978 (Rejected in l976 as proposed by convention,
but adopted in l978 as proposed by the general court and
including both representative and senate districts.)
[Art.] l2. [Biennial Election of Representatives in November.]The members of the house of representatives shall be chosen biennially, in the month of November, and shall be the second branch of the legislature.
June 2, l784
Amended twice in l877 substituting "biennially" for "annually" and
"November" for "March."
[Art.] l3. [Qualifications of Electors.] (Repealed)
June 2, l784. All persons qualified to vote in the election of
senators shall be entitled to vote within the town, district, parish,
or place where they dwell, in the choice of representatives. Note:
The phrase "town, district, parish, or place" was shortened to
"district" in engrossed copy of l792, apparently without
authority.
Repealed in l976.
[Art.] l4. [Representatives, How Elected, Qualifications of.]Every member of the house of representatives shall be chosen by ballot; and, for two years, at least, next preceding his election shall have been an inhabitant of this state; shall be, at the time of his election, an inhabitant of the town, ward, place, or district he may be chosen to represent and shall cease to represent such town, ward, place, or district immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid.
June 2, l784
Amended l852 deleting provision for representatives to have an
estate of l00 pounds.
Amended l877 deleting requirement that representatives be
Protestants.
Amended l956 substituting "ward" for "parish."
Amended l964 adding word "district."
[Art.] l5. [Compensation of the Legislature.] The presiding officers of both houses of the legislature, shall severally receive out of the state treasury as compensation in full for their services for the term elected the sum of $250, and all other members thereof, seasonably attending and not departing without license, the sum of $200 and each member shall receive mileage for actual daily attendance on legislative days, but not after the legislature shall have been in session for 45 legislative days or after the first day of July following the annual assembly of the legislature, whichever occurs first; provided, however, that, when a special session shall be called by the governor or by a 2/3 vote of the then qualified members of each branch of the general court, such officers and members shall receive for attendance an additional compensation of $3 per day for a period not exceeding 15 days and the usual mileage. Nothing herein shall prevent the payment of additional mileage to members attending committee meetings or on other legislative business on nonlegislative days.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 requiring state to pay wages instead of town.
Amended l889 setting salary for members at $200 and for officers at
$250 with $3 per day for special sessions.
Amended l960 limiting mileage to 90 legislative days.
Amended l984 limiting mileage to 45 legislative days in each annual
session.
[Art.] l6. [Vacancies in House, How Filled.] All intermediate vacancies, in the house of representatives may be filled up, from time to time, in the same manner as biennial elections are made.
June 2, l784
Amended l877 changing "annual" to "biennial" elections.
[Art.] l7. [House to Impeach Before the Senate.] The house of representatives shall be the grand inquest of the state; and all impeachments made by them, shall be heard and tried by the senate.
June 2, l784
[Art.] l8. [Money Bills to Originate in House.] All money bills shall originate in the house of representatives; but the senate may propose, or concur with amendments, as on other bills.
June 2, l784
[Art.] l8-a [Budget Bills.] All sections of all budget bills before the general court shall contain only the operating and capital expenses for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. No section or footnote of any such budget bill shall contain any provision which establishes, amends or repeals statutory law, other than provisions establishing, amending or repealing operating and capital expenses for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
November 28, l984
[Art.] l9. [Adjournment.] The house of representatives shall have the power to adjourn themselves.
June 2, l784
Amended l948 substituting "five" for "two" days as length of
adjournment.
Amended l966 removing limitation on adjournment.
[Art.] 20. [Quorum, What Constitutes.] A majority of the members of the house of representatives shall be a quorum for doing business: But when less than two-thirds of the representatives elected shall be present, the assent of two-thirds of those members shall be necessary to render their acts and proceedings valid.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 2l. [Privileges of Members of Legislature.] No member of the house of representatives, or senate shall be arrested, or held to bail, on mesne process, during his going to, returning from, or attendance upon, the court.
June 2, l784
[Art.] 22. [House to Elect Speaker and Officers, Settle Rules of
Proceedings, and Punish Misconduct.] The house of representatives shall choose their own speaker, appoint their own officers, and settle the rules of proceedings in their own house; and shall be judge of the returns, elections, and qualifications, of its members, as pointed out in this constitution. They shall have authority to punish, by imprisonment, every person who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, in its presence, by any disorderly and contemptuous behavior, or by threatening, or illtreating, any of its members; or by obstructing its deliberations; every person guilty of a breach of its privileges, in making arrests for debt, or by assaulting any member during his attendance at any session; in assaulting or disturbing any one of its officers in the execution of any order or procedure of the house; in assaulting any witness, or other person, ordered to attend, by and during his attendance of the house; or in rescuing any person arrested by order of the house, knowing them to be such.
June 2, l784
Amended l792 by adding that the House shall be judge of the returns,
elections, and qualifications of its members.
[Art.] 23. [Senate and Executive Have Like Powers; Imprisonment
Limited.]