Article 1, Constitution Sections

Section 251 Limitation of actions to recover possession of land based on early patents. No action shall be maintained for possession of any lands lying within this State, where it is necessary for the claimant to rely for his recovery on any grant or patent issued by the Commonwe…

Section 252 Houses of reform to be established and maintained. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide by law, as soon as practicable, for the establishment and maintenance of an institution or institutions for the detention, correction, instruction and reformatio…

Section 253 Working of penitentiary prisoners -- When and where permitted. Persons convicted of felony and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary shall be confined at labor within the walls of the penitentiary; and the General Assembly shall not have the power to authorize …

Section 254 Control and support of convicts -- Leasing of labor. The Commonwealth shall maintain control of the discipline, and provide for all supplies, and for the sanitary condition of the convicts, and the labor only of convicts may be leased. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1…

Section 255 Frankfort is state capital. The seat of government shall continue in the city of Frankfort, unless removed by a vote of two-thirds of each House of the first General Assembly which convenes after the adoption of this Constitution. Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, …

Section 256 Amendments to Constitution -- How proposed and voted upon. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either House of the General Assembly at a regular session, and if such amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by three-fifths of all the members elected t…

Section 257 Publication of proposed amendments. Before an amendment shall be submitted to a vote, the Secretary of State shall cause such proposed amendment, and the time that the same is to be voted upon, to be published at least ninety days before the vote is to be taken thereo…

Section 258 Constitutional Convention -- How proposed, voted upon, and called. When a majority of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly shall concur, by a yea and nay vote, to be entered upon their respective journals, in enacting a law to take the sense o…

Section 259 Number and qualifications of delegates. The Convention shall consist of as many delegates as there are members of the House of Representatives; and the delegates shall have the same qualifications and be elected from the same districts as said Representatives. Text as…

Section 260 Election of delegates -- meeting. Delegates to such Convention shall be elected at the next general State election after the passage of the act calling the Convention, which does not occur within less than ninety days; and they shall meet within ninety days after thei…

Section 261 Certification of election and compensation of delegates. The General Assembly, in the act calling the Convention, shall provide for comparing the polls and giving certificates of election to the delegates elected, and provide for their compensation. Text as Ratified o…

Section 262 Determination of election and qualifications of delegates -- Contests. The Convention, when assembled, shall be the judge of the election and qualification of its members, and shall determine contested elections. But the General Assembly shall, in the act calling the …

Section 263 Notice of election on question of calling convention. Before a vote is taken upon the question of calling a Convention, the Secretary of State shall cause notice of the election to be published in such manner as may be provided by the act directing said vote to be tak…

Section 156A General Assembly authorized to provide for creation, governmental structure, and classification of cities. The General Assembly may provide for the creation, alteration of boundaries, consolidation, merger, dissolution, government, functions, and officers of cities. …

Section 233A Valid or recognized marriage -- Legal status of unmarried individuals. Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individual…

Section 226A (Repealed 1935) Catchline read at time of repeal: "Manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors prohibited -- Exception -- Legislature to enforce." Repeal Ratified on: November 5, 1935. History: Repeal was proposed by 1934 Ky. Acts ch. 58, sec. 1; crea…

Section 244A Old age assistance. The General Assembly shall prescribe such laws as may be necessary for the granting and paying of old persons an annuity or pension. Text as Ratified on: November 5, 1935. History: Creation proposed by 1934 Ky. Acts ch. 59, sec. 1.

Section 172B Property assessment or reassessment moratoriums. Notwithstanding contrary provisions of Sections 170, 171, 172, or 174 of this Constitution, the General Assembly may provide by general law that the governing bodies of county, municipal, and urban-county governments m…

Section 172A Assessment for ad valorem tax purposes of agricultural and horticultural land. Notwithstanding contrary provisions of Sections 171, 172, or 174 of this Constitution -- The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the assessment for ad valorem tax purposes of…

Section 255A Personal right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife - Limitations. The citizens of Kentucky have the personal right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, using traditional methods, subject only to statutes enacted by the Legislature, and to administrative regulations a…

Section 157B Adoption of budget required for cities, counties, and taxing districts - - Expenditures not to exceed revenues for fiscal year. Prior to each fiscal year, the legislative body of each city, county, and taxing district shall adopt a budget showing total expected reven…

Section 157A Credit of Commonwealth may be loaned or given to county for roads -- County may vote to incur indebtedness and levy additional tax for roads. The credit of the Commonwealth may be given, pledged or loaned to any county of the Commonwealth for public road purposes, an…

Section 156B General Assembly authorized to permit municipal home rule for cities. The General Assembly may provide by general law that cities may exercise any power and perform any function within their boundaries that is in furtherance of a public purpose of a city and not in c…

Section 26A Rights of victims of crime. To secure for victims of criminal acts or public offenses justice and due process and to ensure crime victims a meaningful role throughout the criminal and juvenile justice systems, a victim, as defined by law which takes effect upon the en…