Maryland Constitution

Maryland Constitution
Articles
Declaration of Rights • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XI-A • XI-B • XI-C • XI-D • XI-E • XI-F • XI-G • XI-H • XI-I • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XIX • XX

The Maryland Constitution is the state constitution of Maryland.

• The current Maryland Constitution was adopted in 1867.
• Maryland has had four state constitutions.
• The current state constitution has 20 articles.
• The current Maryland Constitution has been amended 239 times.^[1]
• Voters last approved five constitutional amendments to the Maine Constitution on November 8, 2022.

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 Maryland Constitution was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867.^[2]

Maryland has had a total of four constitutions. The first was adopted during the Revolutionary War in 1776, and the others followed in 1851 and 1864. The fourth and current constitution was adopted in 1867.^[2]

Preamble

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

The Preamble to the Maryland Constitution states:^[3]

Declaration of Rights

See also: Declaration of Rights, Maryland Constitution

The Maryland Constitution begins with a "Declaration of Rights," which is similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Differences between the two documents include that the Maryland Declaration of Rights states that "a well regulated Militia is the proper and natural defense of a free Government," but it does not guarantee a right to bear arms.^[4]

Click here to read the Declaration of Rights of the Maryland Constitution.

Article I

See also: Article I, Maryland Constitution

Article I of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Elective Franchise" and consists of 12 sections.

Click here to read this article of the Maryland Constitution.

Article II

See also: Article II, Maryland Constitution

Article II of the Maryland Constitution is entitled 'Executive Department" and consists of 24 sections. This article establishes the executive department and the governor at its head.

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Article III

See also: Article III, Maryland Constitution

Article III of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Legislative Department." This article of the Maryland Constitution establishes the legislative department as the law-making body of the state.

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Article IV

See also: Article IV, Maryland Constitution

Article IV of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Judiciary Department" and consists of seven parts. This article establishes the judicial department as the system of courts.

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Article V

See also: Article V, Maryland Constitution

Article V of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Attorney General and State's Attorneys" and concerns the attorney-general as well as the state's attorneys.

Click here to read this article of the Maryland Constitution.

Article VI

See also: Article VI, Maryland Constitution

Article VI of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Treasury Department" and consists of six sections. This article establishes the treasury department.

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Article VII

See also: Article VII, Maryland Constitution

Article VII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Sundry Officers" and consists of two sections.

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Article VIII

See also: Article VIII, Maryland Constitution

Article VIII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Education" and consists of three sections. This article establishes the public school system for the state of Maryland.

Click here to read this article of the Maryland Constitution.

Article IX

See also: Article IX, Maryland Constitution

Article IX of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Militia and Military Affairs" and consists of two sections. This article is concerned with the state militia.

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Article X

Article X of the Maryland Constitution has been repealed.

Articles XI - XI-I

Articles XI, XI-A, XI-B, XI-C, XI-D, XI-E, XI-F, XI-G, XI-H and XI-I concern the city of Baltimore.

Article XII

See also: Article XII, Maryland Constitution

Article XII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Public Works" and consists of three sections.

Click here to read this article of the Maryland Constitution.

Article XIII

See also: Article XIII, Maryland Constitution

Article XIII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "New Counties" and consists of two sections.

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Article XIV

See also: Article XIV, Maryland Constitution

Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Amendments to the Constitution" and defines how the constitution can be amended.

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Article XV

See also: Article XV, Maryland Constitution

Article XV of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Miscellaneous" and is concerned with miscellaneous governmental provisions.

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Article XVI

See also: Article XVI, Maryland Constitution

Article XVI of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "The Referendum" and consists of six sections.

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Article XVII

See also: Article XVII, Maryland Constitution

Article XVII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Quadrennial Elections" and consists of nine sections. This article states that elections be held every four years.

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Article XVIII

See also: Article XVIII, Maryland Constitution

Article XVIII of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Provisions of Limited Duration" and consists of five sections, one of which is expired. This article concerns provisions that only last for a limited duration.

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Article XIX

See also: Article XIX, Maryland Constitution

Article XIX of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Video Lottery Terminals" and consists of a single section.

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Article XIX

See also: Article XX, Maryland Constitution

Article XX of the Maryland Constitution is entitled "Cannabis" and consists of a single section.

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Amending the constitution

Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution defines two ways to amend the state constitution—through a legislative process and a state constitutional convention.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the Maryland State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 85 votes in the Maryland House of Delegates and 29 votes in the Maryland 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 to Section 2 of Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1970. Maryland 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:

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

• Maryland Legislature, "Maryland Constitution"
• Teaching American History in Maryland, "Maryland Constitutions", a list of primary and secondary resources about the Maryland Constitution and its history.
• Rees, Charles A. (2007). "Remarkable Evolution: The Early Constitutional History of Maryland" in University of Baltimore Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2007
• Ridgway, Whitman H. (2001). "(Maryland in) the Nineteenth Century" from the Maryland Humanities Council

Footnotes

v • e Maryland Constitution Maryland Constitution • Declaration of Rights • Article I • Article II • Article III • Article IV • Article V • Article VI • Article VII • Article VIII • Article IX • Article X • Article XI • Article XI-A • Article XI-B • Article XI-C • Article XI-D • Article XI-E • Article XI-F • Article XI-G • Article XI-H • Article XI-I • Article XII • Article XII • Article XIII • Article XIV • Article XV • Article XVI • Article XVII • Article XVIII • Article XIX

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