Government of the State of Minnesota

“ No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he is elected, hold any office under the authority of the United States, or the state of Minnesota, except that of postmaster; and no senator or representative shall hold an office under the state, which had been created, or the emoluments of which had been increased during the session of the legislature of which he was a member, until one year after the expiration of his term of office in the legislature. ”

“ It shall be the duty of such court to appoint a reporter of its decisions. There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state one clerk of the supreme court, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified; and the judges of the supreme court, or a majority of them, shall have the power to fill any vacancy in the office of clerk of the supreme court until an election can be regularly had. ”

“ The state shall never contract any debts for works of internal improvement or be a party in carrying on such works, except in cases where grants of land or other property shall have been made to the state, especially dedicated by the grant to specific purposes, and in such cases the state shall devote thereto the avails of such grants, and may pledge or appropriate the revenues derived from such works in aid of their completion. ”

“ No religious test or amount of property shall ever be required as a qualification of any voter at any election in this state; nor shall any person be rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of law or equity in consequence of his opinion upon the subject of religion. ”

“ Lands may be taken for public way, for the purpose of granting to any corporation the franchise of way for public use. In all cases however, a fair and equitable compensation shall be paid for such land and the damages arising from the taking of the same; but all corporations being common carriers, enjoying the right of way in pursuance of the provisions of this section, shall be bound to carry the mineral, agricultural and other productions or manufactures on equal and reasonable terms. ”

“ For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have lost a residence by reason of his absence while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged upon the waters of this state or of the United States ”

“ The legislature may organize any city into a separate county when it has attained a population of twenty thousand inhabitants, without reference to geographical extent, when a majority of the electors of the county in which such city may be situated, voting thereon, shall be in favor of a separate organization. ”

“ The legislature may, notwithstanding anything in this article, provide by law that any woman at the age of twenty-one years and upward may vote at any election held for the purpose of choosing any officers of schools, or upon any measure relating to schools, and may also provide that any such woman shall be eligible to hold any office pertaining solely to the management of schools. ”

“ Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or character; he ought to obtain justice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws. ”

“ The legislature shall not authorize any county, township, city or other municipal corporation to issue bonds or to become indebted in any manner to aid in the construction or equipment of any or all railroads to any amount that shall exceed ten per centum of the value of the taxable property within such county, township, city or other municipal corporation, the amount of such taxable property to be ascertained and determined by the last assessment of said property made for the purpose of state and county taxation previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. ”

“ ARTICLE VIII.—SCHOOL FUNDS, EDUCATION AND SCIENCE Section 1. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. ”

“ The supreme court shall consist of one chief justice and two associate justices, but the number of associate justices may be increased to a number not exceeding four, by the legislature, by a two-thirds vote, when it shall be deemed necessary. ”

“ Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, sit upon its own adjournment, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds expel a member, but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same offense. ”

“ All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require. ”

“ No person shall be imprisoned for debt in this state, but this shall not prevent the legislature from providing for imprisonment or holding to bail persons charged with fraud in contracting said debt. A reasonable amount of property shall be exempt from seizure or sale, for the payment of any debt or liability ”

“ Every person who by the provisions of this article shall be entitled to vote at any election shall be eligible to any office which now is, or hereafter shall be, elective by the people in the district wherein he shall have resided thirty days previous to such election; except as otherwise provided in this constitution, or the constitution and laws of the United States. ”

“ Every bill shall be read on three different days in each separate house, unless, in case of urgency, two-thirds of the house where such bill is depending shall deem it expedient to dispense with this rule, and no bill shall be passed by either house until it shall have been previously read twice at length. ”

“ No such loan shall be made until approved by a board consisting of the governor, the state auditor and the state treasurer who are hereby constituted an investment board for the purpose of the loans hereby authorized, nor shall any such loan be for an amount exceeding three per cent of the last preceding assessed valuation of the real estate of the county or school district receiving the same. ”

“ The moneys belonging to the Internal Improvement Land fund, shall not be appropriated for any purpose whatever until the enactment for that purpose, shall have been approved by a majority of the electors of the state voting at the annual general election following the passage of the act. ”

“ At said election the polls shall be opened, the election held, returns made and certificates issued in all respects as provided by law for opening, closing and conducting elections and making returns of the same except as hereinbefore specified, and excepting also that polls may be opened and elections held at any point or points in any of the counties where precincts may be established as provided by law ten days previous to the day of election, not less than ten miles from the place of voting in any established precinct. ”

“ Third, The stockholders in any corporation and joint association for banking purposes issuing bank notes, shall be individually liable in an amount equal to double the amount of stock owned by them for all the debts of such corporation or association, and such individual liability shall continue for one year after any transfer or sale of stock by any stockholder or stockholders. ”

“ The force of this amendment shall be to authorize the sale of the Internal Improvement Lands without further legislative enactment. [Adopted, November 5, 1872]
Sec. 33. The legislature is prohibited from enacting any special or private laws in the following cases:
First. For changing the name of a person or constituting one (1) person the heir at law of another. Second. For laying out, opening or altering highways. Third. For authorizing persons to keep ferries across streams wholly within this state. ”