Article 1, Constitution Sections

Section 1 Rights of life, liberty, worship, pursuit of safety and happiness, free speech, acquiring and protecting property, peaceable assembly, redress of grievances, bearing arms. All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, among wh…

Section 2 Absolute and arbitrary power denied. Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amende…

Section 3 Men are equal -- No exclusive grant except for public services -- Property not to be exempted from taxation -- Grants revocable. All men, when they form a social compact, are equal; and no grant of exclusive, separate public emoluments or privileges shall be made to any…

Section 4 Power inherent in the people -- Right to alter, reform, or abolish government. All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety, happiness and the protection of property. For the advancem…

Section 5 Right of religious freedom. No preference shall ever be given by law to any religious sect, society or denomination; nor to any particular creed, mode of worship or system of ecclesiastical polity; nor shall any person be compelled to attend any place of worship, to con…

Section 6 Elections to be free and equal. All elections shall be free and equal. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended.

Section 7 Right of trial by jury. The ancient mode of trial by jury shall be held sacred, and the right thereof remain inviolate, subject to such modifications as may be authorized by this Constitution. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History:…

Section 8 Freedom of speech and of the press. Printing presses shall be free to every person who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the General Assembly or any branch of government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. Every person may freely and ful…

Section 9 Truth may be given in evidence in prosecution for publishing matters proper for public information -- Jury to try law and facts in libel prosecutions. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers or men in a public capacit…

Section 10 Security from search and seizure -- Conditions of issuance of warrant. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable search and seizure; and no warrant shall issue to search any place, or seize any person or thing, witho…

Section 11 Rights of accused in criminal prosecution -- Change of venue. In all criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to be heard by himself and counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him; to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compul…

Section 12 Indictable offense not to be prosecuted by information -- Exceptions. No person, for an indictable offense, shall be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of …

Section 13 Double jeopardy -- Property not to be taken for public use without compensation. No person shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeopardy of his life or limb, nor shall any man's property be taken or applied to public use without the consent of his representativ…

Section 14 Right of judicial remedy for injury -- Speedy trial. All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay. T…

Section 15 Laws to be suspended only by General Assembly. No power to suspend laws shall be exercised unless by the General Assembly or its authority. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended.

Section 16 Right to bail -- Habeas corpus. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in case of rebel…

Section 17 Excessive bail or fine, or cruel punishment, prohibited. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishment inflicted. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended.

Section 18 Imprisonment for debt restricted. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Text as Ratified on:…

Section 19 Ex post facto law or law impairing contract forbidden -- Rules of construction for mineral deeds relating to coal extraction. (1) No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be enacted. (2) In any instrument heretofore or hereafter ex…

Section 20 Attainder, operation of restricted. No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the General Assembly, and no attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the Commonwealth. Text as Ratified on: A…

Section 21 Descent in case of suicide or casualty. The estate of such persons as shall destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death; and if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof. Text as Ratified on: A…

Section 22 Standing armies restricted -- Military subordinate to civil -- Quartering soldiers restricted. No standing army shall, in time of peace, be maintained without the consent of the General Assembly; and the military shall, in all cases and at all times, be in strict subor…

Section 23 No office of nobility or hereditary distinction, or for longer than a term of years. The General Assembly shall not grant any title of nobility or hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment of which shall be for a longer time than a term of years. Te…

Section 24 Emigration to be free. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended.

Section 25 Slavery and involuntary servitude forbidden. Slavery and involuntary servitude in this State are forbidden, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History:…

Section 26 General powers subordinate to Bill of Rights -- Laws contrary thereto are void. To guard against transgression of the high powers which we have delegated, We Declare that every thing in this Bill of Rights is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall …

Section 27 Powers of government divided among legislative, executive, and judicial departments. The powers of the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them be confined to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: Th…

Section 28 One department not to exercise power belonging to another. No person or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. T…

Section 29 Legislative power vested in General Assembly. The legislative power shall be vested in a House of Representatives and a Senate, which, together, shall be styled the "General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised Sep…

Section 30 Term of office of Senators and Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives and Senators shall be elected at the general election in even-numbered years for terms of four years for Senators and two years for members of the House of Representatives. The term…

Section 31 Time of election and term of office of Senators and Representatives. At the general election to be held in November, 1984, and every two years thereafter, there shall be elected for four years one Senator in each Senatorial District in which the term of his predecessor…

Section 32 Qualifications of Senators and Representatives. No person shall be a Representative who, at the time of his election, is not a citizen of Kentucky, has not attained the age of twenty-four years, and who has not resided in this State two years next preceding his electio…

Section 33 Senatorial and Representative districts. The first General Assembly after the adoption of this Constitution shall divide the State into thirty-eight Senatorial Districts, and one hundred Representative Districts, as nearly equal in population as may be without dividing…

Section 34 Officers of Houses of General Assembly. The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker and other officers, and the Senate shall have power to choose its officers biennially. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet am…

Section 35 Number of Senators and Representatives. The number of Representatives shall be one hundred, and the number of Senators thirty-eight. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended.

Section 36 Time and place of meetings of General Assembly. (1) The General Assembly, in odd-numbered years, shall meet in regular session for a period not to exceed a total of thirty (30) legislative days divided as follows: The General Assembly shall convene for the first part o…

Section 37 Majority constitutes quorum -- Powers of less than a quorum. Not less than a majority of the members of each House of the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be authorized by law to comp…

Section 38 Each House to judge qualifications, elections, and returns of its members -- Contests. Each House of the General Assembly shall judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its members, but a contested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be di…

Section 39 Powers of each House as to rules and conduct of members -- Contempt - - Bribery. Each House of the General Assembly may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a s…

Section 40 Journals -- When vote to be entered. Each House of the General Assembly shall keep and publish daily a journal of its proceedings; and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of the members elected, be entered on the journal. Te…

Section 41 Adjournment during session. Neither House, during the session of the General Assembly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which it may be sitting. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revis…

Section 42 Compensation of members -- Length of sessions -- Legislative day. The members of the General Assembly shall severally receive from the State Treasury compensation for their services: Provided, No change shall take effect during the session at which it is made; nor shal…

Section 43 Privileges from arrest and from questioning as to speech or debate. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Hous…

Section 44 Ineligibility of members to civil office created or given increased compensation during term. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed or elected to any civil office of profit in this Common…

Section 45 Collector of public money ineligible unless he has quietus. No person who may have been a collector of taxes or public moneys for the Commonwealth, or for any county, city, town or district, or the assistant or deputy of such collector, shall be eligible to the General…

Section 46 Bills must be reported by committee, printed, and read -- How bill called from committee -- Votes required for passage. No bill shall be considered for final passage unless the same has been reported by a committee and printed for the use of the members. Every bill sha…

Section 47 Bills to raise revenue must originate in House of Representatives. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments thereto: Provided, No new matter shall be introduced, under color of amendment, which…

Section 48 Resources of Sinking Fund not to be diminished -- Preservation of fund. The General Assembly shall have no power to enact laws to diminish the resources of the Sinking Fund as now established by law until the debt of the Commonwealth be paid, but may enact laws to incr…

Section 49 Power to contract debts -- Limit. The General Assembly may contract debts to meet casual deficits or failures in the revenue; but such debts, direct or contingent, singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed five hundred thousand dollars, and the moneys ar…

Section 50 Purposes for which debt may be contracted -- Tax to discharge -- Public vote. No act of the General Assembly shall authorize any debt to be contracted on behalf of the Commonwealth except for the purposes mentioned in Section 49, unless provision be made therein to lev…