2020 -- H 7575 | |
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LC004294 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N | |
TO APPROVE AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF AMENDMENT TO | |
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE -- RIGHT TO ADEQUATE EDUCATION | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Messier, Kislak, Ranglin-Vassell, Serpa, and Shekarchi | |
Date Introduced: February 13, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare | |
1 | RESOLVED, That a majority of all members elected to each house of the general |
2 | assembly voting therefor, the following amendment to the Constitution of the state be proposed to |
3 | the qualified electors of the state in accordance with the provisions of Article I of the Constitution |
4 | for their approval and add sections 24 and 25 which are hereby amended to read as follows: |
5 | Article I. DECLARATION OF CERTAIN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND |
6 | PRINCIPLES. |
7 | In order to effectually secure the religious and political freedom established by our |
8 | venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for our posterity, we do declare that the essential |
9 | and unquestionable rights and principles hereinafter mentioned shall be established, maintained, |
10 | and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in all legislative, judicial and executive |
11 | proceedings. |
12 | Section 1. Right to make and alter Constitution - Constitution obligatory upon all |
13 | In the words of the Father of his Country, we declare that "the basis of our political |
14 | systems is the right of the people to make and alter their constitutions of government; but that the |
15 | constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole |
16 | people, is sacredly obligatory upon all." |
17 | Section 2. Laws for good of whole - Burdens to be equally distributed - Due process - |
18 | Equal protection - Discrimination - No right to abortion granted |
19 | All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety, and happiness of the people. |
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1 | All laws, therefore, should be made for the good of the whole; and the burdens of the state ought |
2 | to be fairly distributed among its citizens. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property |
3 | without due process of law, not shall any person be denied equal protection of the laws. No |
4 | otherwise qualified person shall, solely by reason of race, gender or handicap be subject to |
5 | discrimination by the state, its agents or any person or entity doing business with the state. |
6 | Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant or secure any right relating to abortion or the |
7 | funding thereof. |
8 | Section 3. Freedom of religion |
9 | Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; and all attempts to influence it by |
10 | temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy |
11 | and meanness; and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this |
12 | country and their settlement of this state, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively |
13 | experiment that a flourishing civil state may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in |
14 | religious concernments; we, therefore, declare that no person shall be compelled to frequent or to |
15 | support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatever, except in fulfillment of such person's |
16 | voluntary contract; nor enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in body or goods; nor |
17 | disqualified from holding any office; nor otherwise suffer on account of such person's religious |
18 | belief; and that every person shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of such |
19 | person's conscience, and to profess and by argument to maintain such person's opinion in matters |
20 | of religion; and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect the civil capacity of any |
21 | person. |
22 | Section 4. Slavery prohibited |
23 | Slavery shall not be permitted in this state. |
24 | Section 5. Entitlement to remedies for injuries and wrongs - Right to justice |
25 | Every person within this state ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the |
26 | laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be received in one's person, property, or character. |
27 | Every person ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without purchase, completely and |
28 | without denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the laws. |
29 | Section 6. Search and seizure |
30 | The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers and possessions, against |
31 | unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but on |
32 | complaint in writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as |
33 | nearly as may be, the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. |
34 | Section 7. Requirement of presentment or indictment - Information by attorney- |
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1 | general - Grand juries - Double jeopardy |
2 | Except in cases of impeachment, or in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the |
3 | militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger, no person shall be held to answer |
4 | for any offense which is punishable by death or by imprisonment for life unless on presentment or |
5 | indictment by a grand jury, and no person shall be held to answer for any other felony unless on |
6 | presentment or indictment by a grand jury or on information in writing signed by the attorney- |
7 | general or one of the attorney-general's designated assistants, as the general assembly may |
8 | provide and in accordance with procedures enacted by the general assembly. The general |
9 | assembly may authorize the impaneling of grand juries with authority to indict for offenses |
10 | committed any place within the state and it may provide that more than one grand jury may sit |
11 | simultaneously within a county. No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in |
12 | jeopardy. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as in any wise impairing the |
13 | inherent common law powers of the grand jury. |
14 | Section 8. Bail, fines and punishments |
15 | Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments |
16 | inflicted; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offense. |
17 | Section 9. Right to bail - Habeas corpus |
18 | All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient surety, unless for offenses |
19 | punishable by imprisonment for life, or for offenses involving the use or threat of use of a |
20 | dangerous weapon by one already convicted of such an offense or already convicted of an offense |
21 | punishable by imprisonment for life, or for an offense involving the unlawful sale, distribution, |
22 | manufacturer, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, distribute or deliver any |
23 | controlled substance or by possession or by a controlled substance punishable by imprisonment |
24 | for ten (10) years or more, when the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great. Nothing in |
25 | this section shall be construed to confer a right to bail, pending appeal of a conviction. The |
26 | privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or |
27 | invasion, the public safety shall require it; nor ever without the authority of the general assembly. |
28 | Section 10. Rights of accused persons in criminal proceedings |
29 | In all criminal prosecutions, accused persons shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public |
30 | trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be |
31 | confronted with the witnesses against them, to have compulsory process for obtaining them in |
32 | their favor, to have the assistance of counsel in their defense, and shall be at liberty to speak for |
33 | themselves; nor shall they be deprived of life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of their |
34 | peers, or the law of the land. |
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1 | Section 11. Relief of debtors from prison |
2 | The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presumption of fraud, ought not to be |
3 | continued in prison, after such person shall have delivered up property for the benefit of said |
4 | person's creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. |
5 | Section 12. Ex post facto laws - Laws impairing obligation of contract |
6 | No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed. |
7 | Section 13. Self-crimination |
8 | No person in a court of common law shall be compelled to give self-criminating |
9 | evidence. |
10 | Section 14. Presumption of innocence - Securing accused persons |
11 | Every person being presumed innocent, until pronounced guilty by the law, no act of |
12 | severity which is not necessary to secure an accused person shall be permitted. |
13 | Section 15. Trial by jury. |
14 | The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. In civil cases the general assembly may |
15 | fix the size of the petit jury at less than twelve but not less than six. |
16 | Section 16. Compensation for taking of private property for public use - Regulation |
17 | of fishery rights and shore privileges not public taking |
18 | Private property shall not be taken for public uses, without just compensation. The |
19 | powers of the state and of its municipalities to regulate and control the use of land and waters in |
20 | the furtherance of the preservation, regeneration, and restoration of the natural environment, and |
21 | in furtherance of the protection of the rights of the people to enjoy and freely exercise the rights |
22 | of fishery and the privileges of the shore, as those rights and duties are set forth in section 17, |
23 | shall be an exercise of the police powers of the state, shall be liberally construed, and shall not be |
24 | deemed to be a public use of private property. |
25 | Section 17. Fishery rights - Shore privileges - Preservation of natural resources |
26 | The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery, and the |
27 | privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages |
28 | of this state, including but not limited to fishing from the shore, the gathering of seaweed, leaving |
29 | the shore to swim in the sea and passage along the shore; and they shall be secure in their rights to |
30 | the use and enjoyment of the natural resources of the state with due regard for the preservation of |
31 | their values; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for the conservation of the |
32 | air, land, water, plant, animal, mineral and other natural resources of the state, and to adopt all |
33 | means necessary and proper by law to protect the natural environment of the people of the state |
34 | by providing adequate resource planning for the control and regulation of the use of the natural |
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1 | resources of the state and for the preservation, regeneration and restoration of the natural |
2 | environment of the state. |
3 | Section 18. Subordination of military to civil authority - Martial law |
4 | The military shall be held in strict subordination to the civil authority. And the law |
5 | martial shall be used and exercised in such cases only as occasion shall necessarily require. |
6 | Section 19. Quartering of soldiers |
7 | No soldier shall be quartered in any house in time of peace, without the consent of the |
8 | owner; nor, in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law. |
9 | Section 20. Freedom of press |
10 | The liberty of the press being essential to the security of freedom in a state, any person |
11 | may publish sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all |
12 | trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, unless published from malicious motives, shall |
13 | be sufficient defense to the person charged. |
14 | Section 21. Right to assembly - Redress of grievances - Freedom of speech |
15 | The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assembly for their common good, and |
16 | to apply to those invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, or for other |
17 | purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. No law abridging the freedom of speech shall be |
18 | enacted. |
19 | Section 22. Right to bear arms |
20 | The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. |
21 | Section 23. Rights of victims of crime |
22 | A victim of crime shall, as a matter of right, be treated by agents of the state with dignity, |
23 | respect and sensitivity during all phases of the criminal justice process. Such person shall be |
24 | entitled to receive, from the perpetrator of the crime, financial compensation for any injury or loss |
25 | caused by the perpetrator of the crime, and shall receive such other compensation as the state may |
26 | provide. Before sentencing, a victim shall have the right to address the court regarding the impact |
27 | which the perpetrator's conduct has had upon the victim. |
28 | Section 24. Right to an adequate education. |
29 | Public education is a fundamental right of all Rhode Island residents. It shall, therefore, |
30 | be the paramount duty of the general assembly, the department of elementary and secondary |
31 | education, and other government agencies and officials who are charged with educational |
32 | responsibilities to provide all Rhode Island residents with equal opportunities to receive an |
33 | education that is adequate and meaningful to permit them to achieve at high levels and to become |
34 | lifelong learners, productive workers, and responsible citizens. |
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1 | Section 25. Judicial enforcement. |
2 | The aforecited sections shall be judicially enforceable. Any person or entity injured or |
3 | threatened with any injury because of any non-compliance with any one or more of their |
4 | provisions shall be entitled to bring an action in superior court to enforce these rights and |
5 | provisions and to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief for any violation thereof. |
6 | Section 24. 26. Rights not enumerated - State rights not dependent on federal rights. |
7 | The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others |
8 | retained by the people. The rights guaranteed by this Constitution are not dependent on those |
9 | guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. |
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LC004294 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N | |
TO APPROVE AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF AMENDMENT TO | |
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE -- RIGHT TO ADEQUATE EDUCATION | |
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1 | This joint resolution would add two sections to the Rhode Island Constitution. One would |
2 | guarantee Rhode Island residents an adequate education to permit them to learn at high levels, |
3 | become lifelong learners, productive workers and responsible citizens and one would make the |
4 | rights guaranteed under the constitution judicially enforceable. |
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LC004294 | |
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