Article X, Nebraska Constitution

Nebraska Constitution
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Article X of the Nebraska Constitution consists of eight sections.

Section 1

	Text of Section 1: Reports Under Oath Every public utility corporation or common carrier organized or doing business in this state shall report, under oath, to the Railway Commission, when required by law or the order of said Commission. The reports so made shall include such matter as may be required by law or the order of said Commission.

Amendments

• Amended in 1920 by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, No. 30.
• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 1.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Property Liable to Sale on Execution The rolling stock and all other movable property belonging to any railroad company or corporation in this state, shall be liable to execution and sale in the same manner as the personal property of individuals, and the legislature shall pass no law exempting any such property from execution and sale.

Amendments

• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 2.

Section 3

Text of Section 3: Consolidation of Stock or Property No public utility corporation or common carrier shall consolidate its stock, property, franchise, or earnings in whole or in part with any other public utility corporation or common carrier owning a parallel or competing property without permission of the Railway Commission; and in no case shall any consolidation take place except upon public notice of at least sixty days to all stockholders, in such manner as may be provided by law. The Legislature may by law require all public utilities and common carriers to exchange business through physical connection, joint use, connected service, or otherwise.

Amendments

• Amended in 1920 by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, No. 31.
• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 3.

Section 4

Text of Section 4: Railways Declared Public Highways; Maximum Rates; Liability Not Limited Railways heretofore constructed, or that may hereafter be constructed, in this state are hereby declared public highways, and shall be free to all persons for the transportation of their persons and property thereon, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. And the legislature may from time to time pass laws establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight on the different railroads in this state. The liability of railroad corporations as common carriers shall never be limited.

Amendments

• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 4.

Section 5

Text of Section 5: Capital Stock; Dividends The capital stock of public utility corporations or common carriers shall not be increased for any purpose, except after public notice for sixty days, and in such manner as may be provided by law. No dividend shall be declared or distributed except out of net earnings after paying all operating expenses including a depreciation reserve sufficient to keep the investment intact.

Amendments

• Amended in 1920 by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, No. 32.
• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 5.

Section 6

	Text of Section 6: Eminent Domain The exercise of the power and the right of eminent domain shall never be so construed or abridged as to prevent the taking by the legislature, of the property and franchises of incorporated companies already organized, or hereafter to be organized, and subjecting them to the public necessity the same as of individuals.

Amendments

• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 6.

Section 7

	Text of Section 7: Unjust Discrimination and Extortion The Legislature shall pass laws to correct abuses and prevent unjust discrimination and extortion in all charges of express, telegraph and railroad companies in this state and enforce such laws by adequate penalties to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of forfeiture of their property and franchises.

Amendments

• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 7.

Section 8

Text of Section 8: Eminent Domain for Depot or Other Uses No railroad corporation organized under the laws of any other state, or of the United States and doing business in this state shall be entitled to exercise the right of eminent domain or have power to acquire the right of way, or real estate for depot or other uses, until it shall have become a body corporate pursuant to and in accordance with the laws of this state.

Amendments

• Transferred by Constitutional Convention, 1919-1920, art. X, sec. 8.

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

• Nebraska State Legislature, "Nebraska Constitution"

Additional reading

• Miewald, Robert D., and Peter J. Longo, Anthony B. Schutz, Robert M. Spire, John M. Gradwohl. (2010). The Nebraska State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Omaha, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press
• Miewald, Robert D. and Professor Peter J. Longo. (2011). The Nebraska State Constitution, New York, New York: Oxford University Press
• Lobingier, Charles Sumner. "Some Original and Peculiar Features in the Nebraska Constitution" in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 15, May, 1900, pp. 121-125