USA > Ohio > The Ohio hundred year book; a hand-book of the public men and public institutions of Ohio from the formation of the North-West territory (1787) to July 1, 1901 > Part 9
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SEC. 18. No power of suspending laws shall ever be exercised, .. except by the General Assembly.
SEC. 19. Private property shall ever be held inviolate, but subser- vient to the public welfare. When taken in time of war, or other public exigency, imperatively requiring its immediate seizure, or for the pur- pose of making or repairing roads, which shall be open to the public, without charge, a compensation shall be made to the owner, in money, and in all other cases where private property shall be taken for public use, a compensation therefor shall first be made in money, or first secured by a deposit of money, and such compensation shall be assessed by a jury, without deduction for benefits to any property of the owner.
SEC. 20. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people ; and all powers, not herein delegated, remain with the people.
ARTICLE II. LEGISLATIVE.
SECTION I. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Rep- resentatives.
SEC. 2. Senators and representatives shall be elected biennially by the electors of the respective counties or districts, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; their term of office shall commence on the first day of January next thereafter, and continue two years. [As amended October 13, 1885, 82 v. 446.]
SEC. 3. Senators and representatives shall have resided in their respective counties or districts one year next preceding their election, unless they shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this state.
SEC. 4. No person holding office under the authority of the United States, or any lucrative office under the authority of this state, shall be eligible to or have a seat in the General Assembly; but this provision shall not extend to township officers, justices of the peace, notaries pub- lic, or officers of the militia.
SEC. 5. No person hereafter convicted of an embezzlement of the public funds shall hold any office in this state ; nor shall any person hold-
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ing public money for disbursement or otherwise, have a seat in the Gen- eral Assembly until he shall have accounted for and paid such money into the treasury.
SEC. 6. Each house shall be judge of the election returns, and qualifications of its own members; a majority of all the members elected to each house shall be a quorum to do business; but a less number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 7. The mode of organizing the house of representatives, at the commencement of each regular session, shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 8. Each house, except as otherwise provided in this consti- tution, shall choose its own officers, may determine its own rules of pro- ceeding, punish its members for disorderly conduct ; and with the con- currence of two-thirds expel a member, but not the second time for the same cause; and shall have all other powers necessary to provide for its safety, and the undisturbed transaction of its business.
SEC. 9. Each house shall keep a correct journal of its proceed- ings, which shall be published. At the desire of any two members, the yeas and nays shall be entered upon the journal; and, on the passage of every bill, in either house, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon the journal; and no law shall be passed in either house without the concurrence of a majority of all the members elected thereto.
SEC. 10. Any member of either house shall have the right to pro- test against any act or resolution thereof; and such protest, and the reasons therefor, shall, without alteration, commitment, or delay, be entered upon the journal.
SEC. II. All vacancies which may happen in either house shall, for the unexpired term, be filled by election, as shall be directed by law.
SEC. 12. Senators and Representatives, during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same, shall be privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace ; and for any speech or debate, in either house, they shall not be questioned elsewhere.
SEC. 13. The proceedings of both houses shall be public, except in cases which, in the opinion of two-thirds of those present, require secrecy.
SEC. 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, Sundays excluded; nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be in session.
SEC. 15. Bills may originate in either house ; but may be altered. amended, or rejected in the other.
SEC. 16. Every bill shall be fully and distinctly read on three differ- ent davs, unless in case of urgency three-fourths of the house in which
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it shall be pending, shall dispense with this rule. No bill shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, and. no law shall be revived or amended unless the new act contain the entire act revived, or the section or sections amended, and the section or sections. so amended shall be repealed.
SEC. 17. The presiding officer of each house shall sign publicly,. in the presence of the house over which he presides, while the same is in. session, and capable of transacting business, all bills and joint resolutions- passed by the General Assembly.
SEC. 18. The style of the laws of this state shall be, "Be it enacted" by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio."
SEC. 19. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for- which he shall have been elected, or for one year thereafter, be appointed. to any civil office under this state which shall be created or the emolu- ments of which shall have been increased during the term for which he: shall have been elected.
SEC. 20. The General Assembly in cases not provided for in this constitution, shall fix the term of office and the compensation of all officers ;. but no change therein shall affect the salary of any officer during his. existing term, unless the office be abolished.
SEC. 21. The General Assembly shall determine, by law, before' what authority, and in what manner, the trial of contested elections shall be conducted.
SEC. 22. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pursuance of a specific appropriation, made by law ; and no appropriation shall be made for a longer period than two years.
SEC. 23. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment, but a majority of the members elected must concur therein. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and the senators, when sitting for that purpose, shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted. without the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators.
SEC. 24. The governor, judges, and all state officers may be im- peached for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment shall not extend further than the removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office, under the authority of this state. The party impeached, whether convicted or not, shall be liable to indictment, trial and judgment, accord- ing to law. «
SEC. 25. All regular sessions of the General Assembly shall com- mence on the first Monday of January biennially. The first session,. under this constitution, shall commence on the first Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
SEC. 26. All laws of a general nature, shall have a uniform opera- tion throughout the state; nor shall any act, except such as relates to
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public schools, be passed, to take effect upon the approval of any other authority than the General Assembly, except as otherwise provided in this constitution.
SEC. 27. The election and appointment of all officers and the filling of all vacancies not otherwise provided for by this constitution, or the constitution of the United States, shall be made in such manner as may be directed by law; but no appointing power shall be exercised by the General Assembly, except as prescribed in this constitution, and in the election of United States senators; and in these cases the vote shall be taken "viva voce."
. SEC. 28. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass retro- active laws, or laws impairing the obligation of contracts ; but may, by general laws, authorize courts to carry into effect, upon such terms as shall be just and equitable, the manifest intention of parties and officers by curing omissions, defects and errors in instruments and proceedings arising out of their want of conformity with the laws of this state.
SEC. 29. No extra compensation shall be made to any officer, pub- lic agent, or contractor after the service shall have been rendered or the contract entered into ; nor shall any money be paid on any claim, the sub- ject matter of which shall not have been provided for by pre-existing law, unless such compensation or claim be allowed by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly.
SEC. 30. ' No new county shall contain less than four hundred square miles of territory, nor shall any county be reduced below that amount ; and all laws creating new counties, changing county lines, or removing county seats, shall, before taking effect, be submitted to the electors of the several counties to be affected thereby, at the next general election after the passage thereof, and be adopted by a majority of all the electors voting at such election, in each of the said counties; but any county now or hereafter containing one hundred thousand inhabitants, may be divided whenever a majority of the voters residing in each of the proposed divis- ions shall approve of the law passed for that purpose.
SEC. 31. The members and officers of the General Assembly shall receive a fixed compensation, to be prescribed by law, and no other allow- ance or perquisites, either in the payment of postage or otherwise; and no change in their compensation shall take effect during their term of office.
SEC. 32. The General Assembly shall grant no divorce, nor exer- cise any judicial power not herein expressly conferred.
ARTICLE III. EXECUTIVE.
SECTION 1. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant-governor. secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state,
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and an attorney-general, who shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, by the electors of the state, and at the places of voting for members of the General Assembly. [As amended October 13, 1885 ; 82 v. 446.]
SEC. 2. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney-general, shall hold their offices for two years, and the auditor for four years. Their term of office shall commence on the second Monday of January next after their election, and continue until their successors are elected and qualified.
SEC. 3. The returns of every election for the officers named in the foregoing section shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of gov- ernment, by the returning officers, directed to the president of the senate, who, during the first week of the session, shall open and publish them, and declare the result, in the presence of a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected ; but if any two or more shall be highest, and equal in votes for the same office, one of them shall be chosen by the joint vote of both houses.
SEC. 4. Should there be no session of the General Assembly in Jan- uary next after an election for any of the officers aforesaid, the returns of such election shall be made to the secretary of state, and opened, and the result declared by the governor, in such manner as may be provided by law.
SEC. 5. The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in the governor.
SEC. 6. He may require information, in writing, from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and shall see that the laws are faithfully executed.
SEC. 7. He shall communicate at every session, by message, to the General Assembly, the condition of the state, and recommend such meas- ures as he shall deem expedient.
SEC. 8. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly by proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assem- bled, the purpose for which they have been convened.
SEC. 9. In case of a disagreement between the two houses in respect to the time of adjournment, he shall have power to adjourn the General Assembly to such time as he may think proper, but not beyond the reg- ular meetings thereof.
SEC. 10. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the state, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.
SEC. II. He shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, for all crimes and offenses, except treason
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and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions as he may think proper ; subject, however, to such regulations, as to the manner of applying par- dons, as may be prescribed by law. Upon conviction for treason he may suspend the execution of the sentence, and report the case to the General Assembly, at its next meeting, when the General Assembly shall either pardon, commute the sentence, direct its execution, or grant a further reprieve. He shall communicate to the General Assembly, at every reg- ular session, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon, granted, stating the name and crime of convict, the sentence, its date, and the date of the commutation, pardon, or reprieve, with his reason therefor.
SEC. 12. There shall be a seal of the state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially ; and shall be called "The Great Seal of the State of Ohio."
SEC. 13. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name and by the authority of the state of Ohio; sealed with the great seal ; signed by the governor, and countersigned by the secretary of state.
SEC. 14. No member of Congress, or other person holding office under the authority of this state, or of the United States, shall execute the office of governor, except as herein provided.
SEC. 15. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, removal, or other disability of the governor, the powers and duties of the office, for the residue of the term, or until he shall be acquitted, or the disability removed, shall devolve upon the lieutenant-governor.
SEC. 16. The lieutenant-governor shall be president of the senate, but shall vote only when the senate is equally divided ; and in case of his absence or impeachment, or when he shall exercise the office of governor, the senate shall choose a president pro tempore.
SEC. 17. If the lieutenant-governor, while executing the office of governor, shall be impeached, displaced, resign or die, or otherwise be- come incapable of performing the duties of the office, the president of the senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disa- bility removed; and if the president of the senate, for any of the above causes. shall be rendered incapable of performing the duties pertaining to the office of governor, the same shall devolve upon the speaker of the house of representatives.
SEC. 18. Should the office of auditor, treasurer, secretary, or attor- ney-general, become vacant, for any of the causes specified in the fifteenth section of this article, the governor shall fill the vacancy until the disa- bility is removed, or a successor elected and qualified. Every such vacancy shall be filled by election, at the first general election that occurs more than thirty days after it shall have happened; and the person chosen shall hold the office for the full term fixed in the second section of this article.
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SEC. 19. The officers mentioned in this article shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation to be established by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which they shall have been elected.
SEC. 20. The officers of the executive department and of the public state institutions shall, at least five days preceding each regular session of the General Assembly, severally report to the governor, who shall transmit such reports, with his message, to the General Assembly.
JUDICIAL.
SECTION I. The judicial power of the state is vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, courts of common pleas, courts of probate, justices of the peace, and such other courts inferior to the supreme court as the General Assembly may, from time to time establish. [As amended Octo- ber 9, 1883, (vol. 80, p. 382).]
SEC. 2. The supreme court shall, until otherwise provided by law, consist of five judges, a majority of whom competent to sit shall be necessary to form a quorum or to pronounce a decision, except as here- inafter provided. It shall have original jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, habeas corpus and procedendo, and such appellate jurisdic- tion as may be provided by law. It shall hold at least one term in each year at the seat of government, and such other terms, there or elsewhere, as may be provided by law. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the electors of the state at large, for such term, not less than five years, as the General Assembly may prescribe, and they shall be elected and their official term shall begin at such time as may be fixed by law. In case the General Assembly shall increase the number of such judges, the first term of each of such additional judges shall be such, that in each year after their first election, an equal number of judges of the supreme court shall be elected, except in elections to fill vacancies ; and whenever the number of such judges shall be increased, the General Assembly may authorize such court to organize divisions thereof, not exceeding three, each division to consist of an equal number of judges ; for the adjudication of cases, a majority of each division shall constitute a quorum, and such an assignment of the cases to each division may be made as such court may deem expedient, but whenever all the judges of either division hearing a case shall not concur as to the judgment to be rendered therein, or whenever a case shall involve the constitutionality of an act of the General Assembly or of an act of congress, it shall be reserved to the whole court for adjudication. The judges of the supreme court in office when this amendment takes effect, shall continue to hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified. [As amended October 9, 1883 ; 80 v. 382.]
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ARTICLE IV.
SEC. 3. The state shall be divided into nine common pleas districts. of which the county of Hamilton shall constitute one, of compact ter- ritory, and bounded by county lines, and each of said districts, consist- ing of three or more counties, shall be subdivided into three parts of compact territory bounded by county lines, and as nearly equal in popu- lation as practicable; in each of which, one judge of the court of com- mon pleas for said district, and residing therein, shall be elected by the electors of said subdivision. Courts of common pleas shall be held by one or more of these judges, in every county in the district, as often as may be provided by law ; and more than one court, or sitting thereof, may be held at the same time in each district.
SEC. 4. The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the judges thereof, shall be fixed by law.
SEC. 5. [Repealed October 9, 1883 ; 80 v. 382.]
SEC. 6. The circuit court shall have like original jurisdiction with the supreme court, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law. Such courts shall be composed of such number of judges as may be provided by law, and shall be held in each county at least once in each year. The number of circuits, and the boundaries thereof, shall be pre- scribed by law. Such judges shall be elected in each circuit by the elec- tors thereof, and at such time and for such term as may be prescribed by law, and the same number shall be elected in each circuit. Each judge shall be competent to exercise his judicial powers in any circuit. The General Assembly may change, from time to time, the number of boun- daries of the circuits. The circuit courts shall be the successors of the district courts, and all cases, judgments, records, and proceedings pending in said district courts, in the several counties of any district, shall be transferred to the circuit courts in the several counties, and be proceeded in as though said district courts had not been abolished, and the district courts shall continue in existence until the election and qualification of the judges of the circuit court. [As amended October 9, 1883 ; 80 v. 382.]'
SEC. 7. There shall be established in each county a probate court. which shall be a court of record, open at all times, and holden by one judge, elected by the voters of the county, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and shall receive such compensation, payable out of the county treasury, or by fees, or both, as shall be provided by law.
SEC. 8. The probate court shall have jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters, the appointment of administrators, and guardians. the settlement of accounts of executors, administrators and guardians, · and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage licenses, and for the sale of land by executors, administrators, and guardians, and
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such other jurisdiction in any county or counties as may be provided by law.
SEC. 9. A competent number of justices of the peace shall be elected, by the electors, in each township in the several counties. Their term of office shall be three years, and their powers and duties shall be regulated by law.
SEC. 10. All judges, other than those provided for in this consti- tution, shall be elected by the electors of the judicial district for which they may be created, but not for a longer term of office than five years.
SEC. II. [Repealed October 9, 1883; 80 v. 382.]
SEC. 12. The judges of the courts of common pleas shall, while in office, reside in the district for which they are elected; and their term of office shall be for five years.
SEC. 13. In case the office of any judge shall become vacant before the expiration of the regular term for which he was elected, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor, until a successor is elected and qualified ; and such successor shall be elected for the unexpired term, at the first annual election that occurs more than thirty days after the vacancy shall have happened.
SEC. 14. The judges of the supreme court. (of the circuit court), and of the court of common pleas, shall, at stated times, receive for their services such compensation as may be provided by law, which shall not be diminished, or increased, during their term of office; but they shall receive no fees or perquisites, nor hold any office of profit or trust under the authority of this state, or the United States. All votes for either of them, for any elective office, except a judicial office, under the authority of this state, given by the General Assembly, or the people shall be void.
SEC. 15. The General Assembly may increase, or diminish, the number of the judges of the supreme court, the number of the districts of the common pleas, the number of judges in any district, change the districts, or the subdivisions thereof, or establish other courts, whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each house shall concur therein, but no such change, addition or diminution, shall vacate the office of any judge.
SEC. 16. There shall be elected in each county, by the electors thereof, one clerk of the court of common pleas, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. He shall, by virtue of his office, be clerk of all other courts of record held therein; but, the General Assembly may provide, by law, for the election of a clerk, with a like term of office, for each or any other of the courts of record, and may authorize the judge of the probate court to perform the duties of clerk for his court, under such regulations as may be directed by law. Clerks of courts shall be removable for such cause and in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
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