Article V, Minnesota Constitution

Minnesota Constitution
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Article V of the Minnesota Constitution is entitled Executive Department and consists of seven sections.

Section 1

	Text of Section 1: Executive Officers The executive department consists of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, and attorney general, who shall be chosen by the electors of the state. The governor and lieutenant governor shall be chosen jointly by a single vote applying to both offices in a manner prescribed by law.

Amendments

• Amended with the approval of Minnesota Abolish Office of State Treasurer, Amendment 3 (1998) on November 3, 1998.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Term of Governor and Lieutenant Governor; Qualifications The term of office for the governor and lieutenant governor is four years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. Each shall have attained the age of 25 years and, shall have been a bona fide resident of the state for one year next preceding his election, and shall be a citizen of the United States.

Section 3

Text of Section 3: Powers and Duties of Governor The governor shall communicate by message to each session of the legislature information touching the state and country. He is commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces and may call them out to execute the laws, suppress insurrection and repel invasion. He may require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to his duties. With the advice and consent of the senate he may appoint notaries public and other officers provided by law. He may appoint commissioners to take the acknowledgment of deeds or other instruments in writing to be used in the state. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. He shall fill any vacancy that may occur in the offices of secretary of state, auditor, attorney general and the other state and district offices hereafter created by law until the end of the term for which the person who had vacated the office was elected or the first Monday in January following the next general election, whichever is sooner, and until a successor is chosen and qualified.

Amendments

• Amended with the approval of Minnesota Abolish Office of State Treasurer, Amendment 3 (1998) on November 3, 1998.

Section 4

	Text of Section 4: Terms and Salaries of Executive Officers The term of office of the secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor is four years and until a successor is chosen and qualified. The duties and salaries of the executive officers shall be prescribed by law..

Amendments

• Amended with the approval of Minnesota Abolish Office of State Treasurer, Amendment 3 (1998) on November 3, 1998.

Section 5

Text of Section 5: Succession to Offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor In case a vacancy occurs from any cause whatever in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor shall be governor during such vacancy. The compensation of the lieutenant governor shall be prescribed by law. The last elected presiding officer of the senate shall become lieutenant governor in case a vacancy occurs in that office. In case the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the same devolves on the lieutenant governor. The legislature may provide by law for the case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the governor and lieutenant governor to discharge the duties of governor and may provide by law for continuity of government in periods of emergency resulting from disasters caused by enemy attack in this state, including but not limited to, succession to the powers and duties of public office and change of the seat of government.

Section 6

	Text of Section 6: Oath of Office of State Officers Each officer created by this article before entering upon his duties shall take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States and of this state and to discharge faithfully the duties of his office to the best of his judgment and ability.

Section 7

	Text of Section 7: Board of Pardons The governor, the attorney general and the chief justice of the supreme court constitute a board of pardons. Its powers and duties shall be defined and regulated by law. The governor in conjunction with the board of pardons has power to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction for an offense against the state except in cases of impeachment.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Minnesota State Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota"
• Minnesota Secretary of State, "Amendments to Minnesota's Constitution proposed to the voters since 1858"
• Minnesota Historical Society, "Minnesota's Constitution(s)"
• Minnesota Statutes, "161.114 Constitutional trunk highways"
• Minnesota Legislative Manual 1973–74

Additional reading

• Morrison, Mary Jane (2002). The Minnesota State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press
• MinnPost, "An interactive history of constitutional amendments in Minnesota"
• Riner, Steve (2003). "Legal Basis for Establishment of Minnesota Trunk Highways". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page