Indiana Constitution

Indiana Constitution
Preamble
Articles
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The Indiana Constitution is the fundamental governing document of the state of Indiana.

Background

• The current (and second) Indiana Constitution was adopted in 1851.
• The current constitution has been amended 24 times since 1970.
• The most recent amendment to the Indiana Constitution was approved by voters in 2018.
• Indiana does not feature a process for initiated constitutional amendments. Thus, amendments in Indiana can be put on the ballot through referral by the legislature. Indiana is one of 11 state constitutions with no mechanism or a lack of clarity in the process for calling a constitutional convention.

Preamble

See also: Preamble, Indiana Constitution and Preambles to state constitutions

The preamble to the current constitution states:

	TO THE END, that justice be established, public order maintained, and liberty perpetuated; WE, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to ALMIGHTY GOD for the free exercise of the right to choose our own form of government, do ordain this Constitution.

Article 1: Bill of Rights

See also: Article 1, Indiana Constitution

Article 1 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Bill of Rights" and consists of 38 sections.

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Article 2: Suffrage and Election

See also: Article 2, Indiana Constitution

Article 2 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Suffrage and Election" and consists of 14 sections, three of which have been repealed.

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Article 3: Distribution of Powers

See also: Article 3, Indiana Constitution

Article 3 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Distribution of Powers" and consists of one section.

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Article 4: Legislative

See also: Article 4, Indiana Constitution

Article 4 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Legislative" and consists of 30 sections, one of which has been repealed.

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Article 5: Executive

See also: Article 5, Indiana Constitution

Article 5 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Executive" and consists of 24 sections, one of which has been repealed.

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Article 6: Administrative

See also: Article 6, Indiana Constitution

Article 6 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Administrative" and consists of eleven sections, one of which has been repealed.

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Article 7: Judicial

See also: Article 7, Indiana Constitution

Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Judicial" and consists of 21 sections, three of which have been repealed.

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Article 8: Education

See also: Article 8, Indiana Constitution

Article 8 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Education" and consists of eight sections.

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Article 9: State Institutions

See also: Article 9, Indiana Constitution

Article 9 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "State Institutions." It has three sections.

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Article 10: Finance

See also: Article 10, Indiana Constitution

Article 10 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Finance." It has eight sections.

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Article 11: Corporations

See also: Article 11, Indiana Constitution

Article 11 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Corporations." It has 14 sections, two of which have been repealed.

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Article 12: Militia

See also: Article 12, Indiana Constitution

Article 12 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Militia." It has six sections, two of which have been repealed.

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Article 13: Indebtedness

See also: Article 13, Indiana Constitution

Article 13 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Political and Municipal Corporations." It has four sections, three of which have been repealed.

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Article 14: Boundaries

See also: Article 14, Indiana Constitution

Article 14 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Boundaries." It has two sections.

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Article 15: Miscellaneous

See also: Article 15, Indiana Constitution

Article 15 of the Indiana Constitution is entitled "Miscellaneous." It has ten sections, one of which has been repealed.

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Article 16: Amendments

See also: Article 16, Indiana Constitution

Article 16 of the Indiana Constitution is labeled "Amendments." It consists of two sections and a schedule and was most recently amended in 1998. Article 16 is about the procedures that must be followed in order to amend this constitution.

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Amending the constitution

See also: Amending state constitutions

Indiana Constitution
Preamble
Articles
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16

The amendment procedures available under the Indiana Constitution are more restrictive than those of most other states. Only legislatively referred constitutional amendments can be used to amend the constitution, and this procedure is more restrictive in Indiana than in most states, since any proposed amendment must be approved in two successive sessions of the Indiana General Assembly before it can go to a vote of the people. Article 16 also does not say anything about how a constitutional convention could be held or called. The constitutions of more than 40 of the other states do lay out a procedure for calling a constitutional convention.

Indiana does not feature the power of citizen initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

Article 16 details how the legislatively referred constitutional amendment process works in Indiana:

• An amendment can be proposed in either chamber of the Indiana General Assembly.
• An amendment must be agreed to by a simple majority of the members elected to each of the two chambers.
• If that happens, the same amendment can be proposed in the next session of the legislature that convenes after a general election has taken place.
• If the amendment is approved by a simple majority vote of both chambers of the general assembly in that second legislative session, the amendment is then submitted to a statewide vote of the people at a general election.
• If a majority of those voting on the question approve it, the proposed amendment becomes part of the Indiana Constitution.

History

Indiana's first constitution was adopted in 1816. This constitution gave the right to vote only to white male citizens who had lived in Indiana for at least one year and were over the age of 21. It also set up a system for free public education through college and prohibited slavery except for those slaveholders who lived in Indiana prior to the adoption of the new constitution. A copy of the state's first constitution can be found here.

Indiana's citizens voted to amend the first constitution in 1851. The new constitution set up more frequent elections, restricted state debt, established biennial sessions for the Indiana General Assembly and prohibited African Americans from settling in the state. This constitution has been amended many times since its adoption and stands as Indiana's current constitution.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Indiana General Assembly, "Indiana Constitution"
• Indiana.gov, "State Constitutions"
• Indiana.gov, "Original Constitution of 1816"
• Indiana.gov, "Constitution of 1851"
• Indiana.gov, "The 1851 Indiana Constitution" by David G. Vanderstel
• Indiana.gov, "Indiana Bill of Rights" by Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice, Indiana Supreme Court
• Indiana.gov, "Indiana's Constitutional Past" by Justice Brent E. Dickson, Justice, Indiana Supreme Court