A state constitution is the supreme law of that state. State constitutions establish certain organs of government for the State, vest these organs with their powers, and deny certain other powers.
Like the federal Constitution, the written constitutions of the States do not comprise the entire “constitution” or fundamental law. In addition to the constitutions, each State government rests upon legislative enactments, executive decrees, judicial rulings, custom and habit. Often, the constitution of one state differs from that of another in various aspects. However, in their principal elements, state constitutions are all similar to one another.
The general nature of State Constitutions is as follows:
1. The powers of State governments
The general nature of State constitutions is based upon the type of powers that State governments possess and exercise. According to the Tenth Amendment to the federal Constitution, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
2. Length of State constitutions
State constitutions are quite long. The shortest is that of Vermont, which contains 8,295 words, while Alabama’s sixth and most recent constitution, ratified in 1901, is 340,136 words long.
3. The Contents of State Constitutions
State constitutions resemble each other in general outline. The contents of most of the state constitutions can be summarized as follows:
a. Preamble
A State constitution usually opens with a preamble, which is a brief foreword setting forth the presumed reasons for which the constitution was drafted and adopted.
b. Protections of rights
Every State constitution possesses a “bill of rights” or “declaration of rights.”
c. Suffrage and elections
State constitutions have considerable portions dealing with the suffrage and elections. They specify the various qualifications for the electorate. They set the dates for particular elections and establish the local administrative machinery for the balloting.
d. Organs of government
State constitutions provide for the organs of the State government such as:
- Legislature
- The office of the Governor
- Attorney General
- The secretary of state
- The Judiciary
The constitution may contain other provisions endowing the organs with some of their powers.
e. Local government
State constitutions include considerable portions devoted to the establishment and regulation of the various types of local government.
f. Taxation and debt
The State constitutions set forth the power of the State government to levy taxes and to incur debt.
g. Powers of government
The largest part of the State constitution is devoted to an enumeration of the general powers of the State government.
h. Amendment and Revision
A final portion of the State constitution provides means for amending and revising it. There are three methods usually appearing in State constitutions whereby the constitution may be amended or revised:
(1) Legislative proposal;
(2) Popular initiative; and
(3) Constitutional convention.
Moreover, there is a fourth formal means of constitutional commission that is not specifically authorized by any State constitution but accepted by the courts.
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The United States Constitution is the "supreme law of the land" and no laws, state or federal, may violate it.
Each state has its own constitution. South Carolina laws may not conflict with the South Carolina Constitution or the United States Constitution.
The United States Constitution
An online version of the Constitution of the United States of America, annotated with analysis and interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court, is available on the Congress.gov website. This online "Constitution Annotated" is free, easy to navigate, and updated regularly by the Library of Congress.
You can also view the Constitution of the United States and read about its creation and ratification on the website for the National Archives.
Annotated copies of the U.S. Constitution are printed in the United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) published by West Publishing, and in the United States Code Service(U.S.C.S) published by LexisNexis. Both printed series include the text of the United States Constitution annotated with cases interpreting its provisions, and are available in the Law Library on the first floor.. Both are also available through subscription services,Westlaw (U.S.C.A.) and LexisNexis (U.S.C.S.).
The South Carolina Constitution
The print South Carolina Code Annotated includes a Constitution volume that contains the text of both the South Carolina Constitution and the United States Constitution. Both constitutions are annotated with summaries and citations for South Carolina cases that have interpreted individual constitutional provisions.
Both constitutions are indexed in the general A-I and J-Z subject indexes for the South Carolina Code Annotated. There is also an index at the end of the Constitution volume.
The annotated South Carolina and U.S. Constitutions are available online through the subscription services Westlaw and LexisNexis.
The
un-annotated South Carolina Constitution is accessible for free through the South Carolina Legislature website, which also provides a link to access the United States Constitution through the U.S. Senate's website.