The Arizona Constitution: Abridged Edition

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

ARTICLE I. STATE BOUNDARIES 

Section 1. Designation of boundaries 

The boundaries of the State of Arizona shall be as follows... 

ARTICLE II. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 

Section 1. Fundamental principles; recurrence to 

A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of free government.  

Section 2. Political power; purpose of government 

All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.  

Section 2.1. Victims' Bill of Rights 

(A) To preserve and protect victims' rights to justice and due process, a victim of crime has a right: 

1. To be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, throughout the criminal justice process. 
2. To be informed, upon request, when the accused or convicted person is released from custody or has escaped. 
3. To be present at and, upon request, to be informed of all criminal proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present. 
4. To be heard at any proceeding involving a post-arrest release decision, a negotiated plea, and sentencing. 
5. To refuse an interview, deposition, or other discovery request by the defendant, the defendant's attorney, or other person acting on behalf of the defendant. 
6. To confer with the prosecution, after the crime against the victim has been charged, before trial or before any disposition of the case and to be informed of the disposition. 
7. To read pre-sentence reports relating to the crime against the victim when they are available to the defendant. 
8. To receive prompt restitution from the person or persons convicted of the criminal conduct that caused the victim's loss or injury. 
9. To be heard at any proceeding when any post-conviction release from confinement is being considered. 
10. To a speedy trial or disposition and prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction and sentence. 
11. To have all rules governing criminal procedure and the admissibility of evidence in all criminal proceedings protect victims' rights and to have these rules be subject to amendment or repeal by the legislature to ensure the protection of these rights. 
12. To be informed of victims' constitutional rights

(B) A victim's exercise of any right granted by this section shall not be grounds for dismissing any criminal proceeding or setting aside any conviction or sentence. 

(C) "Victim" means a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed or, if the person is killed or incapacitated, the person's spouse, parent, child or other lawful representative, except if the person is in custody for an offense or is the accused. 

(D) The legislature, or the people by initiative or referendum, have the authority to enact substantive and procedural laws to define, implement, preserve and protect the rights guaranteed to victims by this section, including the authority to extend any of these rights to juvenile proceedings. 

(E) The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights for victims shall not be construed to deny or disparage others granted by the legislature or retained by victims.  

Section 3. Supreme law of the land; authority to exercise sovereign authority against federal action; use of government personnel and financial resources

A. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land to which all government, state and federal, is subject.

B. To protect the people's freedom and to preserve the checks and balances of the United States Constitution, this state may exercise its sovereign authority to restrict the actions of its personnel and the use of its financial resources to purposes that are consistent with the constitution by doing any of the following:

1. Passing an initiative or referendum pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1.
2. Passing a bill pursuant to article IV, part 2 and article V, section 7.
3. Pursuing any other available legal remedy.

C. If the people or their representatives exercise their authority pursuant to this section, this state and all political subdivisions of this state are prohibited from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with the designated federal action or program.

Section 4. Due process of law

No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Section 5. Right of petition and of assembly

The right of petition, and of the people peaceably to assemble for the common good, shall never be abridged.

Section 6. Freedom of speech and press

Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.

Section 7. Oaths and affirmations

The mode of administering an oath, or affirmation, shall be such as shall be most consistent with and binding upon the conscience of the person to whom such oath, or affirmation, may be administered.

Section 8. Right to privacy

No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.

Section 9. Irrevocable grants of privileges, franchises or immunities

No law granting irrevocably any privilege, franchise, or immunity shall be enacted.

Section 10. Self-incrimination; double jeopardy

No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to give evidence against himself, or be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.

Section 11. Administration of justice

Justice in all cases shall be administered openly, and without unnecessary delay.

Section 12. Liberty of conscience; appropriations for religious purposes prohibited; religious freedom

The liberty of conscience secured by the provisions of this constitution shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise, or instruction, or to the support of any religious establishment. No religious qualification shall be required for any public office or employment, nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror in consequence of his opinion on matters of religion, nor be questioned touching his religious belief in any court of justice to affect the weight of his testimony.

Section 13. Equal privileges and immunities

No law shall be enacted granting to any citizen, class of citizens, or corporation other than municipal, privileges or immunities which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens or corporations.

Section 14. Habeas corpus

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended by the authorities of the state.

Section 15. Excessive bail; cruel and unusual punishment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.

Section 16. Corruption of blood; forfeiture of estate

No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate.

Section 17. Eminent domain; just compensation for private property taken; public use as judicial question

Private property shall not be taken for private use, except for private ways of necessity, and for drains, flumes, or ditches, on or across the lands of others for mining, agricultural, domestic, or sanitary purposes. No private property shall be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation having first been made, paid into court for the owner, secured by bond as may be fixed by the court, or paid into the state treasury for the owner on such terms and conditions as the legislature may provide, and no right of way shall be appropriated to the use of any corporation other than municipal, until full compensation therefor be first made in money, or ascertained and paid into court for the owner, irrespective of any benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation, which compensation shall be ascertained by a jury, unless a jury be waived as in other civil cases in courts of record, in the manner prescribed by law. Whenever an attempt is made to take private property for a use alleged to be public, the question whether the contemplated use be really public shall be a judicial question, and determined as such without regard to any legislative assertion that the use is public.

Section 18. Imprisonment for debt

There shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud.

Section 19. Bribery or illegal rebating; witnesses; self-incrimination no defense

Any person having knowledge or possession of facts that tend to establish the guilt of any other person or corporation charged with bribery or illegal rebating, shall not be excused from giving testimony or producing evidence, when legally called upon to do so, on the ground that it may tend to incriminate him under the laws of the state; but no person shall be prosecuted or subject to any penalty or forfeiture for, or on account of, any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which he may so testify or produce evidence.

Section 20. Military power subordinate to civil power

The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.

Section 21. Free and equal elections

All elections shall be free and equal, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.

Section 22. Bailable offenses

A. All persons charged with crime shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except:

1. For capital offenses, sexual assault, sexual conduct with a minor under fifteen years of age or molestation of a child under fifteen years of age when the proof is evident or the presumption great.
2. For felony offenses committed when the person charged is already admitted to bail on a separate felony charge and where the proof is evident or the presumption great as to the present charge.
3. For felony offenses if the person charged poses a substantial danger to any other person or the community, if no conditions of release which may be imposed will reasonably assure the safety of the other person or the community and if the proof is evident or the presumption great as to the present charge.
4. For serious felony offenses as prescribed by the legislature if the person charged has entered or remained in the United States illegally and if the proof is evident or the presumption great as to the present charge.

B. The purposes of bail and any conditions of release that are set by a judicial officer include:

1. Assuring the appearance of the accused.
2. Protecting against the intimidation of witnesses.
3. Protecting the safety of the victim, any other person or the community.

Section 23. Trial by jury; number of jurors specified by law

The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. Juries in criminal cases in which a sentence of death or imprisonment for thirty years or more is authorized by law shall consist of twelve persons. In all criminal cases the unanimous consent of the jurors shall be necessary to render a verdict. In all other cases, the number of jurors, not less than six, and the number required to render a verdict, shall be specified by law.

Section 24. Rights of accused in criminal prosecutions

In criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to appear and defend in person, and by counsel, to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a copy thereof, to testify in his own behalf, to meet the witnesses against him face to face, to have compulsory process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his own behalf, to have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed, and the right to appeal in all cases; and in no instance shall any accused person before final judgment be compelled to advance money or fees to secure the rights herein guaranteed.

Section 25. Bills of attainder; ex post facto laws; impairment of contract obligations

No bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of a contract, shall ever be enacted.

Section 26. Bearing arms

The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.

Section 27. Standing army; quartering soldiers

No standing army shall be kept up by this state in time of peace, and no soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of its owner, nor in time of war except in the manner prescribed by law.

Section 28. Treason

Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against the state, or adhering to its enemies, or in giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.

Section 29. Hereditary emoluments, privileges or powers; perpetuities or entailments

No hereditary emoluments, privileges, or powers shall be granted or conferred, and no law shall be enacted permitting any perpetuity or entailment in this state.

Section 30. Indictment or information; preliminary examination

No person shall be prosecuted criminally in any court of record for felony or misdemeanor, otherwise than by information or indictment; no person shall be prosecuted for felony by information without having had a preliminary examination before a magistrate or having waived such preliminary examination.

Section 31. Damages for death or personal injuries

No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person, except that a crime victim is not subject to a claim for damages by a person who is harmed while the person is attempting to engage in, engaging in or fleeing after having engaged in or attempted to engage in conduct that is classified as a felony offense.

Section 32. Constitutional provisions mandatory

The provisions of this Constitution are mandatory, unless by express words they are declared to be otherwise.

Section 33. Reservation of rights

The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny others retained by the people.

Section 34. Industrial pursuits by state and municipal corporations

The [S]tate of Arizona and each municipal corporation within the [S]tate of Arizona shall have the right to engage in industrial pursuits.

Section 35. Actions by illegal aliens prohibited

A person who is present in this state in violation of federal immigration law related to improper entry by an alien shall not be awarded punitive damages in any action in any court in this state.

Section 36. Preferential treatment or discrimination prohibited; exceptions; definition

A. This state shall not grant preferential treatment to or discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.

B. This section does not:

1. Prohibit bona fide qualifications based on sex that are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.
2. Prohibit action that must be taken to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, if ineligibility would result in a loss of federal monies to this state.
3. Invalidate any court order or consent decree that is in force as of the effective date of this section.

C. The remedies available for a violation of this section are the same, regardless of the injured party's race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin, as are otherwise available for a violation of the existing antidiscrimination laws of this state.

D. This section applies only to actions that are taken after the effective date of this section.

E. This section is self-executing.

F. For the purposes of this section, "state" includes this state, a city, town or county, a public university, including the [U]niversity of Arizona, Arizona [S]tate [U]niversity and [N]orthern Arizona [U]niversity, a community college district, a school district, a special district or any other political subdivision in this state.

Section 37. Right to secret ballot; employee representation

The right to vote by secret ballot for employee representation is fundamental and shall be guaranteed where local, state or federal law permits or requires elections, designations or authorizations for employee representation.

ARTICLE III. DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS  

Section 1. Distribution of Powers 

The powers of the government of the [S]tate of Arizona shall be divided into three separate departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial; and, except as provided in this constitution, such departments shall be separate and distinct, and no one of such departments shall exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others. 

ARTICLE IV. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

PART 1. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM 

Section 1. Legislative authority; initiative and referendum 

(1) Senate; house of representatives; reservation of power to people. The legislative authority of the state shall be vested in the legislature, consisting of a senate and a house of representatives, but the people reserve the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject such laws and amendments at the polls, independently of the legislature; and they also reserve, for use at their own option, the power to approve or reject at the polls any act, or item, section, or part of any act, of the legislature. 

(2) Initiative power. The first of these reserved powers is the initiative. Under this power ten percent of the qualified electors shall have the right to propose any measure, and fifteen percent shall have the right to propose any amendment to the constitution. 

(3) Referendum power; emergency measures; effective date of acts. The second of these reserved powers is the referendum. Under this power the legislature, or five percent of the qualified electors, may order the submission to the people at the polls of any measure, or item, section, or part of any measure, enacted by the legislature, except laws immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or for the support and maintenance of the departments of the state government and state institutions;

...To allow opportunity for referendum petitions, no act passed by the legislature shall be operative for ninety days after the close of the session of the legislature enacting such measure, except such as require earlier operation to preserve the public peace, health, or safety, or to provide appropriations for the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and of state institutions...

…[N]o such emergency measure shall be considered passed by the legislature unless it shall state in a separate section why it is necessary that it shall become immediately operative, and shall be approved by the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature,  taken by roll call of ayes and nays… [S]hould such measure be vetoed by the governor, it shall not become a law unless it shall be approved by the votes of three-fourths of the members elected to each house of the legislature…

5) .[A]n initiative or referendum to approve a tax, shall become law when approved by sixty percent of the votes cast thereon….and for all other initiatives and referendums, shall become law when approved by a majority of votes cast thereon. …

(6) (A) Veto of initiative or referendum. The veto power of the governor shall not extend to an initiative [or...] referendum measure… decided by [the voters]...

(6) (B) Legislature's power to repeal initiative or referendum. The legislature shall not have the power to repeal an initiative [or...] referendum measure decided by [the voters]...

(6) (C) Legislature’s power to amend initiative or referendum. The legislature shall not have the power to amend an initiative [or…] referendum measure decided [by the voters…] unless the amending legislation furthers the purposes of such a measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature, by a roll call of ayes and nays, vote to amend such measure…
 
(8) Local, city, town or county matters. The powers of the initiative and the referendum are hereby further reserved to the qualified electors of every incorporated city, town, and county as to all local, city, town, or county matters on which such incorporated cities, towns, and counties are or shall be empowered by general laws to legislate...

(9) Form and contents of initiative and of referendum petition. … Every initiative measure shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in the title; but if any subject shall be embraced in an initiative measure which shall not be expressed in the title, such initiative measure shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be embraced in the title…

(15) Legislature's right to refer measure to the people. Nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive or limit the legislature of the right to order the submission to the people at the polls of any measure, item, section, or part of any measure. 

PART 2. THE LEGISLATURE 

Section 1. Senate; house of representatives; members; special session upon petition of members; congressional and legislative boundaries; citizen commissions  

(1) The senate shall be composed of one member elected from each of the thirty legislative districts established pursuant to this section. The house of representatives shall be composed of two members elected from each of the thirty legislative districts established pursuant to this section...

(3) By February 28 of each year that ends in one, an independent redistricting commission shall be established to provide for the redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. The independent redistricting commission shall consist of five members. No more than two members of the independent redistricting commission shall be members of the same political party... 

(14) The independent redistricting commission shall establish congressional and legislative districts. The commencement of the mapping process for both the congressional and legislative districts shall be the creation of districts of equal population in a grid-like pattern across the state. Adjustments to the grid shall then be made as necessary to accommodate the goals as set forth below: 

• (A) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution and the United States [V]oting [R]ights [A]ct; 
• (B) Congressional districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable, and state legislative districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable; 
• (C) Districts shall be geographically compact and contiguous to the extent practicable; 
• (D) District boundaries shall respect communities of interest to the extent practicable;
• (E) To the extent practicable, district lines shall use visible geographic features, city, town and county boundaries, and undivided census tracts; 
• (F) To the extent practicable, competitive districts should be favored where to do so would create no significant detriment to the other goals. 

(15) Party registration and voting history data shall be excluded from the initial phase of the mapping process but may be used to test maps for compliance with the above goals. The places of residence of incumbents or candidates shall not be identified or considered....

Section 2. Qualifications of members of legislature

No person shall be a member of the Legislature unless he shall be a citizen of the United States at the time of his election, nor unless he shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and shall have been a resident of Arizona at least three years and of the county from which he is elected at least one year before his election.

Section 3. Sessions of legislature; special sessions; limitation of subjects for consideration 

The sessions of the legislature shall be held annually at the capitol of the state, and shall commence on the second Monday of January of each year. The governor may call a special session, whenever in his judgment it is advisable. In calling a special session, the governor shall specify the subjects to be considered, and at such special session no laws shall be enacted except such as relate to the subjects mentioned in the call...  

Section 6. Privilege from arrest; civil process 

Members of the legislature shall be privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement of each session.  

Section 7. Freedom of debate 

No member of the legislature shall be liable in any civil or criminal prosecution for words spoken in debate.  

Section 8. Organization; officers; rules of procedure

Each house, when assembled, shall choose its own officers, judge of the election and qualification of its own members, and determine its own rules of procedure. 

Section 11. Disorderly behavior; expulsion of members 

Each house may punish its members for disorderly behavior, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of its members, expel any member.

Section 12. Procedure on bills; approval or disapproval by governor 

Every bill shall be read by sections on three different days, unless in case of emergency, two-thirds of either house deem it expedient to dispense with this rule. The vote on the final passage of any bill or joint resolution shall be taken by ayes and nays on roll call. Every measure when finally passed shall be presented to the governor for his approval or disapproval.

Section 13. Subject and title of bills 

Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in the title; but if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be embraced in the title.  

Section 14. Legislation by reference prohibited 

No [a]ct or section thereof shall be revised or amended by mere reference to the title of such act, but the act or section as amended shall be set forth and published at full length.

Section 15. Passage of bills by majority; signing of bills 

A majority of all members elected to each house shall be necessary to pass any bill, and all bills so passed shall be signed by the presiding officer of each house in open session.  

Section 16. Right to protest 

Any member of the legislature shall have the right to protest and have the reasons of his protest entered on the journal.  

Section 17. Extra compensation prohibited; increase or decrease of compensation during term of office 

The legislature shall never grant any extra compensation to any public officer, agent, servant or contractor, after the services shall have been rendered or the contract entered into, nor shall the compensation of any public officer, other than a justice of the peace, be increased or diminished during his term of office... 

Section 20. Appropriation bills

The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing but appropriations for the different departments of the state, for state institutions, for public schools, and for interest on the public debt. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject.  

Section 21. Term limits of members of state legislature

...The terms of office of the members [of the] legislatures… shall be two years. No state senator shall serve more than four consecutive terms in that office, nor shall any state representative serve more than four consecutive terms in that office... No legislator, after serving the maximum number of terms, which shall include any part of a term served, may serve in the same office until he has been out of office for no less than one full term.  

Section 22. Juvenile justice; certain chronic and violent juvenile offenders prosecuted as adults; community alternatives for certain juvenile offenders; public proceedings and records

In order to preserve and protect the right of the people to justice and public safety, and to ensure fairness and accountability when juveniles engage in unlawful conduct... The following rights, duties, and powers shall govern such proceedings and matters: 

1. Juveniles 15 years of age or older accused of murder, forcible sexual assault, armed robbery or other violent felony offenses as defined by statute shall be prosecuted as adults. Juveniles 15 years of age or older who are chronic felony offenders as defined by statute shall be prosecuted as adults. Upon conviction all such juveniles shall be subject to the same laws as adults, except as specifically provided by statute and by article 22, section 16 of this constitution. All other juveniles accused of unlawful conduct shall be prosecuted as provided by law. Every juvenile convicted of or found responsible for unlawful conduct shall make prompt restitution to any victims of such conduct for their injury or loss... 

3. All proceedings and matters involving juveniles accused of unlawful conduct shall be open to the public and all records of those proceedings shall be public records. Exceptions shall be made only for the protection of the privacy of innocent victims of crime, or when a court of competent jurisdiction finds a clear public interest in confidentiality… 

ARTICLE V. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Note: Two competing provisions (Props. 100 and 107) were both passed in 1992, and appear as duplicated Article V, Section 1 text in the Constitution. They have been integrated here. See the unabridged version for further explanation.

Section 1. Executive department; state officers; terms; election; residence and office at seat of government; duties 

A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years... No member of the executive department shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms….No member of the executive department after serving the maximum number of terms, which shall include any part of a term served, may serve in the same office until out of office for no less than one full term. 

B. The person having the highest number of the votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected...

C. …[E]ach nominee for the office of governor shall name a lieutenant governor nominee and shall run on a ticket as a joint candidate in the general election with that nominee for the office of lieutenant governor…

D. The officers of the executive department during their terms of office shall reside at the seat of government where they shall keep their offices and the public records, books, and papers. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed by the constitution and as may be provided by law...

Section 2. Eligibility to state offices 

No person shall be eligible to any of the offices mentioned in section 1 of this article except a person of the age of not less than twenty-five years, who shall have been for ten years next preceding his election a citizen of the United States, and for five years next preceding his election a citizen of Arizona.  

Section 3. Governor, commander-in-chief of the military forces 

The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces of the state, except when such forces shall be called into the service of the United States. 

Section 4. Governor; powers and duties; special sessions of legislature; message and recommendations 

The governor shall transact all executive business with the officers of the government, civil and military, and may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. He may convene the legislature in extraordinary session. He shall communicate, by message, to the legislature at every session the condition of the state, and recommend such matters as he shall deem expedient.  

Section 5. Reprieves, commutations and pardons 

The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutation, and pardons, after convictions, for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as may be provided by law.  

Section 6. Death, resignation, removal or disability of governor or lieutenant governor; succession to office; impeachment, absence from state or temporary disability 

A. In the event of the death of the governor, or the governor’s resignation, removal from office, or permanent disability to discharge the duties of the office, the lieutenant governor shall succeed to the office of governor until a successor shall be elected and shall qualify.

B. In the event of the death of the lieutenant governor, or the lieutenant governor's resignation, removal from office or permanent disability to discharge the duties of the office, the governor shall appoint a person to serve as lieutenant governor, subject to approval by a majority vote of the members of each house of the legislature…

E. In the event of the impeachment of the governor, the governor’s absence from the state or other temporary disability to discharge the duties of the office, the powers and duties of the office of governor shall devolve on the same person as in case of vacancy, but only until the disability ceases.

Section 7. Presentation of bills to governor; approval; veto; filing with secretary of state; veto of items in appropriation bills; inapplication of veto power to referred bills   

Every bill passed by the legislature, before it becomes a law, shall be presented to the governor. If he approve, he shall sign it, and it shall become a law as provided in this constitution. But if he disapprove, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the objections at large on the journal. If after reconsideration it again passes both houses by an aye and nay vote on roll call of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, it shall become a law as provided in this constitution, notwithstanding the governor's objections. This section shall not apply to emergency measures as referred to in section 1 of the article on the legislative department. 

If any bill be not returned within five days after it shall have been presented to the governor (Sunday excepted) such bill shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature by its final adjournment prevents its return, in which case it shall be filed with his objections in the office of the secretary of state within ten days after such adjournment (Sundays excepted) or become a law as provided in this constitution. After the final action by the governor, or following the adoption of a bill notwithstanding his objection, it shall be filed with the secretary of state.
 
If any bill presented to the governor contains several items of appropriations of money, he may object to one or more of such items, while approving other portions of the bill. In such case he shall append to the bill at the time of signing it, a statement of the item or items which he declines to approve, together with his reasons therefor, and such item or items shall not take effect unless passed over the governor's objections as in this section provided. 

The veto power of the governor shall not extend to any bill passed by the legislature and referred to the people for adoption or rejection. 

Section 8. Vacancies in office 

When any office shall, from any cause, become vacant, and no mode shall be provided by the Constitution or by law for filling such vacancy, the governor shall have the power to fill such vacancy by appointment.  

Section 9. Powers and duties of state officers 

The powers and duties of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction shall be as prescribed by law.

ARTICLE VI. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Section 1. Judicial power; courts

The judicial power shall be vested in an integrated judicial department consisting of a supreme court, such intermediate appellate courts as may be provided by law, a superior court, such courts inferior to the superior court as may be provided by law, and justice courts.  

Section 2. Supreme court; composition; divisions; decisions, transaction of business 

The supreme court shall consist of not less than five justices. The number of justices may be increased or decreased by law, but the court shall at all times be constituted of at least five justices. 

The supreme court shall sit in accordance with rules adopted by it, either in banc or in divisions of not less than three justices, but the court shall not declare any law unconstitutional except when sitting in banc. The decisions of the court shall be in writing and the grounds stated. 

The court shall be open at all times, except on nonjudicial days, for the transaction of business.  

Section 3. Supreme court; administrative supervision; chief justice 

The supreme court shall have administrative supervision over all the courts of the state. The chief justice shall be elected by the justices of the supreme court from one of their number for a term of five years, and may be reelected for like terms. The vice chief justice shall be elected by the justices of the supreme court from one of their number for a term determined by the court. A member of the court may resign the office of chief justice or vice chief justice without resigning from the court. 

The chief justice, or in his absence or incapacity, the vice chief justice, shall exercise the court's administrative supervision over all the courts of the state. He may assign judges of intermediate appellate courts, superior courts, or courts inferior to the superior court to serve in other courts or counties.  

Section 4. Supreme court; term of office 

Justices of the supreme court shall hold office for a regular term of six years except as provided by this article....  

Section 6. Supreme court; qualifications of justices 

A justice of the supreme court shall be a person of good moral character and admitted to the practice of law in and a resident of the [S]tate of Arizona for ten years next preceding his taking office.  

Section 8. Supreme court; publication of opinions 

Provision shall be made by law for the speedy publication of the opinions of the supreme court, and they shall be free for publication by any person.  

Section 9. Intermediate appellate courts 

The jurisdiction, powers, duties and composition of any intermediate appellate court shall be as provided by law.

Section 10. Superior court; number of judges

There shall be in each county at least one judge of the superior court. There shall be in each county such additional judges as may be provided by law...

Section 12. Superior court; term of office 

A. Judges of the superior court in counties having a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand persons according to the most recent United States census shall be elected by the qualified electors of their counties at the general election. They shall hold office for a regular term of four years except as provided by this section from and after the first Monday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors are elected and qualify. The names of all candidates for judge of the superior court in such counties shall be placed on the regular ballot without partisan or other designation except the division and title of the office. 

B. The governor shall fill any vacancy in such counties by appointing a person to serve until the election and qualification of a successor. At the next succeeding general election following the appointment of a person to fill a vacancy, a judge shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. 

Judges of the superior court in counties having a population of two hundred fifty thousand persons or more according to the most recent United States census shall hold office for a regular term of four years…[Eds note:  Their method of appointment is discussed in Section 37.]

Section 17. Superior court; conduct of business; trial juries; jury trial; grand juries 

The superior court shall be open at all times, except on nonjudicial days, for the determination of non-jury civil cases and the transaction of business. For the determination of civil causes and matters in which a jury demand has been entered, and for the trial of criminal causes, a trial jury shall be drawn and summoned from the body of the county, as provided by law. The right of jury trial as provided by this constitution shall remain inviolate, but trial by jury may be waived by the parties in any civil cause or by the parties with the consent of the court in any criminal cause. Grand juries shall be drawn and summoned only by order of the superior court.  

Section 20. Retirement and service of retired justices and judges 

The legislature shall prescribe by law a plan of retirement for justices and judges of courts of record, including the basis and amount of retirement pay...

Section 21. Superior court; speedy decisions 

Every matter submitted to a judge of the superior court for his decision shall be decided within sixty days from the date of submission thereof. The supreme court shall by rule provide for the speedy disposition of all matters not decided within such period.  

Section 22. Superior and other courts; qualifications of judges 

Judges of the superior court, intermediate appellate courts or courts inferior to the superior court having jurisdiction in civil cases of one thousand dollars or more, exclusive of interest and costs, established by law under the provisions of section 1 of this article, shall be at least thirty years of age, of good moral character and admitted to the practice of law in and a resident of the state for five years next preceding their taking office.

Section 26. Oath of office 

Each justice, judge and justice of the peace shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe an oath that he will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Arizona, and that he will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his office to the best of his ability...

Section 27. Charge to juries; reversal of causes for technical error 

Judges shall not charge juries with respect to matters of fact, nor comment thereon, but shall declare the law. No cause shall be reversed for technical error in pleadings or proceedings when upon the whole case it shall appear that substantial justice has been done.  

Section 28. Justices and judges; dual office holding; political activity; practice of law 

Justices and judges of courts of record shall not be eligible for any other public office or for any other public employment during their term of office, except that they may assume another judicial office…. No justice or judge of any court of record shall practice law during his continuance in office, nor shall he hold any office in a political party or actively take part in any political campaign other than his own for his reelection or retention in office. Any justice or judge who files nomination papers for an elective office, other than for judge… forfeits his judicial office. 

Section 32. Justices of the peace and inferior courts; jurisdiction, powers and duties; terms of office; salaries 

A. The number of justices of the peace to be elected in precincts shall be as provided by law. Justices of the peace may be police justices of incorporated cities and towns. 

B. The jurisdiction, powers and duties of courts inferior to the superior court and of justice courts, and the terms of office of judges of such courts and justices of the peace shall be as provided by law...

Section 33. Change by legislature in number of justices or judges; reduction of salary during term of office 

No change made by the legislature in the number of justices or judges shall work the removal of any justice or judge from office. The salary of any justice or judge shall not be reduced during the term of office for which he was elected or appointed.  

Section 36. Commission on appellate court appointments and terms, appointments and vacancies on commission 

A. There shall be a nonpartisan commission on appellate court appointments which shall be composed of the chief justice of the supreme court, who shall be chairman, five attorney members, who shall be nominated by the board of governors of the state bar of Arizona and appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate in the manner prescribed by law, and ten nonattorney members who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate in the manner prescribed by law...

Not more than three attorney members shall be members of the same political party and not more than two attorney members shall be residents of any one county. Nonattorney members shall have resided in the state for not less than five years and shall not be judges, retired judges or admitted to practice before the supreme court. Not more than five nonattorney members shall be members of the same political party. Not more than two nonattorney members shall be residents of any one county. None of the attorney or nonattorney members of the commission shall hold any governmental office, elective or appointive, for profit, and no attorney member shall be eligible for appointment to any judicial office of the state until one year after he ceases to be a member...

D. Prior to making recommendations to the governor as hereinafter provided, the commission shall conduct investigations, hold public hearings and take public testimony... Final decisions as to recommendations shall be made without regard to political affiliation in an impartial and objective manner. The commission shall consider the diversity of the state's population, however the primary consideration shall be merit. Voting shall be in a public hearing...

Section 37. Judicial vacancies and appointments; initial terms; residence... 

A. Within sixty days from the occurrence of a vacancy... the commission on appellate court appointments... shall submit to the governor the names of not less than three persons nominated by it to fill such vacancy, no more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party unless there are more than four such nominees, in which event not more than sixty percentum of such nominees shall be members of the same political party... 

B. Within sixty days from the occurrence of a vacancy…the commission on trial court appointments…shall submit to the governor the names…to fill such vacancy. … 

[Eds. note. This analogous commission, described further in Section 41, exists to similarly propose trial court judges in counties with a population exceeding 250,000. These judges are then subject to retention elections, rather than regular competitive elections that select trial judges in counties with fewer than 250,000 residents, as discussed in Section 12.]

C. A vacancy in the office of a justice or a judge of such courts of record shall be filled by appointment by the governor without regard to political affiliation from one of the nominees whose names shall be submitted to him as hereinabove provided. In making the appointment, the governor shall consider the diversity of the state's population for an appellate court appointment and the diversity of the county's population for a trial court appointment, however the primary consideration shall be merit...Each justice or judge so appointed shall initially hold office for a term ending sixty days following the next regular general election after the expiration of a term of two years in office. Thereafter, the terms of justices or judges of the supreme court and the superior court shall be as provided by this article. 

Section 38. Declaration of candidacy; form of judicial ballot, rejection and retention; failure to file declaration 

A. A justice or judge ...except for judges of the superior court and other courts of record inferior to the superior court in counties having a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand persons… shall file a declaration of his desire to be retained in office…

B. The name of any justice or judge whose declaration is filed as provided in this section shall be placed on the appropriate official ballot at the next regular general election under a nonpartisan designation and in substantially the following form: 
Shall __________, (Name of justice or judge) of the _________ court be retained in office? Yes __ No __ (Mark X after one).
 
C. ...If a majority of those voting on the question votes "Yes," such justice or judge shall remain in office for another term, subject to removal as provided by this constitution. 

Section 39. Retirement of justices and judges; vacancies 

On attaining the age of seventy years a justice or judge of a court of record shall retire and his judicial office shall be vacant…

Section 41. Superior court divisions; commission on trial court appointments;

There shall be a nonpartisan commission on trial court appointments for each county having a population of two hundred fifty thousand persons or more…

Section 42. Retention evaluation of justices and judges 

The supreme court shall adopt... a process... for evaluating judicial performance. The rules shall include written performance standards and performance reviews which survey opinions of persons who have knowledge of the justice's or judge's performance. The public shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity for participation in the evaluation process through public hearings, dissemination of evaluation reports to voters and any other methods as the court deems advisable. 

ARTICLE VI.I. COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT 

Section 1. Composition; appointment; term; vacancies 

A. A commission on judicial conduct is created to be composed of eleven persons...

Section 2. Disqualification of judge 

A judge is disqualified from acting as a judge, without loss of salary, while there is pending an indictment or an information charging him in the United States with a crime punishable as a felony under Arizona or federal law, or a recommendation to the supreme court by the commission on judicial conduct for his suspension, removal or retirement.  

Section 3. Suspension or removal of judge 

On recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct, or on its own motion, the supreme court may suspend a judge from office without salary when, in the United States, he pleads guilty or no contest or is found guilty of a crime punishable as a felony under Arizona or federal law or of any other crime that involves moral turpitude under such law. If his conviction is reversed the suspension terminates, and he shall be paid his salary for the period of suspension. If he is suspended and his conviction becomes final the supreme court shall remove him from office.  

Section 4. Retirement of judge 

On recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct, the supreme court may retire a judge for disability that seriously interferes with the performance of his duties and is or is likely to become permanent, and may censure, suspend without pay or remove a judge for action by him that constitutes wilful misconduct in office, wilful and persistent failure to perform his duties, habitual intemperance or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute... 

ARTICLE VII. SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS 

Section 1. Method of voting; secrecy 

All elections by the people shall be by ballot, or by such other method as may be prescribed by law; Provided, that secrecy in voting shall be preserved.  

Section 2. Qualifications of voters; disqualification 

A. No person shall be entitled to vote at any general election, or for any office that now is, or hereafter may be, elective by the people, or upon any question which may be submitted to a vote of the people, unless such person be a citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years or over, and shall have resided in the state for the period of time preceding such election as prescribed by law, provided that qualifications for voters at a general election for the purpose of electing presidential electors shall be as prescribed by law. The word "citizen" shall include persons of the male and female sex. 

B. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged by the state, or any political division or municipality thereof, on account of sex, and the right to register, to vote and to hold office under any law now in effect, or which may hereafter be enacted, is hereby extended to, and conferred upon males and females alike. 

C. No person who is adjudicated an incapacitated person shall be qualified to vote at any election, nor shall any person convicted of treason or felony, be qualified to vote at any election unless restored to civil rights. 

Section 7. Highest number of votes received as determinative of person elected

In all elections held by the people in this state, the person, or persons, receiving the highest number of legal votes shall be declared elected...

Section 10. Direct primary election law 

The [l]egislature shall enact a direct primary election law, which shall provide for the nomination of candidates for all elective [s]tate, county, and city offices, including candidates for United States Senator and for Representative in Congress. Any person who is registered as no party preference or independent as the party preference or who is registered with a political party that is not qualified for representation on the ballot may vote in the primary election of any one of the political parties that is qualified for the ballot... 

Section 12. Registration and other laws 

There shall be enacted registration and other laws to secure the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.  

Section 13. Submission of questions upon bond issues or special assessments 

Questions upon bond issues or special assessments shall be submitted to the vote of real property tax payers, who shall also in all respects be qualified electors of this State, and of the political subdivisions thereof affected by such question.  

Section 14. Fee for placing candidate's name on ballot 

No fee shall ever be required in order to have the name of any candidate placed on the official ballot for any election or primary.  

Section 15. Qualifications for public office 

Every person elected or appointed to any elective office of trust or profit under the authority of the state, or any political division or any municipality thereof, shall be a qualified elector of the political division or municipality in which such person shall be elected.

Section 16. Campaign contributions and expenditures; publicity 

The legislature, at its first session, shall enact a law providing for a general publicity, before and after election, of all campaign contributions to, and expenditures of campaign committees and candidates for public office.  

Section 17. Vacancy in Congress 

There shall be a primary and general election as prescribed by law, which shall provide for nomination and election of a candidate for United States senator and for representative in congress when a vacancy occurs through resignation or any other cause.  

ARTICLE VIII. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

PART 1. RECALL OF PUBLIC OFFICERS 

Section 1. Officers subject to recall; petitioners 

Every public officer in the [S]tate of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office by the qualified electors of the electoral district from which candidates are elected to such office. Such electoral district may include the whole state. Such number of said electors as shall equal twenty five per centum of the number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for all of the candidates for the office held by such officer, may by petition, which shall be known as a recall petition, demand his recall.  

Section 2. Recall petitions; contents; filing; signatures; oath 

Every recall petition must contain a general statement, in not more than two hundred words, of the grounds of such demand, and must be filed in the office in which petitions for nominations to the office held by the incumbent are required to be filed...

Section 3. Resignation of officer; special election 

...If he shall not resign within five days after a recall petition is filed as provided by law, a special election shall be ordered to be held as provided by law, to determine whether such officer shall be recalled. On the ballots at such election shall be printed the reasons as set forth in the petition for demanding his recall, and, in not more than two hundred words, the officer's justification of his course in office. He shall continue to perform the duties of his office until the result of such election shall have been officially declared.  

Section 4. Special election; candidates; results; qualification of successor 

Unless the incumbent otherwise requests, in writing, the incumbent's name shall be placed as a candidate on the official ballot without nomination. Other candidates for the office may be nominated to be voted for at said election. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes shall be declared elected for the remainder of the term. Unless the incumbent receives the highest number of votes, the incumbent shall be deemed to be removed from office, upon qualification of the successor...

Section 5. Recall petitions; restrictions and conditions 

No recall petition shall be circulated against any officer until he shall have held his office for a period of six months, except that it may be filed against a member of  the legislature at any time after five days from the beginning of the first session after his election. After one recall petition and election, no further recall petition shall be filed against the same officer during the term for which he was elected, unless petitioners signing such petition shall first pay into the public treasury which has paid such election expenses, all expenses of the preceding election...

PART 2. IMPEACHMENT

Section 1. Power of impeachment in house of representatives; trial by senate

The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. The concurrence of a majority of all the members shall be necessary to an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate, and, when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence, and shall be presided over by the chief justice of the supreme court. Should the chief justice be on trial, or otherwise disqualified, the senate shall elect a judge of the supreme court to preside.  

Section 2. Conviction; grounds for impeachment; judgment; liability to trial 

No person shall be convicted without a concurrence of two-thirds of the senators elected. The governor and other state and judicial officers, except justices of courts not of record, shall be liable to impeachment for high crimes, misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office, but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit in the state. The party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to trial and punishment according to law. 

ARTICLE IX. PUBLIC DEBT, REVENUE, AND TAXATION

Section 1. Surrender of power of taxation; uniformity of taxes 

The power of taxation shall never be surrendered, suspended or contracted away. Except as provided by section 18 of this article, all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and shall be levied and collected for public purposes only.

Section 2. Property subject to taxation; exemptions 

…(A) All property in this state that is not exempt under the laws of the United states or under this section is subject to taxation as provided by law...

(C) The following property is exempt from taxation:

(1) All federal, state, county and municipal property.

(2) Public debts, as evidenced by the bonds of this state and its counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions.

(3) Household goods that are owned by the user of the goods and that are used solely for noncommercial purposes.

(4) Stocks of raw or finished materials, unassembled parts, works in process or finished products constituting the inventory of a retailer or wholesaler that is located in this state and principally engaged in the resale of the materials, parts, works or products, whether or not for resale to the ultimate consumer…

(E) The legislature may exempt the following property by law:

(1) The property of an educational, charitable or religious association or institution that is not used or held for profit.

(2) Personal property that is used in a trade or business or for agricultural purposes.

(3) Cemeteries that are set apart and used to inter deceased human beings.

(4) The property of a widow or widower who is a resident of this state.

(5) The property of a resident of this state who is at least eighteen years of age and who has a medically certified total and permanent disability.

(6) The property of an honorably discharged veteran of the uniformed services of the United States who is a resident of this state and who has a service or nonservice connected disability…

Section 5. Power of state to contract debts; purposes; limit; restrictions 

The state may contract debts to supply the casual deficits or failures in revenues…but the aggregate amount of such debts... shall never exceed the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars…

In addition to the above limited power to contract debts the state may borrow money to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the state in time of war; but the money thus raised shall be applied exclusively to the object for which the loan shall have been authorized or to the repayment of the debt thereby created. No money shall be paid out of the state treasury, except in the manner provided by law.

Section 6. Local assessments and taxes 

Except as provided by [s]ection 25 of this [a]rticle, incorporated cities, towns, and villages may be vested by law with power to make local improvements by special assessments, or by special taxation of property benefited. For all corporate purposes, all municipal corporations may be vested with authority to assess and collect taxes.

Section 7. Gift or loan of credit; subsidies; stock ownership; joint ownership 

Neither the state, nor any county, city, town, municipality, or other subdivision of the state shall ever give or loan its credit in the aid of, or make any donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise, to any individual, association, or corporation, or become a subscriber to, or a shareholder in, any company or corporation, or become a joint owner with any person, company, or corporation, except as to such ownerships as may accrue to the state by operation or provision of law or as authorized by law solely for investment of the monies in the various funds of the state...

Section 10. Aid of church, private or sectarian school, or public service corporation 

No tax shall be laid or appropriation of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school, or any public service corporation... 

Section 21. Expenditure limitations for school districts

(2)…  The aggregate expenditure limitation [for all school districts] shall be determined by adjusting the total amount of expenditures of local revenues for all school districts for fiscal year 1979-1980 to reflect the changes in student population in the school districts and the cost of living, and multiplying the result by 1.10. The aggregate expenditures of local revenues for all school districts shall not exceed the limitation prescribed in this section, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.

(3) Expenditures in excess of the limitation determined pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may be authorized by the legislature for a single fiscal year, by concurrent resolution, upon affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership of each house of the legislature...

Section 22. Vote required to increase state revenues; application; exception

A) An act that provides for a net increase in state revenues, as described in subsection B is effective on the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature. ……. 

If the governor vetoes the measure, it shall not become effective unless it is approved by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature...

Section 23.  Expenditures required by initiative or referendum; funding source 

(A) An initiative or referendum measure that proposes a mandatory expenditure of state revenues for any purpose, establishes a fund for any specific purpose or allocates funding for any specific purpose must also provide for an increased source of revenues sufficient to cover the entire immediate and future costs of the proposal.  The increased revenues may not be derived from the state general fund or reduce or cause a reduction in general fund revenues. 

Section 25. Prohibition of New or Increased Taxes on Services 

The state, any county, city, town, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state, or any district created by law with authority to impose any tax, fee, stamp requirement, or other assessment, shall not impose or increase any sales tax, transaction privilege tax, luxury tax, excise tax, use tax, or any other transaction-based tax, fee, stamp requirement or assessment on the privilege to engage in, or the gross receipts of sales or gross income derived from, any service performed in this state. This section does not repeal or nullify any tax, fee, stamp requirement, or other assessment in effect on December 31, 2018. 

ARTICLE X. STATE AND SCHOOL LANDS

Section 1. Acceptance and holding of lands by state in trust 

All lands expressly transferred and confirmed to the state by the provisions of the Enabling Act approved June 20, 1910...shall be by the state accepted and held in trust to be disposed of in whole or in part, only in manner as in the said Enabling Act and in this Constitution provided...

ARTICLE XI. EDUCATION 

Section 1. Public school system; education of pupils who are hearing and vision impaired

A. The legislature shall enact such laws as shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a general and uniform public school system, which system shall include: 

1. Kindergarten schools. 
2. Common schools. 
3. High schools. 
4. Normal schools. 
5. Industrial schools. 
6. Universities, which shall include an agricultural college, a school of mines, and such other technical schools as may be essential, until such time as it may be deemed advisable to establish separate state institutions of such character. 

B. The legislature shall also enact such laws as shall provide for the education and care of pupils who are hearing and vision impaired. 

Section 2. Conduct and supervision of school system 

The general conduct and supervision of the public school system shall be vested in a state board of education, a state superintendent of public instruction, county school superintendents, and such governing boards for the state institutions as may be provided by law.

Section 3. State board of education; composition; powers and duties; compensation 

The state board of education shall be composed of the following members: the superintendent of public instruction, the president of a state university or a state college, four lay members, a president or chancellor of a community college district, a person who is an owner or administrator of a charter school, a superintendent of a high school district, a classroom teacher and a county school superintendent. Each member, other than the superintendent of public instruction, shall be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate in the manner prescribed by law. The powers, duties, compensation and expenses, and the terms of office, of the board shall be such as may be prescribed by law.  

Section 4. State superintendent of public instruction; board membership; powers and duties  

The state superintendent of public instruction shall be a member, and secretary, of the state board of education, and, ex-officio, a member of any other board having control of public instruction in any state institution. His powers and duties shall be prescribed by law.  

Section 5. Regents of university and other governing boards; appointments by governor; membership of governor on board of regents

The regents of the university, and the governing boards of other state educational institutions, shall be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate in the manner prescribed by law, except that the governor shall be, ex-officio, a member of the board of regents of the university.

Section 6. Admission of students of both sexes to state educational institutions; tuition; common school system 

The university and all other state educational institutions shall be open to students of both sexes, and the instruction furnished shall be as nearly free as possible. The legislature shall provide for a system of common schools by which a free school shall be established and maintained in every school district for at least six months in each year, which school shall be open to all pupils between the ages of six and twenty-one years.  

Section 7. Sectarian instruction; religious or political test or qualification 

No sectarian instruction shall be imparted in any school or state educational institution that may be established under this Constitution, and no religious or political test or qualification shall ever be required as a condition of admission into any public educational institution of the state, as teacher, student, or pupil; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to justify practices or conduct inconsistent with the good order, peace, morality, or safety of the state, or with the rights of others.

Section 8. Permanent state school fund; source; apportionment of state funds

A. A permanent state school fund for the use of the common schools shall be derived from the sale of public school lands or other public lands specified in the enabling act approved June 20, 1910……… 

B. The rental derived from school lands, with such other funds as may be provided by law shall be apportioned only for common and high school education in Arizona, and in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

Section 9. County school fund; size of fund; free schools 

The amount of this apportionment shall become a part of the county school fund, and the legislature shall enact such laws as will provide for increasing the county fund sufficiently to maintain all the public schools of the county for a minimum term of six months in every school year. The laws of the state shall enable cities and towns to maintain free high schools, industrial schools, and commercial schools.

Section 10. Source of revenue for maintenance of state educational institutions 

The revenue for the maintenance of the respective state educational institutions shall be derived from the investment of the proceeds of the sale, and from the rental of such lands as have been set aside by the enabling act approved June 20, 1910, or other legislative enactment of the United States, for the use and benefit of the respective state educational institutions. In addition to such income the legislature shall make such appropriations, to be met by taxation, as shall insure the proper maintenance of all state educational institutions, and shall make such special appropriations as shall provide for their development and improvement....

ARTICLE XII. COUNTIES

Section 1. Counties as bodies politic and corporate

Each county of the state, now or hereafter organized, shall be a body politic and corporate...

Section 3. County officers; election; term of office

There are hereby created in and for each organized county of the state the following officers who shall be elected by the qualified electors thereof: a sheriff, a county attorney, a recorder, a treasurer, an assessor, a superintendent of schools and at least three supervisors…

Section 4. County officers; duties, powers, and qualifications; salaries

The duties, powers, and qualifications of such officers shall be as prescribed by law…

[Eds. note. The original Constitution does not explicitly describe the roles played by counties. Section 7, added in 1992 to allow for the possibility of highly populated counties having special charters, described the role of all counties in explaining what the charter counties would continue to do even with a charter.]

Section 7. County charter provisions 

A. Charter counties continue to be political subdivisions of this state that exist to aid in the administration of this state's laws and for purposes of self-government... Charter counties shall provide the same state mandated services and perform the same state mandated functions as non-charter counties. Charter counties may exercise, if provided by the charter, all powers over local concerns of the county consistent with, and subject to, the constitution and the laws of this state. In matters of strictly local municipal concern, charters adopted pursuant to article XIII shall control in any case of conflict with a county charter adopted pursuant to this article. 

ARTICLE XIII. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 

Section 1. Incorporation and organization; classification 

Municipal corporations shall not be created by special laws, but the legislature, by general laws, shall provide for the incorporation and organization of cities and towns and for the classification of such cities and towns in proportion to population, subject to the provisions of this article...  

Section 7. Irrigation and other districts as political subdivisions 

Irrigation, power, electrical, agricultural improvement, drainage, and flood control districts, and tax levying public improvement districts, now or hereafter organized pursuant to law, shall be political subdivisions of the state...

ARTICLE XIV. CORPORATIONS OTHER THAN MUNICIPAL 

Section 1. "Corporation" defined; right to sue and suability 

The term "corporation," as used in this article, shall be construed to include all associations and joint stock companies having any powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or co-partnerships, and all corporations shall have the right to sue and shall be subject to be sued, in all courts, in like cases as natural persons.

Section 2. Formation under general laws; change of laws; regulation 

Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special acts. Laws relating to corporations may be altered, amended, or repealed at any time, and all corporations doing business in this state may, as to such business, be regulated, limited, and restrained by law...

Section 5. Foreign corporations; transaction of business 

No corporation organized outside of the limits of this state shall be allowed to transact business within this state on more favorable conditions than are prescribed by law for similar corporations organized under the laws of this state; and no foreign corporation shall be permitted to transact business within this state unless said foreign corporation is by the laws of the country, state, or territory under which it is formed permitted to transact a like business in such country, state, or territory.  

Section 9. Eminent domain; taking corporate property and franchises for public use

The right of exercising eminent domain shall never be so abridged or construed as to prevent the state from taking the property and the franchises of incorporated companies and subjecting them to public use the same as the property of individuals...  

Section 12. Officers of banking institutions; individual responsibility 

Any president, director, manager, cashier, or other officer of any banking institution who shall receive, or assent to, the reception of any deposits after he shall have knowledge of the fact that such banking institution is insolvent or in failing circumstances shall be individually responsible for such deposits.

Section 14. Legislative power to impose conditions 

This article shall not be construed to deny the right of the legislative power to impose other conditions upon corporations than those herein contained.

Section 15. Monopolies and trusts 

Monopolies and trusts shall never be allowed in this state and no incorporated company, co-partnership or association of persons in this state shall directly or indirectly combine or make any contract… or, in any manner whatever, to fix the prices, limit the production, or regulate the transportation of any product or commodity. The legislature shall enact laws for the enforcement of this section by adequate penalties, and in the case of incorporated companies, if necessary for that purpose, may, as a penalty declare a forfeiture of their franchises.  

Section 16. Records, books, and files; visitorial and inquisitorial powers of state 

The records, books, and files of all public service corporations, state banks, building and loan associations, trust, insurance, and guaranty companies shall be at all times liable and subject to the full visitorial and inquisitorial powers of the state, notwithstanding the immunities and privileges secured in the declaration of rights of this Constitution to persons, inhabitants, and citizens of this state.  

Section 17. Fees; reports; licensing of foreign corporations 

Provision shall be made by law for the payment of a fee to the state by every domestic corporation...and for the making, by every such corporation, at the time of paying such fee, of such report to the corporation commission of the status, business, or condition of such corporation, as may be prescribed by law. No foreign corporation, except insurers, shall have authority to do business in this state, until it shall have obtained from the corporation commission a license to do business in the state...  The legislature may relieve any purely charitable, social, fraternal, benevolent, or religious institution from the payment of such annual registration fee.  

Section 18. Contributions to influence elections or official action 

It shall be unlawful for any corporation, organized or doing business in this state, to make any contribution of money or anything of value for the purpose of influencing any election or official action.

ARTICLE XV. THE CORPORATION COMMISSION

Section 1. Term limits on corporation commission; composition; election; office vacancies; qualifications 

A. No member of the corporation commission shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms. No corporation commissioner may serve again in that office until out of office for one full term. …

B. A corporation commission is hereby created to be composed of five persons who shall be elected at the general election, and whose term of office shall be four years...

C. In case of vacancy in the office, the governor shall appoint a commissioner to fill the vacancy. The appointed commissioner shall fill the vacancy until a commissioner shall be elected at a general election as provided by law, and shall qualify. The qualifications of commissioners may be prescribed by law. 

Section 2. "Public service corporations" defined 

All corporations other than municipal engaged in furnishing gas, oil, or electricity for light, fuel, or power; or in furnishing water for irrigation, fire protection, or other public purposes; or in furnishing, for profit, hot or cold air or steam for heating or cooling purposes; or engaged in collecting, transporting, treating, purifying and disposing of sewage through a system, for profit; or in transmitting messages or furnishing public telegraph or telephone service, and all corporations other than municipal, operating as common carriers, shall be deemed public service corporations.  

Section 3. Power of commission as to classifications, rates and charges, rules, contracts, and accounts; local regulations 

The corporation commission shall have full power to, and shall, prescribe just and reasonable classifications to be used and just and reasonable rates and charges to be made and collected, by public service corporations within the state for service rendered therein, and make reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, by which such corporations shall be governed in the transaction of business within the state, and may prescribe the forms of contracts and the systems of keeping accounts to be used by such corporations in transacting such business, and make and enforce reasonable rules, regulations, and orders for the convenience, comfort, and safety, and the preservation of the health, of the employees and patrons of such corporations; Provided, that incorporated cities and towns may be authorized by law to exercise supervision over public service corporations doing business therein...

Section 4. Power to inspect and investigate 

The corporation commission, and the several members thereof, shall have power to inspect and investigate the property, books, papers, business, methods, and affairs of any corporation whose stock shall be offered for sale to the public and of any public service corporation doing business within the state, and for the purpose of the commission, and of the several members thereof, shall have the power of a court of general jurisdiction to enforce the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence by subpoena, attachment, and punishment, which said power shall extend throughout the state. Said commission shall have power to take testimony under commission or deposition either within or without the state.  

Section 5. Power to issue certificates of incorporation and licenses 

The corporation commission shall have the sole power to issue certificates of incorporation to companies organizing under the laws of this state, and to issue licenses to foreign corporations to do business in this state, except as insurers, as may be prescribed by law. 

Domestic and foreign insurers shall be subject to licensing, control and supervision by a department of insurance as prescribed by law…. 

Section 6. Enlargement of powers by legislature; rules and regulations 

The law-making power may enlarge the powers and extend the duties of the corporation commission, and may prescribe rules and regulations to govern proceedings instituted by and before it…  

Section 7. Connecting and intersecting lines of transportation and communications corporations    

Every public service corporation organized or authorized under the laws of the state to do any transportation or transmission business within the state shall have the right to construct and operate lines connecting any points within the state, and to connect at the state boundaries with like lines; and every such corporation shall have the right with any of its lines to cross, intersect, or connect with, any lines of any other public service corporation.

Section 8. Transportation by connecting carriers 

Every public service corporation doing a transportation business within the state shall receive and transport, without delay or discrimination, cars loaded or empty, property, or passengers delivered to it by any other public service corporation doing a similar business, and deliver cars, loaded or empty, without delay or discrimination, to other transportation corporations, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the corporation commission, or by law.

Section 9. Transmission of messages by connecting carriers 

Every public service corporation engaged in the business of transmitting messages for profit shall receive and transmit, without delay or discrimination, any messages delivered to it by any other public service corporation engaged in the business of transmitting messages for profit, and shall, with its lines, make physical connection with the lines of any public service corporation engaged in the business of transmitting messages for profit, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the corporation commission, or by law; ….

Section 10. Railways as public highways; other corporations as common carriers 

Railways heretofore constructed, or that may hereafter be constructed, in this state, are hereby declared public highways and all railroads are declared to be common carriers and subject to control by law. All electric, transmission, telegraph, telephone, or pipeline corporations, for the transportation of electricity, messages, water, oil, or other property for profit, are declared to be common carriers and subject to control by law...  

Section 12. Charges for service; discrimination; free or reduced rate transportation 

All charges made for service rendered, or to be rendered, by public service corporations within this state shall be just and reasonable, and no discrimination in charges, service, or facilities shall be made between persons or places for rendering a like and contemporaneous service, except that the granting of free or reduced rate transportation may be authorized by law, or by the corporation commission, to the classes of persons described in the act of Congress approved February 11, 1887, entitled An Act to Regulate Commerce, and the amendments thereto, as those to whom free or reduced rate transportation may be granted.  

Section 13. Reports to commission 

All public service corporations and corporations whose stock shall be offered for sale to the public shall make such reports to the corporation commission, under oath, and provide such information concerning their acts and operations as may be required by law, or by the corporation commission...

Section 16. Forfeitures for violations 

If any public service corporation shall violate any of the rules, regulations, orders, or decisions of the corporation commission, such corporation shall forfeit and pay to the state not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for each such violation, to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction. 

Section 17. Appeal to courts

Nothing herein shall be construed as denying to public service corporations the right of appeal to the courts of the state from the rules, regulations, orders, or decrees fixed by the corporation commission, but the rules, regulations, orders, or decrees so fixed shall remain in force pending the decision of the courts...

Section 19. Power to impose fines 

The corporation commission shall have the power and authority to enforce its rules, regulations, and orders by the imposition of such fines as it may deem just, within the limitations prescribed in section 16 of this article. 

ARTICLE XVI. MILITIA

Section 1. Composition of militia 

The militia of the [S]tate of Arizona shall consist of all capable citizens of the state between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, and of those between said ages who shall have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, residing therein, subject to such exemptions as now exist, or as may hereafter be created, by the laws of the United States or of this state. 

Section 2. Composition and designation of organized militia 

The organized militia shall be designated "The National Guard of Arizona," and shall consist of such organized military bodies as now exist under the laws of the territory of Arizona or as may hereafter be authorized by law.

Section 3. Conformity to federal regulations

The organization, equipment, and discipline of the national guard shall conform as nearly as shall be practicable to the regulations for the government of the armies of the United States.

ARTICLE XVII. WATER RIGHTS

 Section 1. Riparian water rights 

The common law doctrine of riparian water rights shall not obtain or be of any force or effect in the state.  

Section 2. Recognition of existing rights 

All existing rights to the use of any of the waters in the state for all useful or beneficial purposes are hereby recognized and confirmed.

ARTICLE XVIII. LABOR

Section 1. Eight-hour day

Eight hours and no more, shall constitute a lawful day's work in all employment by, or on behalf of, the state or any political subdivision of the [s]tate. The legislature shall enact such laws as may be necessary to put this provision into effect, and shall prescribe proper penalties for any violations of said laws.

Section 2. Child labor 

No child under the age of fourteen years shall be employed in any gainful occupation at any time during the hours in which the public schools of the district in which the child resides are in session; nor shall any child under sixteen years of age be employed underground in mines, or in any occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to life or limb; nor for more than eight hours in any day.  

Section 3. Contractual immunity of employer from liability for negligence 

It shall be unlawful for any person, company, association, or corporation to require of its servants or employees as a condition of their employment, or otherwise, any contract or agreement whereby such person, company, association, or corporation shall be released or discharged from liability or responsibility on account of personal injuries which may be received by such servants or employees while in the service or employment of such person, company, association, or corporation, by reason of the negligence of such person, company, association, corporation, or the agents or employees thereof; and any such contract or agreement if made, shall be null and void.  

Section 4. Fellow servant doctrine 

The common law doctrine of fellow servant, so far as it affects the liability of a master for injuries to his servant resulting from the acts or omissions of any other servant or servants of the common master is forever abrogated.  

Section 5. Contributory negligence and assumption of risk 

The defense of contributory negligence or of assumption of risk shall, in all cases whatsoever, be a question of fact and shall, at all times, be left to the jury.  

Section 6. Recovery of damages for injuries 

The right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation, except that a crime victim is not subject to a claim for damages by a person who is harmed while the person is attempting to engage in, engaging in or fleeing after having engaged in or attempted to engage in conduct that is classified as a felony offense.

Section 7. Employer's liability law

To protect the safety of employees in all hazardous occupations, in mining, smelting, manufacturing, railroad or street railway transportation, or any other industry the legislature shall enact an employer's liability law, by the terms of which any employer, whether individual, association, or corporation shall be liable for the death or injury, caused by any accident due to a condition or conditions of such occupation, of any employee in the service of such employer in such hazardous occupation, in all cases in which such death or injury of such employee shall not have been caused by the negligence of the employee killed or injured.  

Section 8. Workmen's compensation law 

The legislature shall enact a workmen's compensation law... by which compensation shall be required to be paid to any such workman, in case of his injury and to his dependents, as defined by law, in case of his death, by his employer, if in the course of such employment personal injury to or death of any such workman from any accident arising out of and in the course of, such employment, is caused in whole, or in part, or is contributed to, by a necessary risk or danger of such employment, or a necessary risk or danger inherent in the nature thereof, or by failure of such employer, or any of his or its agents or employee or employees to exercise due care, or to comply with any law affecting such employment;  

provided that it shall be optional with any employee engaged in any such private employment to settle for such compensation, or to retain the right to sue said employer or any person employed by said employer, acting in the scope of his employment, as provided by this Constitution; 

and, provided further, in order to assure and make certain a just and humane compensation law in the [S]tate of Arizona, for the relief and protection of such workmen, their widows, children or dependents, as defined by law, from the burdensome, expensive and litigious remedies for injuries to or death of such workmen, now existing in the [S]tate of Arizona, and producing uncertain and unequal compensation therefor, such employee, engaged in such private employment, may exercise the option to settle for compensation by failing to reject the provisions of such workmen's compensation law prior to the injury, except that if the injury is the result of an act done by the employer or a person employed by the employer knowingly and purposely with the direct object of injuring another, and the act indicates a wilful disregard of the life, limb or bodily safety of employees, then such employee may, after the injury, exercise the option to accept compensation or to retain the right to sue the person who injured him... 

Section 9. Blacklists 

The exchange, solicitation, or giving out of any labor "black list," is hereby prohibited, and suitable laws shall be enacted to put this provision into effect. 

Section 10. Employment of aliens 

No person not a citizen or ward of the United States shall be employed upon or in connection with any state, county or municipal works or employment; provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the working of prisoners by the state or by any county or municipality thereof on street or road work or other public work and that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the employment of any teacher, instructor, or professor authorized to teach in the United States under the teacher exchange program as provided by federal statutes enacted by the [C]ongress of the United States or the employment of university or college faculty members. The legislature shall enact laws for the enforcement and shall provide for the punishment of any violation of this section. 

ARTICLE XIX. MINES

Note: Two conflicting provisions (Props. 101 and 107) were both passed in 1992. They have been integrated here as harmonized by a Supreme Court decision. See the unabridged version for further explanation.

The office of mine inspector is hereby established. The legislature, at its first session, shall enact laws so regulating the operation and equipment of all mines in the state as to provide for the health and safety of workers therein and in connection therewith, and fixing the duties of said office… [S]aid office shall be elected at general elections, and shall serve for a term of four years.  No mine inspector shall serve more than four consecutive terms in that office. No mine inspector, after serving the maximum number of terms, which shall include any part of a term served, may serve in the same office until out of office for no less than one full term...

ARTICLE XX. ORDINANCE 

The following ordinance shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state: 

First. Toleration of religious sentiment

Perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured to every inhabitant of this state, and no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship, or lack of the same.  
 
Second. Polygamy 
Polygamous or plural marriages, or polygamous co-habitation, are forever prohibited within this state.  
 
Third. Introduction of intoxicating liquors into Indian country 
The introduction of intoxicating liquors for resale purposes into Indian country is prohibited within this state until July 1, 1957.  
 
Fourth. Public lands; Indian lands 
The people inhabiting this state do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated and ungranted public lands lying within the boundaries thereof and to all lands lying within said boundaries owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes, the right or title to which shall have been acquired through or from the United States or any prior sovereignty, and that, until the title of such Indian or Indian tribes shall have been extinguished, the same shall be, and remain, subject to the disposition and under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States.  
 
Fifth. Taxation 
The lands and other property belonging to citizens of the United States residing without this state shall never be taxed at a higher rate than the lands and other property situated in this state belonging to residents thereof, and no taxes shall be imposed by this state on any lands or other property within an Indian reservation owned or held by any Indian; but nothing herein shall preclude the state from taxing as other lands and other property are taxed, any lands and other property outside of an Indian reservation owned or held by any Indian, save and except such lands as have been granted or acquired as aforesaid, or as may be granted or confirmed to any Indian or Indians under any act of Congress...
 
Seventh. Public school system; suffrage 
Provisions shall be made by law for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools which shall be open to all the children of the state and be free from sectarian control, and said schools shall always be conducted in English. The state shall never enact any law restricting or abridging the right of suffrage on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.  
 
Eighth. English language 
The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without the aid of an interpreter, shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature.  
 
Ninth. Location of state capital 
The capital of the [S]tate of Arizona, until changed by the electors voting at an election provided for by the legislature for that purpose shall be at the city of Phoenix, but no such election shall be called or provided for prior to the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and twenty-five...
 
Thirteenth. Ordinance as part of constitution; amendment 
This ordinance is hereby made a part of the Constitution of the [S]tate of Arizona, and no future constitutional amendment shall be made which in any manner changes or abrogates this ordinance in whole or in part without the consent of Congress. 

ARTICLE XXI. MODE OF AMENDING 

Section 1. Introduction in legislature; initiative petition; election 

Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in either house of the legislature, or by initiative petition signed by a number of qualified electors equal to fifteen percent of the total number of votes for all candidates for governor at the last preceding general election. Any proposed amendment or amendments which shall be introduced in either house of the legislature, and which shall be approved by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, shall be entered on the journal of each house, together with the ayes and nays thereon. 

When any proposed amendment or amendments shall be thus passed by a majority of each house of the legislature... or when any elector or electors file with the secretary of state any proposed amendment or amendments together with a petition therefor signed by a number of electors equal to fifteen percent of the total number of votes for all candidates for governor in the last preceding general election, the secretary of state shall submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the vote of the people...

and if [a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon or sixty percent for any proposed amendment or amendments to approve a tax] shall approve and ratify such proposed amendment or amendments in the regular or special election, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this constitution…. Until a method of publicity is otherwise provided by law, the secretary of state shall have the proposed amendment or amendments published for a period of at least ninety days  before the date of the election in at least one newspaper in every county of the state in which a newspaper is published, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. If more than one proposed amendment is submitted at any election, the proposed amendments shall be submitted in such a manner that the electors may vote for or against such proposed amendments separately.

Section 2. Convention 

No Convention shall be called by the Legislature to propose alterations, revisions, or amendments to this Constitution, or to propose a new Constitution, unless laws providing for such Convention shall first be approved by the people on a Referendum vote at a regular or special election, and any amendments, alterations, revisions, or new Constitution proposed by such Convention shall be submitted to the electors of the [s]tate at a general or special election and be approved by the majority of the electors voting thereon before the same shall become effective. 

ARTICLE XXII. SCHEDULE AND MISCELLANEOUS 

...

Section 15. Public institutions 

Correctional and penal institutions, and institutions for the benefit of persons who have mental or physical disabilities and such other institutions as the public good may require, shall be established and supported by the State in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Section 16. Confinement of minor offenders 

It shall be unlawful to confine any minor under the age of eighteen years, accused or convicted of crime, in the same section of any jail or prison in which adult prisoners are confined. Suitable quarters shall be prepared for the confinement of such minors.

Section 18. Nomination of incumbent public officers to other offices 

Except during the final year of the term being served, no incumbent of a salaried elective office, whether holding by election or appointment, may offer himself for nomination or election to any salaried local, [s]tate or federal office.  

Section 19. Lobbying 

The Legislature shall enact laws and adopt rules prohibiting the practice of lobbying on the floor of either House of the Legislature, and further regulating the practice of lobbying.

Section 20. Design of state seal 

The seal of the State shall be of the following design: In the background shall be a range of mountains, with the sun rising behind the peaks thereof, and at the right side of the range of mountains there shall be a storage reservoir and a dam, below which in the middle distance are irrigated fields and orchards reaching into the foreground, at the right of which are cattle grazing. To the left in the middle distance on a mountain side is a quartz mill in front of which and in the foreground is a miner standing with pick and shovel. Above this device shall be the motto: "Ditat Deus." In a circular band surrounding the whole device shall be inscribed: "Great Seal of The State of Arizona", with the year of admission of the State into the Union.  

Section 21. Enactment of laws to carry constitution into effect 

The Legislature shall enact all necessary laws to carry into effect the provisions of this Constitution.  

Section 22. Judgments of death 

The judgment of death shall be inflicted by administering an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death except that defendants sentenced to death for offenses committed prior to the effective date of the amendment to this section shall have the choice of either lethal injection or lethal gas. The lethal injection or lethal gas shall be administered under such procedures and supervision as prescribed by law. The execution shall take place within the limits of the state prison. 

ARTICLE XXIII. Repealed

ARTICLE XXIV. Repealed

ARTICLE XXV. RIGHT TO WORK 

Right to work or employment without membership in labor organization 

No person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization, nor shall the [s]tate or any subdivision thereof, or any corporation, individual or association of any kind enter into any agreement, written or oral, which excludes any person from employment or continuation of employment because of non-membership in a labor organization

ARTICLE XXVI. RIGHT OF LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND SALESMEN TO PREPARE INSTRUMENTS INCIDENT TO PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS 

ARTICLE XXVII. REGULATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE 

...

Section 2. Health care; definitions

A. To preserve the freedom of Arizonans to provide for their health care:

1. A law or rule shall not compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer or health care provider to participate in any health care system.
2. A person or employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for paying directly for lawful health care services. A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for accepting direct payment from a person or employer for lawful health care services.

B. Subject to reasonable and necessary rules that do not substantially limit a person's options, the purchase or sale of health insurance in private health care systems shall not be prohibited by law or rule.

C. This section does not:

1. Affect which health care services a health care provider or hospital is required to perform or provide.
2. Affect which health care services are permitted by law.
3. Prohibit care provided pursuant to article XVIII, section 8 of this constitution or any statutes enacted by the legislature relating to worker's compensation.
4. Affect laws or rules in effect as of January 1, 2009.
5. Affect the terms or conditions of any health care system to the extent that those terms and conditions do not have the effect of punishing a person or employer for paying directly for lawful health care services or a health care provider or hospital for accepting direct payment from a person or employer for lawful health care services.

D. For the purposes of this section...

4.   "Penalties or fines" means any civil or criminal penalty or fine, tax, salary or wage withholding or surcharge or any named fee with a similar effect established by law or rule by a government established, created or controlled agency that is used to punish or discourage the exercise of rights protected under this section.

ARTICLE XXVIII. ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Section 1. English as the official language; applicability

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 

1. "Government" includes all laws, public proceedings, rules, publications, orders, actions, programs, policies, departments, boards, agencies, organizations and instrumentalities of this state or political subdivisions of this state, as appropriate under the circumstances to a particular official action. 

2. "Official action" includes the performance of any function or action on behalf of this state or a political subdivision of this state or required by state law that appears to present the views, position or imprimatur of the state or political subdivision or that binds or commits the state or political subdivision, but does not include: 

• (a) The teaching of or the encouragement of learning languages other than English. 
• (b) Actions required under the federal individuals with disabilities education act or other federal laws. Actions, documents or policies necessary for tourism, commerce or international trade. Actions or documents that protect the public health and safety, including law enforcement and emergency services. Actions that protect the rights of victims of crimes or criminal defendants. Using terms of art or phrases from languages other than English.  
• (c) Using or preserving Native American languages. 
• (d) Providing assistance to hearing impaired or illiterate persons. 
• (e) Informal and nonbinding translations or communications among or between representatives of government and other persons if this activity does not affect or impair supervision, management, conduct or execution of official actions and if the representatives of government make clear that these translations or communications are unofficial and are not binding on this state or a political subdivision of this state. 
• (f) Actions necessary to preserve the right to petition for the redress of grievances. 

3. "Preserve, protect and enhance the role of English" includes: 

• (a)Avoiding any official actions that ignore, harm or diminish the role of English as the language of government. 
• (b) Protecting the rights of persons in this state who use English. 
• (c) Encouraging greater opportunities for individuals to learn the English language. 
• (d) To the greatest extent possible under federal statute, providing services, programs, publications, documents and materials in English. 

4. "Representatives of government" includes all individuals or entities during the performance of the individual's or entity's official actions. 

Section 2. Official language of Arizona 

The official language of the [S]tate of Arizona is English. 

Section 3. Preserving and enhancing the role of the official language; right to use English

A. Representatives of government in this state shall preserve, protect and enhance the role of English as the official language of the government of Arizona. 

B. A person shall not be discriminated against or penalized in any way because the person uses or attempts to use English in public or private communication. 

Section 4. Official actions to be conducted in English 

Official actions shall be conducted in English. 

Section 5. Rules of construction

This article shall not be construed to prohibit any representative of government, including a member of the legislature, while performing official duties, from communicating unofficially through any medium with another person in a language other than English if official action is conducted in English. 

Section 6. Standing; notification of attorney general; recovery of costs 

…B. A person who resides or does business in this state and who contends that this article is not being implemented or enforced may file a civil action to determine if the failure or inaction complained of is a violation of this article and for injunctive or mandatory relief…

ARTICLE XXIX. PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEMS 

Section 1. Public retirement systems 

A. Public retirement systems shall be funded with contributions and investment earnings using actuarial methods and assumptions that are consistent with generally accepted actuarial standards.

B. The assets of public retirement systems, including investment earnings and contributions, are separate and independent trust funds and shall be invested, administered and distributed as determined by law solely in the interests of the members and beneficiaries of the public retirement systems.

C. Membership in a public retirement system is a contractual relationship that is subject to article II, section 25...

E. This section preserves the authority vested in the legislature pursuant to this constitution and does not restrict the legislature's ability to modify public retirement system benefits for prospective members of public retirement systems.

ARTICLE XXX. MARRIAGE 

Section 1. Marriage 

Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.