Relation of the Federal Crovemment to Research 



lit 



In the States, numerous conventions have been held 

 for the purpose of adopting and revising their con- 

 stitutions. In all cases the State legislatures have 

 made provision for the publication of at least the 

 journals of these conventions and, in the case of the 

 more recent conventions, other records, such as reports 

 of committees, debates, etc' 



Reports of Constitutional Commissions 



An important development of recent years has been 

 the policy followed by not a few of the State legisla- 

 tures of providing for the establishment of commis- 

 sions having for their function the consideration of 

 the advisability of amending or revising the consti- 

 tution or suggesting the changes believed to be advis- 

 able; or the assembling in advance of the convening 

 of a projected constitutional convention of the basic 

 data needed by such a body in considering the pro- 

 posals for changes likely to come before it. The ap- 

 pointment of these commissions is usually provided 

 for in legislative acts. In some cases, however, the 

 Governor, acting under his general powers, has brought 

 such commissions into existence. The extent to which 

 commissions of the first class have been employed 

 is indicated by the following list of their reports : * 



California: Report of the California Constitutional Commis- 

 sion, 1931. 



Massachusetts: Report of the Special Commission Established 

 to Investigate the Advisability of Amending the Constitution of 

 the Commonwealth, 1936. 



New York: Amendments Proposed to the Constitution of New 

 York * * * by the Constitutional Commission, 1872-73. 

 Journal and Documents of the Constitutional Commission, 1890. 



North Carolina: Report of the Commission on Constitutional 

 Amendments, 1913. 



North Carolina: Report of the North Carolina Constitutional 

 Commission, 1932. 



Pennsylvania: Report of the Commission on Constitutional 

 Amendment and Revision, 1920. 



Rhode Island: Report of Commissioners to Revise the Con- 

 stitution, 1898. 



Vermont: Report of Commission on Constitutional Amend- 

 ment, 1920. 



Vermont: Report of Commission on Proposals for Constitu- 

 tional Amendment, 1931. 



' For a list of the constitutional conventions lield by tlie States and 

 tlielr published records see ; 



(1) Augustus Hunt Shearer, A list of OWcial Publications of Amer- 

 ican State Constitutional Conventions, 1776-1916. Newberry Library, 

 Bulletin No. 1, 1917. 



(2) Charles F. Babbitt, Handlist of Legislative Sessions and Session 

 Laws, Statutory Revisions, Compilations, Codes and Constitutional Con- 

 ventions of the United States and Its Possessions and of the Several 

 'States to May 1912. Massachusetts State Library, 1912. 



(3) Official Publications Relating to American State Constitutional 

 Conventions. H. W. Wilson Co., 1936 (processed). 



Information regarding official publications of conventions held subse- 

 quent to the appearance of these volumes may be had from the Monthly 

 Check List of State Publications, issued by the Library of Congress. 



' It is possible that there have been a few constitutional commissions 

 other than those here listed. 



Virginia: Report of Commission to Suggest Amendments to 

 the Constitution, 1927. 



Washinffton: Report of Advisory Constitutional Revision 

 Commission, 1935. 



West Virginia: Report by Constitutional Commission, 1930. 



Compilations of Data for Use of 

 Constitutional Conventions 



The States that have made provision for the compila- 

 tion of data for the use of constitutional conventions 

 are Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and 

 Pennsylvania. In some cases this provision has taken 

 the form of the creation of a special commission to per- 

 form this service; in others, that of delegating this 

 work to the legislative reference bureau; and, in the 

 case of the New York Constitutional Convention of 

 1915, of having documents compiled under various 

 auspices. The material assembled and published in this 

 way has not only been of great assistance to the mem- 

 bers of the constitutional conventions, but has fur- 

 nished to students of American Government a body of 

 exceedingly valuable data. The importance of this ma- 

 terial warrants our reproduction of the titles of the 

 several compilations issued in detail. 



Michigan: Constitutional Convention of 1007: 



Bulletins compiled by the Michigan State Library Legislative 

 Reference Department, for the Committee on Printing of the 

 Constitutional Commission of 1907 : 



1. Amendment and revision : Provisions of the various State 

 constitutions relative to constitutional changes compared v^•ith 

 those of Michigan. 



2. Boundaries: Seat of government and departments: Con 

 stitutional provisions of other States relating thereto compared 

 with those of Michigan. 



3. Bribery and corruption : Constitutional provisions of the 

 several States relating thereto. 



4. Education and public schools : Constitutional ijrovisions 

 of other States compared with the constitution of Michigan. 



5. Elections: Constitutional provisions of the several States 

 relating thereto. 



6. Eminent domain : Constitutional provisions of the several 

 States as to the taking of private iiroperty for public use. 



7. Executive department : Constitutional provisions of the 

 several States compared with those of Michigan. 



8. Exemptions : Article XVI, Michigan constitution compared 

 with like provisions in other State constitutions. 



9. Finance and taxation : Constitutional provisions relative 

 thereto compared with the provisions of Article XIV, Michigan 

 constitution. 



10. Impeachment and removal from office : Constitutional pro- 

 visions of the several States compared with the Michigan 

 provisions. 



11. Judicial department : Constitutional provisions of other 

 States relative thereto compared with those of Michigan. 



12. Legislative department: Constitutional provisions relative 

 thereto compared with the provisions of Article IX, Michigan 

 constitution. 



13. Miscellaneous provisions and addenda : Contained in the 

 several State constitutions compared with those in the Michigan 

 constitution. 



