ARTICLE III - STATE OF CALIFORNIA 1-9 :: California Constitution



SEC. 1.  The State of California is an inseparable part of the
United States of America, and the United States Constitution is the
supreme law of the land.





SEC. 2.  The boundaries of the State are those stated in the
Constitution of 1849 as modified pursuant to statute.  Sacramento is
the capital of California.





SEC. 3.  The powers of state government are legislative, executive,
and judicial.  Persons charged with the exercise of one power may not
exercise either of the others except as permitted by this
Constitution.





SEC. 3.5.  An administrative agency, including an administrative
agency created by the Constitution or an initiative statute, has no
power:
   (a) To declare a statute unenforceable, or refuse to enforce a
statute, on the basis of it being unconstitutional unless an
appellate court has made a determination that such statute is
unconstitutional;
   (b) To declare a statute unconstitutional;
   (c) To declare a statute unenforceable, or to refuse to enforce a
statute on the basis that federal law or federal regulations prohibit
the enforcement of such statute unless an appellate court has made a
determination that the enforcement of such statute is prohibited by
federal law or federal regulations.





SEC. 4.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), salaries of
elected state officers may not be reduced during their term of
office.  Laws that set these salaries are appropriations.
   (b) Beginning on January 1, 1981, the base salary of a judge of a
court of record shall equal the annual salary payable as of July 1,
1980, for that office had the judge been elected in 1978.  The
Legislature may prescribe increases in those salaries during a term
of office, and it may terminate prospective increases in those
salaries at any time during a term of office, but it shall not reduce
the salary of a judge during a term of office below the highest
level paid during that term of office.  Laws setting the salaries of
judges shall not constitute an obligation of contract pursuant to
Section 9 of Article I or any other provision of law.





SEC. 5.  Suits may be brought against the State in such manner and
in such courts as shall be directed by law.





SEC. 6.  (a) Purpose.
   English is the common language of the people of the United States
of America and the State of California.  This section is intended to
preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to
supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people by this
Constitution.
   (b) English as the Official Language of California.
   English is the official language of the State of California.
   (c) Enforcement.
   The Legislature shall enforce this section by appropriate
legislation.  The Legislature and officials of the State of
California shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of
English as the common language of the State of California is
preserved and enhanced.  The Legislature shall make no law which
diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of
the State of California.
   (d) Personal Right of Action and Jurisdiction of Courts.
   Any person who is a resident of or doing business in the State of
California shall have standing to sue the State of California to
enforce this section, and the Courts of record of the State of
California shall have jurisdiction to hear cases brought to enforce
this section.  The Legislature may provide reasonable and appropriate
limitations on the time and manner of suits brought under this
section.





Sec. 7.  (a) The retirement allowance for any person, all of whose
credited service in the Legislators' Retirement System was rendered
or was deemed to have been rendered as an elective officer of the
State whose office is provided for by the California Constitution,
other than a judge and other than a Member of the Senate or Assembly,
  and all or any part of whose retirement allowance is calculated on
the basis of the compensation payable to the officer holding the
office which the member last held prior to retirement, or for the
survivor or beneficiary of such a person, shall not be increased or
affected in any manner by changes on or after November 5, 1986, in
the compensation payable to the officer holding the office which the
member last held prior to retirement.
   (b) This section shall apply to any person, survivor, or
beneficiary described in subdivision (a) who receives, or is
receiving, from the Legislators' Retirement System a retirement
allowance on or after November 5, 1986, all or any part of which
allowance is calculated on the basis of the compensation payable to
the officer holding the office which the member last held prior to
retirement.
   (c) It is the intent of the people, in adopting this section, to
restrict retirement allowances to amounts reasonably to be expected
by certain members and retired members of the Legislators' Retirement
System and to preserve the basic character of earned retirement
benefits while prohibiting windfalls and unforeseen advantages which
have no relation to the real theory and objective of a sound
retirement system.  It is not the intent of this section to deny any
member, retired member, survivor, or beneficiary a reasonable
retirement allowance.  Thus, this section shall not be construed as a
repudiation of a debt nor the impairment of a contract for a
substantial and reasonable retirement allowance from the Legislators'
Retirement System.
   (d) The people and the Legislature hereby find and declare that
the dramatic increase in the retirement allowances of persons
described in subdivision (a) which would otherwise result when the
compensation for those offices increases on November 5, 1986, or
January 5, 1987, are not benefits which could have reasonably been
expected.  The people and the Legislature further find and declare
that the Legislature did not intend to provide in its scheme of
compensation for those offices such windfall benefits.





SEC. 8.  (a) The California Citizens Compensation Commission is
hereby created and shall consist of seven members appointed by the
Governor.  The commission shall establish the annual salary and the
medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits of state
officers.
   (b) The commission shall consist of the following persons:
   (1) Three public members, one of whom has expertise in the area of
compensation, such as an economist, market researcher, or personnel
manager; one of whom is a member of a nonprofit public interest
organization; and one of whom is representative of the general
population and may include, among others, a retiree, homemaker, or
person of median income.  No person appointed pursuant to this
paragraph may, during the 12 months prior to his or her appointment,
have held public office, either elective or appointive, have been a
candidate for elective public office, or have been a lobbyist, as
defined by the Political Reform Act of 1974.
   (2) Two members who have experience in the business community, one
of whom is an executive of a corporation incorporated in this State
which ranks among the largest private sector employers in the State
based on the number of employees employed by the corporation in this
State and one of whom is an owner of a small business in this State.

   (3) Two members, each of whom is an officer or member of a labor
organization.
   (c) The Governor shall strive insofar as practicable to provide a
balanced representation of the geographic, gender, racial, and ethnic
diversity of the State in appointing commission members.
   (d) The Governor shall appoint commission members and designate a
chairperson for the commission not later than 30 days after the
effective date of this section.  The terms of two of the initial
appointees shall expire on December 31, 1992, two on December 31,
1994, and three on December 31, 1996, as determined by the Governor.
Thereafter, the term of each member shall be six years.  Within 15
days of any vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a person to serve the
unexpired portion of the term.
   (e) No current or former officer or employee of this State is
eligible for appointment to the commission.
   (f) Public notice shall be given of all meetings of the
commission, and the meetings shall be open to the public.
   (g) On or before December 3, 1990, the commission shall, by a
single resolution adopted by a majority of the membership of the
commission, establish the annual salary and the medical, dental,
insurance, and other similar benefits of state officers.  The annual
salary and benefits specified in that resolution shall be effective
on and after December 3, 1990.
   Thereafter, at or before the end of each fiscal year, the
commission shall, by a single resolution adopted by a majority of the
membership of the commission, adjust the annual salary and the
medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits of state
officers.  The annual salary and benefits specified in the resolution
shall be effective on and after the first Monday of the next
December.
   (h) In establishing or adjusting the annual salary and the
medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits, the
commission shall consider all of the following:
   (1) The amount of time directly or indirectly related to the
performance of the duties, functions, and services of a state
officer.
   (2) The amount of the annual salary and the medical, dental,
insurance, and other similar benefits for other elected and appointed
officers and officials in this State with comparable
responsibilities, the judiciary, and, to the extent practicable, the
private sector, recognizing, however, that state officers do not
receive, and do not expect to receive, compensation at the same
levels as individuals in the private sector with comparable
experience and responsibilities.
   (3) The responsibility and scope of authority of the entity in
which the state officer serves.
   (i) Until a resolution establishing or adjusting the annual salary
and the medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits for
state officers takes effect, each state officer shall continue to
receive the same annual salary and the medical, dental, insurance,
and other similar benefits received previously.
   (j) All commission members shall receive their actual and
necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the
performance of their duties.  Each member shall be compensated at the
same rate as members, other than the chairperson, of the Fair
Political Practices Commission, or its successor, for each day
engaged in official duties, not to exceed 45 days per year.
   (k) It is the intent of the Legislature that the creation of the
commission should not generate new state costs for staff and
services.  The Department of Personnel Administration, the Board of
Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, or other
appropriate agencies, or their successors, shall furnish, from
existing resources, staff and services to the commission as needed
for the performance of its duties.
   (l) "State officer," as used in this section, means the Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Controller, Insurance
Commissioner, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Treasurer, member of the State Board of Equalization,
and Member of the Legislature.





SEC. 9.  The proceeds from the sale of surplus state property
occurring on or after the effective date of this section, and any
proceeds from the previous sale of surplus state property that have
not been expended or encumbered as of that date, shall be used to pay
the principal and interest on bonds issued pursuant to the Economic
Recovery Bond Act authorized at the March 2, 2004, statewide primary
election.  Once the principal and interest on those bonds are fully
paid, the proceeds from the sale of surplus state property shall be
deposited into the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties, or any
successor fund.  For purposes of this section, surplus state property
does not include property purchased with revenues described in
Article XIX or any other special fund moneys.

					

Last modified: January 4, 2019