List of amendments to the Vermont Constitution

Ballot measures in Vermont
Constitutional amendments
Statutes referred by Legislature
Amending the Vermont Constitution
Vermont Constitution

The Vermont Constitutional Convention of 1870 altered the Vermont Constitution so that proposed amendments were subject to popular ratification. Since then, voters in the Green Mountain State have voted on 32 proposed amendments and ratified 30 of them.

Up until 1974, amendments could only be proposed every ten years. In 1974, this provision of the state's constitution was altered so that amendments could be proposed every four years.

2022

See also: Vermont 2022 ballot measures

a Vermont Proposal 2, Prohibit Slavery and Indentured Servitude Amendment (2022)
a Vermont Proposal 5, Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment (2022)

2010

See also: Vermont 2010 ballot measures

a Vermont Voting Age Amendment, Proposal 5 (2010)

2002

See also: Vermont 2002 ballot measures

a Vermont Retirement Age for Judges Amendment (2002)

1994

See also: 1994 ballot measures

a Vermont Limitation of Bail for Criminal Offenses, Proposed Amendment (1994)
a Gender Inclusive Language in the Vermont Constitution, Proposed Amendment (1994)

1986

See also: 1986 ballot measures

d Vermont Equal Rights Amendment (1986)
a Vermont Congressional Redistricting Amendment (1986)

1982

See also: 1982 ballot measures

a Vermont Imposition of Bail for Criminal Offenses Amendment (1982)

1974

See also: 1974 ballot measures

d Vermont Four-Year Terms for State Constitutional Officers (1974)
a Vermont Reduction of Time-Lock from Ten to Four Years (1974)
a Vermont Creation of a Unified Judicial System Amendment (1974)
a Vermont End the Residency Requirement to Vote Amendment (1974)
a Vermont Legislative Redistricting and Size Amendment (1974)

1964

a Vermont Maintenance of Schools Amendment (1964)

1954

See also: 1954 ballot measures

a Vermont Joint School Maintenance by Towns Amendment, Article 41 (1954)
a Vermont Office of Profit and Trust Under Authority of Congress Amendment, Article 42 (1954)
a Vermont State Militia Amendment, Article 43 (1954)

1924

a Vermont Suffrage for Women Amendment (1924)
a Vermont Method of Filling Vacancies in State Legislature (1924)
a Vermont Criminal Defendants Allowed to Waive Right to Jury Trial (1924)
a Vermont Men and Women on Same Footing as Involuntary Indentured Servants (1924)

1913

See also: 1913 ballot measures

a Vermont Gubernatorial Veto Powers Amendment (1913)
a Vermont Timing of State Legislative Sessions (1913)
a Vermont Votes of General Assembly Shall be Printed (1913)
a Vermont Commutation, Remission or Mitigation of Criminal Sentences (1913)
a Vermont Charters for Political Subdivisions (1913)
a Vermont "Justice" Used to Designate Supreme Court Judges (1913)
a Vermont Workman's Compensation Amendment (1913)
a Vermont Revision of Chapter 2 of the State Constitution (1913)

1883

a Vermont Oath of Office Amendment (1883)
a Vermont Manner of Electing the Vermont Secretary of State (1883)

Amendment procedure

Main article: Amendment of the Constitution, Vermont Constitution

Section 72 lays out the procedure governing changes to the Vermont Constitution.

• Proposed amendments must originate in the Vermont State Senate and can only be proposed every four years.
• Amendments must earn a 2/3rds vote of the members of Vermont State Senate, but require only a majority vote of members of the Vermont House of Representatives.
• Amendments, once adopted by the senate and house, must then be considered against at the next biennial session of the Vermont General Assembly.
• The amendment must win a majority vote of both chambers when it is considered for this second time.
• Such amendments then go on a ballot for a vote of the state's electors. If a proposed amendment wins a simple majority vote, it becomes part of the state's constitution.

The Vermont Constitution, like that of several other states, does not provide for constitutional conventions. Perhaps as a result, Vermont's current constitution is one of the oldest in the country, having been adopted in 1793. The Massachusetts Constitution is the only older constitution.

However, in 1969, the Vermont State Legislature referred an advisory measure to the ballot, asking ""Shall a Vermont Constitutional Convention be convened at the state house in Montpelier on October 6, 1969 to consider the following topics which shall receive a majority of the votes cast upon it in this election, and no others?" (The state's voters said "no" to this advisory question.)

Vermont has changed its amendment process three times:

• From 1777-1870, amendments could be proposed every seven years by the Council of Censors. This was a 13-member group whose members were elected in statewide elections.
• From 1870-1974, proposals originated as they do now in the state senate, but could only be made every ten years. This ten-year limit was known as the "time-lock."
• In 1974, the ten-year "time lock" was reduced to four years.

External links

• List of proposed amendments to the Vermont Constitution