Hawaii Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I •II •III •IV •V •VI •VII •VIII •IX •X •XI •XII •XIII •XIV •XV •XVI •XVII •XVIII

TheHawaii Constitution is thestate constitution ofHawaii.

• The currentHawaii Constitution as a state of the United States was adopted by voters on June 27, 1959.^[1]
• Hawaii has had one state constitution.
• The current constitution has 18 articles.
• The current constitution has been amended117 times.^[2]
• Voters last approved amendments to the Hawaii Constitution onNovember 5, 2024.

Hawaiidoes not feature a process forinitiated constitutional amendments. Thus, amendments in Hawaii can be put on the ballot throughreferral by the legislature or by aconstitutional convention.

A state constitution is the fundamental document that outlines a state's framework for governance, including the powers, structure, and limitations of the state government, individual and civil rights, and other matters.

Background

The first draft of the state constitution was created by a constitutional convention in 1949 and approved by voters in 1950. With three amendments, that version was approved by Congress on March 18, 1959, and adopted by voters on June 27, 1959. It went into effect on August 21, 1959, when the president issued a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the United States.^[3]

Preamble

See also:Preamble, Hawaii Constitution andPreambles to state constitutions

The preamble to the Hawaiian constitution states:

Article I

See also:Article I, Hawaii Constitution

Article I of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Bill of Rights." It has 25 sections which prescribe the rights and liberties of citizens of Hawaii.

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Article II

See also:Article II, Hawaii Constitution

Article II of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Suffrage and Elections." It has nine sections.

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Article III

See also:Article III, Hawaii Constitution

Article III of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "The Legislature." It has 19 sections.

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Article IV

See also:Article IV, Hawaii Constitution

Article IV of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Reapportionment." It has 10 sections.

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Article V

See also:Article V, Hawaii Constitution

Article V of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "The Executive." It has six sections.

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Article VI

See also:Article VI, Hawaii Constitution

Article VI of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "The Judiciary." It has seven sections.

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Article VII

See also:Article VII, Hawaii Constitution

Article VII of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Taxation and Finance." It has 13 sections.

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Article VIII

See also:Article VIII, Hawaii Constitution

Article VIII of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Local Government." It has six sections.

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Article IX

See also:Article IX, Hawaii Constitution

Article IX of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Public Health and Welfare." It has 10 sections.

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Article X

See also:Article X, Hawaii Constitution

Article X of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Education" and consists of six sections.

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Article XI

See also:Article XI, Hawaii Constitution

Article XI of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Conservation, Control and Development of Resources" and consists of ten sections.

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Article XII

See also:Article XII, Hawaii Constitution

Article XII of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Hawaiian Affairs" and consists of seven sections.

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Article XIII

See also:Article XIII, Hawaii Constitution

Article XIII of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Organization; Collective Bargaining" and consists of two sections.

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Article XIV

See also:Article XIV, Hawaii Constitution

Article XIV of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Code of Ethics."

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Article XV

See also:Article XV, Hawaii Constitution

Article XV of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "State Boundaries; Capital; Flag; Language and Motto" and consists of five sections.

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Article XVI

See also:Article XVI, Hawaii Constitution

Article XVI of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "General and Miscellaneous Provisions." It contains sections 1-16, including sections 3.5 for a total of 17 sections.

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Article XVII

See also:Article XVII, Hawaii Constitution

Article XVII of the Hawaii Constitution is labeled "Revision and Amendment." It includes five sections that establish the ways in which the constitution can be amended and revised over time.

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Article XVIII

See also:Article XVIII, Hawaii Constitution

Article XVIII of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled "Schedule" and contains 11 sections.

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Amending the constitution

Main article:Amending state constitutions

TheHawaii Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Hawaii requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also:Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

Atwo-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session or a simple majority vote in two successive legislative sessions for theHawaii State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 35 votes in theHawaii House of Representatives and 17 votes in theHawaii State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also:Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According toSection 2 of Article XVII of theHawaii Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is toautomatically appear on the state's ballot after a period of nine years. Hawaii is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:

History

The constitution was originally framed during aconstitutional convention authorized under Act 334 of the 1949 Session Laws of Hawaii. This constitution was adopted in a statewide vote of the people, theHawaii Constitution Ratification Vote, held onNovember 7, 1950.

An Act of theU.S. Congress dated March 18, 1959 (73 Stat 4, Public Law 86-3) to accept Hawaii as a state suggested that the constitution as adopted in 1950 be amended in three ways. Accordingly, threeballot propositions were submitted to Hawaii's voters onJune 27, 1959. These three amendments to the 1950 constitution were approved and the new state constitution, as amended, was accepted by the U.S. Congress in the Act of March 18, 1959. The new Hawaii Constitution went into effect on August 21, 1959, when the president issued a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union.

Prior to becoming a U.S. state, Hawaii had numerous constitutions throughout the years: for the Kingdom of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii, Territory of Hawaii and State of Hawaii. The first constitution was drafted by Kamehameha III. Some constitutions have become historically infamous while others have improved the state. For example, the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 stripped native Hawaiians of their rights in favor of American plantation owners, and the constitution of 1893 was never officially promulgated but instead helped businessmen to accelerate their plans for the overthrow of the monarchy. On the other hand, the 1978 Hawaiian Constitution created the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and declared the Hawaiian language to be one of the official languages of the state.^[5]

List of Hawaiian constitutions and constitutional conventions

In 1978, the state of Hawaii convened its third constitutional convention since 1950. Though Hawaii is a young state in comparison to other U.S. states, Hawaii has had numerous state constitutions.
Below is a list of Hawaii's constitutional history.^[6]

• Kingdom of Hawaii
  • Constitution of 1840 on October 8, 1840
  • Constitution of 1852 on June 14, 1852
  • Constitution of 1864 on August 20, 1864
  • Constitution of 1887 on July 6, 1887
• Republic of Hawaii
  • Constitution of 1894 on July 4, 1894
• Territory of Hawaii
  • Organic Act of 1990 on June 14, 1900
• State of Hawaii
  • Constitution of 1950 on August 21, 1959(statehood)
  • Constitution of 1968 on November 5, 1968

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

• Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau, "Hawaii Constitution"
• List of Hawaiian constitutions and constitutional conventions
• 1887 Hawaiian Constitution
• 1864 Hawaiian Constitution
• 1840 Hawaiian Constitution

Footnotes

v • e Hawaii Constitution Hawaii Constitution •Preamble •Article I •Article II •Article III •Article IV •Article V •Article VI •Article VII •Article VIII •Article IX •Article X •Article XI •Article XII •Article XIII •Article XIV •Article XV •Article XVI •Article XVII •Article XVIII

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