Article 8, Arkansas Constitution

Arkansas Constitution
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Article 8 of the Arkansas Constitution is entitled Apportionment-Members in General Assembly and contains six sections.

Section 1

Text of Section 1: Board of Apportionment Created - Powers and Duties A Board to be known as "The Board of Apportionment," consisting of the Governor (who shall be Chairman), the Secretary of State and the Attorney General is hereby created and it shall be its imperative duty to make apportionment of representatives in accordance with the provisions hereof; the action of a majority in each instance shall be deemed the action of said board.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

• Constitutional Amendment 45, which was added on November 6, 1956

Section 2

Text of Section 2: One Hundred Members in House of Representatives - Apportionment The House of Representatives shall consist of one hundred members and each county existing at the time of any apportionment shall have at least one representative; the remaining members shall be equally distributed (as nearly as practicable) among the more populous counties of the State, in accordance with a ratio to be determined by the population of said counties as shown by the Federal census next preceding any apportionment hereunder.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

• Constitutional Amendment 45, which was added on November 6, 1956.

Section 3

Text of Section 3: Senatorial Districts - Thirty-five Members of Senate The Senate shall consist of thirty-five members. Senatorial districts shall at all times consist of contiguous territory, and no county shall be divided in the formation of such districts. "The Board of Apportionment" hereby created shall, from time to time, divide the state into convenient senatorial districts in such manner as that the Senate shall be based upon the inhabitants of the state, each senator representing, as nearly as practicable, an equal number thereof; each district shall have at least one senator.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

Section 4

Text of Section 4: Duties of Board of Apportionment On or before February 1 immediately following each Federal census, said board shall reapportion the State for Representatives, and in each instance said board shall file its report with the Secretary of State, setting forth (a) the basis of population adopted for representatives; (b) the number of representatives assigned to each county; whereupon, after 30 days from such filing date, the apportionment thus made shall become effective unless proceedings for revision be instituted in the Supreme Court within said period.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

• Constitutional Amendment 45, which was added on November 6, 1956.

Section 5

Text of Section 5: Mandamus to Compel Board of Apportionment to Act Original jurisdiction (to be exercised on application of any citizens and taxpayers) is hereby vested in the Supreme Court of the State (a) to compel (by mandamus or otherwise) the board to perform its duties as here directed and (b) to revise any arbitrary action of or abuse of discretion by the board in making such apportionment; provided any such application for revision shall be filed with said Court within 30 days after the filing of the report of apportionment by said board with the Secretary of State; if revised by the court, a certified copy of its judgment shall be by the clerk thereof forthwith transmitted to the Secretary of State, and thereupon be and become a substitute for the apportionment made by the board.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

• Constitutional Amendment 45, which was added on November 6, 1956.

Section 6

Text of Section 5: Election of Senators and Representatives At the next general election for State and County officers ensuing after any such apportionment, Representatives shall be elected in accordance therewith, Senators shall be elected henceforth according to the apportionment now existing, and their respective terms of office shall begin on January 1 next following. Senators shall be elected for a term of four years at the expiration of their present terms of office.

Amendments

• Constitutional Amendment 23, which was added on November 3, 1936.

• Constitutional Amendment 45, which was added on November 6, 1956.

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

• Arkansas Constitution

Additional reading

• Cash, Marie. "Arkansas Achieves Statehood.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 2 (December 1943): 292.
• Goss, Kay C. (1993) The Arkansas State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
• Civil War Helena, "The Constitution of 1868"
• Ledbetter, Jr., Cal, "The Constitution of 1868: Conqueror's Constitution or Constitutional Continuity?" in The Arkansas Historical Quarterly