Principles, institutions and law of political governance in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives chamber in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with the portrait Apotheosis of Pennsylvania visible on the far wall of the chamber
The Constitution of Pennsylvania is the supreme law within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All acts of the General Assembly, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. Since 1776, Pennsylvania's Constitution has undergone five versions. The current Constitution entered into force in 1968, and has been amended numerous times.
The Constitution may only be amended if a proposed modification receives a majority vote of two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly and then is approved by the electorate. Emergency amendments are permitted by a vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly and an affirmative vote by the electorate within one month. In such emergency situations, commonwealth election officials are required to publish notice of the referendum on a proposed amendment in a minimum of two newspapers in every county. In an event that more than one emergency amendment is proposed, each additional amendment is to be voted on separately.[1]
The Constitution of Pennsylvania is the supreme law within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All acts of the General Assembly, the governor, and each...
The PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776 (ratified September 28, 1776) was the state's first constitution following its declaration of independence and has...
it declared its independence, Pennsylvania was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776 created the Supreme Executive...
(1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and was unicameral. Since the Constitution of 1776, the legislature has been known...
section 3, PennsylvaniaConstitution. Article IV, section 14, PennsylvaniaConstitution. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"."Article II...
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the governmental structure of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as established by the PennsylvaniaConstitution. It is composed...
section 2, PennsylvaniaConstitution. Article II, section 16, PennsylvaniaConstitution. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"."Article II...
precedents, including the Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. An initial...
ambition". By January 1788, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut ratified the Constitution without insisting upon amendments. Several...
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution...
who also served as its sixth president. The 1776 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was framed by a constitutional convention called at...
influence on the formation and interpretation of Pennsylvania law. The original Pennsylvaniaconstitutions, drafted by William Penn, established a Provincial...
(1650–1672), PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776 and the Directory of 1795–1799 in France. The French Directory was inspired by the PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776...
Philadelphia, which produced the PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776 for the newly established commonwealth and created the new Pennsylvania General Assembly. Penn...
years." Shortly after independence, the PennsylvaniaConstitution of 1776 set maximum service in the Pennsylvania General Assembly at "four years in seven...
the Constitution's meaning and what they hoped the Constitution would achieve. The preamble was mainly written by Gouverneur Morris, a Pennsylvania delegate...
Continental Army. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The bloodiest battle of the American Civil...
Constitution of the United States began on May 25, 1787, when the Constitutional Convention met for the first time with a quorum at the Pennsylvania State...
seizure in Pennsylvania is controlled by both the United States Constitution and the broader protections of the PennsylvaniaConstitution. This article...
elections. (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 761–764). Article V, section 4 of the 1968 PennsylvaniaConstitution created the Commonwealth Court. Acts enacted in 1970 set up the...
American Revolution. Mifflin signed the United States Constitution, was the first governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1790 to 1799, and was also the state's...
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 60, no. 1 (1936): 5. Powell, John H. "John Dickinson and the Constitution." The Pennsylvania Magazine...
the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure...
in Pennsylvania is government below the state level in Pennsylvania. There are six types of local governments listed in the PennsylvaniaConstitution: county...
a new constitution. Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787, the second state to do so after Delaware. The Constitution took effect...