General Provisions, Vermont Constitution

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The General Provisions part of the Vermont Constitution contains twelve sections.

Section 60

	Text of Section 60: Legislature Restricted No person ought in any case, or in any time, to be declared guilty of treason or felony, by the Legislature, nor to have his sentence upon conviction for felony commuted, remitted, or mitigated by the Legislature.

Section 61

Text of Section 61: Offices of Profit; Compensation; Illegal Fees As all persons of full age, to preserve their independence (if without a sufficient estate) ought to have some profession, calling, trade, or farm, whereby they may honestly subsist, there can be no necessity for, nor use in, establishing offices of profit, the usual effects of which are dependence and servility, unbecoming free citizens, in the possessors or expectants, and faction, contention and discord among the people. But if any person is called into public service to the prejudice of that person's private affairs, the person has a right to a reasonable compensation; and whenever an office through increase of fees or otherwise, becomes so profitable as to occasion many to apply for it, the profit ought to be lessened by the Legislature. And if any officer shall wittingly and wilfully, take greater fees than the law allows, it shall ever after disqualify that person from holding any office in this State, until the person shall be restored by act of legislation.

Section 62

	Text of Section 62: Record of Deeds All deeds and conveyances of lands shall be recorded in the Town Clerk's office in their respective towns; and, for want thereof, in the County Clerk's office in the same county.

Section 63

	Text of Section 63: Entails to Be Regulated The Legislature shall regulate entails in such manner as to prevent perpetuities.

Section 64

Text of Section 64: Punishment at Hard Labor To deter more effectually from the commission of crimes, by continued visible punishments of long duration, and to make sanguinary punishments less necessary, means ought to be provided for punishing by hard labor, those who shall be convicted of crimes not capital, whereby the criminal shall be employed for the benefit of the public, or for the reparation of injuries done to private persons: and all persons at proper times ought to be permitted to see them at their labor.

Section 65

Text of Section 65: Suicide's Estate Not Forfeited; no Deodand The estates of such persons as may destroy their own lives, shall not, for that offense, be forfeited, but shall descend or ascend in the same manner as if such persons had died in a natural way. Nor shall any Article which shall accidentally occasion the death of any person, be deemed a deodand, or in any wise forfeited on account of such misfortune.

Section 66

Text of Section 66: Citizenship Every person of good character, who comes to settle in this State, having first taken an oath or affirmation of allegiance to the same, may purchase, or by other just means acquire, hold and transfer land or other real estate; and after one year's residence shall be deemed a free denizen thereof, and entitled to all rights of a natural born subject of this State, except those privileges, the right to which is herein elsewhere determined, and except also that such person shall not be capable of being elected Treasurer, or Representative in Assembly, until after two years' residence, nor be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant-Governor until the person shall have resided in this State as required by section 23 of this Constitution.

Section 67

	Text of Section 67: Hunting; Fowling and Fishing The inhabitants of this State shall have liberty in seasonable times, to hunt and fowl on the lands they hold, and on other lands not inclosed, and in like manner to fish in all boatable and other waters (not private property) under proper regulations, to be made and provided by the General Assembly.

Section 68

Text of Section 68: Laws to Encourage Virtue and Prevent Vice; Schools; Religious Activities Laws for the encouragement of virtue and prevention of vice and immorality ought to be constantly kept in force, and duly executed; and a competent number of schools ought to be maintained in each town unless the general assembly permits other provisions for the convenient instruction of youth. All religious societies, or bodies of people that may be united or incorporated for the advancement of religion and learning, or for other pious and charitable purposes, shall be encouraged and protected in the enjoyment of the privileges, immunities, and estates, which they in justice ought to enjoy, under such regulations as the general assembly of this state shall direct.

Section 69

Text of Section 69: Charters, Limit on Right to Grant No charter of incorporation shall be granted, extended, changed or amended by special law, except for such municipal, charitable, educational, penal or reformatory corporations as are to be and remain under the patronage or control of the State; but the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for the organization of all corporations hereafter to be created. All general laws passed pursuant to this section may be altered from time to time or repealed.

Section 70

	Text of Section 70: Workers' Compensation The General Assembly may pass laws compelling compensation for injuries received by employees in the course of their employment resulting in death or bodily hurt, for the benefit of such employees, their widows, widowers or next of kin. It may designate the class or classes of employers and employees to which such laws shall apply.

Section 71

	Text of Section 71: Declaration of Rights Not to Be Violated The Declaration of the political Rights and privileges of the inhabitants of this State, is hereby declared to be a part of the Constitution of this Commonwealth; and ought not to be violated on any pretense whatsoever.

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

• Vermont State Legislature, "Constitution of Vermont"
• Vermont Archives.org, "Vermont Republic Constitution, 1777"
• Vermont Archives.org, "1786 Constitution"
• Vermont Archives.org, "1793 Constitution"

Additional reading

• Hill, William C. (2011). The Vermont State Constitution, New York, New York: Oxford University Press
• Hill, William C. (1992). The Vermont State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing
• Vermont.gov, "Old Constitution Books"
• Vermont SOS, "Publications"
• Digital Collections at Middlebury College, "Vermont Constitutions"