FrankGoortani/open-us-law huggingface dataset:
Ky. Const. art. I, § 87 — Article I / Section 87
Ky. Const. § 87
Status: in_force

Section 87   Who to act as Governor in absence of Lieutenant Governor and 
President of the Senate. 
 
If the Lieutenant Governor shall be called upon to administer the government in 
place of the Governor, and shall, while in such administration, resign, or die during the 
recess of the General Assembly, if there be no President of the Senate, it shall be the duty 
of the Attorney General, for the time being, to convene the Senate for the purpose of 
choosing a President; and until a President is chosen, the Attorney General shall 
administer the government. If there be no Attorney General to perform the duties 
devolved upon him by this section, then the Auditor, for the time being, shall convene the 
Senate for the purpose of choosing a President, and shall administer the government until 
a President is chosen. 
Text as Ratified on:  November 3, 1992. 
History:  1992 amendment was proposed by 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 10; original 
version ratified August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 2 — Article I / Section 2
Ky. Const. § 2
Status: in_force

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 amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 5 — Article I / Section 5
Ky. Const. § 5
Status: in_force

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 contribute to 
the erection or maintenance of any such place, or to the salary or support of any minister 
of religion; nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he 
may be conscientiously opposed; and the civil rights, privileges or capacities of no person 
shall be taken away, or in anywise diminished or enlarged, on account of his belief or 
disbelief of any religious tenet, dogma or teaching. No human authority shall, in any case 
whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 168 — Article I / Section 168
Ky. Const. § 168
Status: in_force

Section 168   Ordinance not to fix less penalty than statute for same offense -- 
Prosecution under one a bar. 
 
No municipal ordinance shall fix a penalty for a violation thereof at less than that 
imposed by statute for the same offense. A conviction or acquittal under either shall 
constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same offense. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 99 — Article I / Section 99
Ky. Const. § 99
Status: in_force

Section 99   County officers, justices of the peace, and constables -- Election -- Term. 
 
At the regular election in nineteen hundred and ninety-eight and every four years 
thereafter, there shall be elected in each county a Judge of the County Court, a County 
Court Clerk, a County Attorney, Sheriff, Jailer, Coroner, Surveyor and Assessor, and in 
each Justice's District one Justice of the Peace and one Constable, who shall enter upon 
the discharge of the duties of their offices on the first Monday in January after their 
election, and who shall hold their offices four years until the election and qualification of 
their successors. 
Text as Ratified on:  November 3, 1992. 
History:  1992 amendment was proposed by 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 15; 1984 
amendment was proposed by 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 35, sec. 1, and ratified November 6, 
1984; original version ratified August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 55 — Article I / Section 55
Ky. Const. § 55
Status: in_force

Section 55   When laws to take effect -- Emergency legislation. 
 
No act, except general appropriation bills, shall become a law until ninety days after 
the adjournment of the session at which it was passed, except in cases of emergency, 
when, by the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to each House of the 
General Assembly, by a yea and nay vote entered upon their journals, an act may become 
a law when approved by the Governor; but the reasons for the emergency that justifies 
this action must be set out at length in the journal of each House. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 235 — Article I / Section 235
Ky. Const. § 235
Status: in_force

Section 235   Salaries of public officers not to be changed during term -- Deductions 
for neglect. 
 
The salaries of public officers shall not be changed during the terms for which they 
were elected; but it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate, by a general 
law, in what cases and what deductions shall be made for neglect of official duties. This 
section shall apply to members of the General Assembly also. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 228 — Article I / Section 228
Ky. Const. § 228
Status: in_force

Section 228   Oath of officers and attorneys. 
 
Members of the General Assembly and all officers, before they enter upon the 
execution of the duties of their respective offices, and all members of the bar, before they 
enter upon the practice of their profession, shall take the following oath or affirmation: I 
do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of 
the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will 
faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of .... according to law; and I do 
further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, 
being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State 
nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, 
nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus 
offending, so help me God. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 217 — Article I / Section 217
Ky. Const. § 217
Status: in_force

Section 217   Penalties for violating Sections 213, 214, 215, or 216 -- Attorney 
General to enforce. 
 
Any person, association or corporation, willfully or knowingly violating any of the 
provisions of Sections 213, 214, 215, or 216, shall, upon conviction by a court of 
competent jurisdiction, for the first offense be fined two thousand dollars; for the second 
offense, five thousand dollars; and for the third offense, shall thereupon, ipso facto, 
forfeit its franchises, privileges or charter rights; and if such delinquent be a foreign 
corporation, it shall, ipso facto, forfeit its right to do business in this State; and the 
Attorney-General of the Commonwealth shall forthwith, upon notice of the violation of 
any of said provisions, institute proceedings to enforce the provisions of the aforesaid 
sections. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 192 — Article I / Section 192
Ky. Const. § 192
Status: in_force

Section 192   (Repealed 2002) 
 
Catchline at time of repeal:  "Corporations restricted to charter authority -- Holding 
of real estate limited." 
Repeal Ratified on:  November 5, 2002 
History:  Repeal was proposed by 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 2; original version ratified 
August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 34 — Article I / Section 34
Ky. Const. § 34
Status: in_force

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 amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 254 — Article I / Section 254
Ky. Const. § 254
Status: in_force

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, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 219 — Article I / Section 219
Ky. Const. § 219
Status: in_force

Section 219   Militia, what to consist of. 
 
The militia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall consist of all able-bodied male 
residents of the State between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such 
persons as may be exempted by the laws of the State or of the United States. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 48 — Article I / Section 48
Ky. Const. § 48
Status: in_force

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 increase them; and the whole resources of said fund, from 
year to year, shall be sacredly set apart and applied to the payment of the interest and 
principal of the State debt, and to no other use or purpose, until the whole debt of the 
State is fully satisfied. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 126 — Article I / Section 126
Ky. Const. § 126
Status: in_force

Section 126   (Repealed 1975) 
 
Catchline read at time of repeal:  "Jurisdiction of Circuit Courts." 
Repeal Ratified on:  November 4, 1975, effective January 1, 1976. 
History:  Repeal was proposed by 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 84, sec. 1; original version ratified 
August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 199 — Article I / Section 199
Ky. Const. § 199
Status: in_force

Section 199   Telegraph and telephone companies --  Right to construct lines -- 
Exchange of messages. 
 
Any association or corporation, or the lessees or managers thereof, organized for the 
purpose, or any individual, shall have the right to construct and maintain lines of 
telegraph within this State, and to connect the same with other lines, and said companies 
shall receive and transmit each other's messages without unreasonable delay or 
discrimination, and all such companies are hereby declared to be common carriers and 
subject to legislative control. Telephone companies operating exchanges in different 
towns or cities, or other public stations, shall receive and transmit each other's messages 
without unreasonable delay or discrimination. The General Assembly shall, by general 
laws of uniform operation, provide reasonable regulations to give full effect to this 
section. Nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the rights of cities or towns to 
arrange and control their streets and alleys, and to designate the places at which, and the 
manner in which, the wires of such companies shall be erected or laid within the limits of 
such city or town. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 57 — Article I / Section 57
Ky. Const. § 57
Status: in_force

Section 57   Member having personal interest to make disclosure and not vote. 
 
A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill proposed or 
pending before the General Assembly, shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is 
a member, and shall not vote thereon upon pain of expulsion. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 96 — Article I / Section 96
Ky. Const. § 96
Status: in_force

Section 96   Compensation of Constitutional State officers. 
 
All officers mentioned in Section 95 shall be paid for their services by salary, and 
not otherwise. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 50 — Article I / Section 50
Ky. Const. § 50
Status: in_force

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 levy and collect an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest stipulated, 
and to discharge the debt within thirty years; nor shall such act take effect until it shall 
have been submitted to the people at a general election, and shall have received a majority 
of all the votes cast for and against it: Provided, The General Assembly may contract 
debts by borrowing money to pay any part of the debt of the State, without submission to 
the people, and without making provision in the act authorizing the same for a tax to 
discharge the debt so contracted, or the interest thereon. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 9 — Article I / Section 9
Ky. Const. § 9
Status: in_force

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 capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public 
information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and in all indictments for libel 
the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the 
court, as in other cases. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 172A — Article I / Section 172A
Ky. Const. § 172A
Status: in_force

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 agricultural and horticultural land according to the land's value 
for agricultural or horticultural use. The General Assembly may provide that any change 
in land use from agricultural or horticultural to another use shall require the levy of an 
additional tax not to exceed the additional amount that would have been owing had the 
land been assessed under Section 172 of this Constitution for the current year and the two 
next preceding years. 
 
The General Assembly may provide for reasonable differences in the rate of ad 
valorem taxation within different areas of the same taxing districts on that class of 
property which includes the surface of the land. Those differences shall relate directly to 
differences between nonrevenue-producing governmental services and benefits giving 
land urban character which are furnished in one or several areas in contrast to other areas 
of the taxing district. 
Text as Ratified on:  November 4, 1969. 
History:  Creation proposed by 1968 Ky. Acts. ch. 103, sec. 1.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 203 — Article I / Section 203
Ky. Const. § 203
Status: in_force

Section 203   (Repealed 2002) 
 
Catchline at time of repeal:  "Liabilities under corporate franchise not released by 
lease or alienation." 
Repeal Ratified on:  November 5, 2002 
History:  Repeal was proposed by 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 2; original version ratified 
August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 89 — Article I / Section 89
Ky. Const. § 89
Status: in_force

Section 89   Concurrent orders and resolutions on same footing as bill. 
 
Every order, resolution or vote, in which the concurrence of both Houses may be 
necessary, except on a question of adjournment, or as otherwise provided in this 
Constitution, shall be presented to the Governor, and, before it shall take effect, be 
approved by him; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by a majority of the members 
elected to both Houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 263 — Article I / Section 263
Ky. Const. § 263
Status: in_force

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 taken. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 80 — Article I / Section 80
Ky. Const. § 80
Status: in_force

Section 80   Governor may call extraordinary session of General Assembly, adjourn 
General Assembly. 
 
He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly at the seat of 
government, or at a different place, if that should have become dangerous from an enemy 
or from contagious diseases. In case of disagreement between the two Houses with 
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper, not exceeding four months. When he shall convene the General Assembly it shall 
be by proclamation, stating the subjects to be considered, and no other shall be 
considered. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 244 — Article I / Section 244
Ky. Const. § 244
Status: in_force

Section 244   Wage-earners in industry or of corporations to be paid in money. 
 
All wage-earners in this State employed in factories, mines, workshops, or by 
corporations, shall be paid for their labor in lawful money. The General Assembly shall 
prescribe adequate penalties for violations of this section. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 116 — Article I / Section 116
Ky. Const. § 116
Status: in_force

Section 116   Rules governing jurisdiction, personnel, procedure, bar membership. 
 
The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe rules governing its appellate 
jurisdiction, rules for the appointment of commissioners and other court personnel, and 
rules of practice and procedure for the Court of Justice.  The Supreme Court shall, by 
rule, govern admission to the bar and the discipline of members of the bar. 
Text as Ratified on:  November 4, 1975, effective January 1, 1976. 
History:  Repeal and reenactment proposed by 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 84, sec. 1; original 
version ratified August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 142 — Article I / Section 142
Ky. Const. § 142
Status: in_force

Section 142   Justices' districts -- One Justice for each district -- Jurisdiction and 
powers of Justices -- Commissions -- Removal. 
 
Each county now existing, or which may hereafter be created, in this State, shall be 
laid off into districts in such manner as the General Assembly may direct; but no county 
shall have less than three nor more than eight districts, in each of which districts one 
Justice of the Peace shall be elected as provided in Section 99. The General Assembly 
shall make provisions for regulating the number of said districts from time to time within 
the limits herein prescribed, and for fixing the boundaries thereof. The jurisdiction of 
Justices of the Peace shall be coextensive with the county, and shall be equal and uniform 
throughout the State. Justices of the Peace shall be conservators of the peace. They shall 
be commissioned by the Governor, and shall vacate their offices by removal from the 
districts, respectively, in which they may have been elected. 
Text as Ratified on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 261 — Article I / Section 261
Ky. Const. § 261
Status: in_force

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 on:  August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. 
History:  Not yet amended.
Ky. Const. art. I, § 84 — Article I / Section 84
Ky. Const. § 84
Status: in_force

Section 84   When Lieutenant Governor to act as Governor -- President of the 
Senate not to preside at impeachment of Governor -- Certification of disability 
of Governor. 
 
Should the Governor be impeached and removed from office, die, refuse to qualify, 
resign, certify by entry on his Journal that he is unable to discharge the duties of his 
office, or be, from any cause, unable to discharge the duties of his office, the Lieutenant 
Governor shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor 
until another be duly elected and qualified, or the Governor shall be able to discharge the 
duties of his office. On the trial of the Governor, the President of the Senate shall not 
preside over the proceedings, but the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside 
during the trial. 
 
If the Governor, due to physical or mental incapacitation, is unable to discharge the 
duties of his office, the Attorney General may petition the Supreme Court to have the 
Governor declared disabled. If the Supreme Court determines in a unanimous decision 
that the Governor is unable to discharge the duties of his office, the Chief Justice shall 
certify such disability to the Secretary of State who shall enter same on the Journal of the 
Acts of the Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor shall assume the duties of the 
Governor, and shall act as Governor until the Supreme Court determines that the 
disability of the Governor has ceased to exist. Before the Governor resumes his duties, 
the finding of the Court that the disability has ceased shall be certified by the Chief 
Justice to the Secretary of State who shall enter such finding on the Journal of the Acts of 
the Governor. 
Text as Ratified on:  November 3, 1992. 
History:  1992 amendment was proposed by 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 7; original 
version ratified August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.