For proposed constitutional amendment to Article I, see Act 60 on
page 301 of the 2004 Session Laws of Hawaii.
The Hawaii Constitution was framed by a Constitutional Convention under
Act 334, Session Laws of Hawaii 1949. It was adopted by the people at
the election held on November 7, 1950, and was deemed amended when three
propositions submitted to the people in accordance with the Act of
Congress approved March 18, 1959, 73 Stat 4, Public Law 86-3, were
adopted by the people at the election held on June 27, 1959. As so
amended, it was accepted, ratified, and confirmed by Congress by the Act
of March 18, 1959. It went into effect on August 21, 1959, upon the
issuance of a presidential proclamation admitting the state of Hawaii
into the Union.
The Constitution has since been amended a number of times in accordance
with proposals adopted by the legislature or by constitutional
convention and ratified by the people. The source of these amendments
is indicated in the source notes immediately following the text of the
amended or new section.
Revision Note
On November 7, 1978, amendments to the Constitution proposed by the
Constitutional Convention of 1978 were presented to the electorate for
its approval. The Lieutenant Governor's computer report showed that all
of the proposed amendments passed by the necessary constitutional
margin. However, the Supreme Court of Hawaii in Kahalekai v. Doi, 60 H.
324, 590 P.2d 543 (1979), held that a number of the proposed amendments
were not validly ratified. The revisor has deleted from the
Constitution these invalid amendments and added explanatory notes to the
sections concerned. This deletion has been done under the authority of
Resolution No. 29 of the 1978 Constitutional Convention authorizing the
revisor "to effect such necessary rearrangement, renumbering and
technical changes of the sections within the articles of the State
Constitution, as may be affected, for proper form and arrangement and
proper order in the State Constitution in the event that any or some of
the amendments to the State Constitution proposed by the Constitutional
Convention of Hawaii of 1978 are not ratified by the electorate."
In addition to the abovementioned amendments, removed from the text of
the Constitution, there appear to be other proposed amendments that may
have failed of ratification. A number of unspecified amendments,
involving technical, stylistic, and incidental changes, were submitted
for approval by the electorate under Question 34. As to these, the
Court stated:
The question of whether any amendment submitted for approval by Question
No. 34 was in fact approved ... dependents on its effect upon
substantive law. If the amendment is purely stylistic and technical in
nature, and does not alter the sense, meaning or effect of any provision
of the Constitution, it was approved by the electorate and has become a
part of the revised Constitution. On the other hand, if the amendment
alters the sense, meaning or effect of any provision of the
Constitution, it was not ratified and is not effective to change the
language of the Constitution. Obviously, we are not now in a position
to make these line by line determinations.
The revisor does not consider that the authority granted under
Resolution No. 29 embraces the elimination of proposed amendments as
having failed of ratification where the issue has not been adjudicated.
Thus the text of the Constitution includes all the proposed amendments
submitted for ratification under Question 34. As an aid to the readers,
however, an attempt has been made to identify all such
amendments--except those obviously purely technical and stylistic and
clearly nonsubstantive (which have been ratified)--and explanatory notes
have been appended thereto.
Preamble
Federal Constitution Adopted
Article I Bill of Rights
- Political power
- Rights of individuals
- Equality of rights
- Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition
- Due process and equal protection
- Right to privacy
- Searches, seizures and invasion of privacy
- Rights of citizens
- Enlistment; segregation
- Indictment; preliminary hearing, double jeopardy; self-incrimination
- Grand jury counsel
- Bail; excessive punishment
- Trial by jury, civil cases
- Rights of accused
- Habeas corpus and suspension of laws
- Supremacy of civil power
- Right to bear arms
- Quartering of soldiers
- Imprisonment for debt
- Eminent domain
- Limitations of special privileges
- Construction
- Marriage
- Public access to information concerning persons convicted of certain
offenses against children and certain sexual offenses
Article II Suffrage and Elections
- Qualifications
- Disqualification
- Residence
- Registration; voting
- Campaign fund, spending limit
- Campaign contributions limits
- Resignation from public office
- General, special and primary elections
- Presidential preference primary
Article III The Legislature
- Legislature power
- Composition of senate
- Composition of house of representatives
- Election of members; term
- Vacancies
- Qualifications of members
- Privileges of members
- Disqualifications of members
- Salary; allowances; commission on legislative salary
- Sessions
- Adjournment
- Organization; discipline; rules; procedure
- Quorum; compulsory attendance
- Bills; enactment
- Passage of bills
- Approval or veto
Reconsideration after adjournment
- Procedures upon veto
- Punishment of nonmembers
- Impeachment
Article IV Reapportionment
- Reapportionment years
- Reapportionment commission
- Chief election officer
- Apportionment among basic island units
- Minimum representation for basic island units
- Apportionment within basic island units
- Election of senators after reapportionment
- Staggered terms for the senate
- Congressional redistricting for United States house of representatives
- Mandamus and judicial review
Article V The Executive
- Establishment of the executive
- Lieutenant governor
- Compensation: governor, lieutenant governor
- Succession to governorship; absence or disability of governor
- Executive powers
- Executive and administrative offices and department
Article VI The Judiciary
- Judicial power
- Supreme court; intermediate appellate court; circuit
courts
- Appointment of justices and judges
Qualifications for appointment
Tenure; compensation; retirement
- Judicial selection commission
- Retirement; removal; discipline
- Administration
- Rules
Article VII Taxation and Finance
- Taxing power inalienable
- Income taxation
- Tax review commission
- Appropriations for private purposes prohibited
- Expenditure controls
- Disposition of excess revenues
- Council on revenues
- The budget
- Legislative appropriations; procedures; expenditure ceiling
General fund expenditure ceiling
- Auditor
- Lapsing of appropriation
- Definitions; issuance of indebtedness
- Debt limit; exclusions
Article VIII Local Government
- Creation; powers of political subdivisions
- Local self-government; charter
- Taxation and finance
- Mandates; accrued claims
- Transfer of mandated programs
- Statewide laws
Article IX Public Health and Welfare
- Public health
- Care of handicapped persons
- Public assistance
- Economic security of the elderly
- Housing, slum clearance, development and rehabilitation
- Management of state population growth
- Public sightliness and good order
- Preservation of a healthful environment
- Cultural resources
- Public safety
Article X Education
- Public education
- Board of education
- Power of the board of education
- Hawaii education program
- University of Hawaii
- Board of regents; powers
Article XI Conservation, Control and Development of Resources
- Conservation and development of resources
- Management and disposition of natural resources
- Agricultural lands
- Public land banking
- General laws required; exceptions
- Marine resources
- Water resources
- Nuclear energy
- Environmental rights
- Farm and home ownership
Article XII Hawaiian Affairs
- Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
- Acceptance of compact
- Compact adoption; procedures after adoption
- Public trust
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs; establishment of board of trustees
- Powers of board of trustees
- Traditional and customary rights
Article XIII Organization; Collective Bargaining
- Private employees
- Public employees
Article XIV Code of Ethics
Article XV State Boundaries; Capital; Flag; Language and Motto
- Boundaries
- Capital
- State flag
- Official languages
- Motto
Article XVI General and Miscellaneous Provisions
- Civil service
- Employees' retirement system
- Disqualifications from public office or employment
- Oath of office
- Intergovernmental relations
- Federal lands
- Compliance with trust
- Administration of undisposed lands
- Tax exemption of federal property
- Hawaii national park
- Judicial rights
- Quieting title
- Plain language
- Titles, subtitles; construction
- General power
- Provisions are self-executing
Article XVII Revision and Amendment
- Methods of proposal
- Constitutional convention
Election of delegates
Meeting
Organization; procedure
Ratification; appropriations
- Amendments proposed by legislature
- Veto
- Conflicting revisions or amendments
Article XVIII Schedule
- Districting and apportionment
- 1978 Senatorial elections
- Salaries of legislators
- Effective date for term limitations for governor and lieutenant governor
- Judiciary: transition; effective date
- Effective date and application of real property tax transfer
- 1978 Board of education elections
- Effective date for Office of Hawaiian Affairs
- Continuity of laws
- Debts
- Residence, other qualifications
EFFECTIVE DATE
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