Opinion ID: 1915326
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Are the Separation of Powers Amendments Self-Executing?

Text: Article 5 of the Rhode Island Constitution states that [t]he powers of the government shall be distributed into three separate and distinct departments: the legislative, executive and judicial. Article 3, section 6 of the Rhode Island Constitution provides in part: No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he or she was elected, be appointed to any state office, board, commission or other state or quasi-public entity exercising executive power under the laws of this state, and no person holding any executive office or serving as a member of any board, commission or other state or quasi-public entity exercising executive power under the laws of this state shall be a member of the senate or the house of representatives during his or her continuance in such office. [9] Article 9, section 5 provides: The governor shall, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all officers of the state whose appointment is not herein otherwise provided for and all members of any board, commission or other state or quasi-public entity which exercises executive power under the laws of this state; but the general assembly may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they deem proper, in the governor, or within their respective departments in the other general officers, the judiciary or in the heads of departments. In determining whether or not a particular constitutional provision is self-executing, we have found it helpful to begin by considering the standard so cogently enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in its much-cited opinion in the case of Davis v. Burke, 179 U.S. 399, 21 S.Ct. 210, 45 L.Ed. 249 (1900): A constitutional provision may be said to be self-executing if it supplies a sufficient rule by means of which the right given may be enjoyed and protected, or the duty imposed may be enforced; and it is not self-executing when it merely indicates principles, without laying down rules by means of which those principles may be given the force of law.    In short, if complete in itself, it executes itself. Id. at 403, 21 S.Ct. 210 (internal quotation marks omitted). [10] We are of the opinion that article 3, section 6 and article 9, section 5 are self-executing. Both article 3, section 6 and article 9, section 5 in effect constitute rules that endow general separation of powers principles with the force of law. These two provisions are manifestly more than mere aspirational statements of general constitutional principles; they neither explicitly mandate nor inherently require further legislative action for them to become fully effective. Article 3, section 6 clearly prohibits sitting legislators from serving on administrative entities that exercise executive power; it is complete in itself. Likewise, article 9, section 5 provides a brief, though no less complete, description of the appointment power now vested in the Governor and the means by which the chief executive may exercise that power. For these reasons, both provisions should be considered to be self-executing.