California Resources

California has had two Constitutions. The first Constitution of California was ratified on November 13, 1849, prior to California's admittance into the Union in 1850. California's current constitution was ratified on May 7, 1879 and has been amended over 480 times.

Current Constitution

The Constitution is grouped into subject matter areas known as Articles. Each Article is organized by a heading and section numbers. The Constitution of California may be found in the following sources:

• In print: West's Annotated California Codes, Call Number: State 1st Floor KFC30.5 .W4. (Canceled in 2014 at Law Library). Located in volumes 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 2A and 3 entitled "Constitution."
• In print: Deering;s California Codes Annotated, Call Number: State 1st Floor KFC30.5 .D4 C665. (Currently updated at Law Library). Four volumes entitled "Constitution." Deering's is arranged alphabetically.
• California Legislative Information. Hosted by the State of California Office of Legislative Counsel, this unannotated version provides access to the Constitution through Keyword and Table of Contents search methods.
• California Statutes & Court Rules on Westlaw (annotated): Includes Constitution of the State of California 1879 and Constitution of 1849 the State of California with Amendments (Superseded by Constitution of 1879)
• Constitution of the State of California on Lexis (annotated)
• California Constitution on Bloomberg Law (annotated)

The annotated formats provide supplemental notes, historical materials, case law and encyclopedia references to assist in explaining the text of Constitution.

Historic Constitutions

• The Federal and State Constitutions. Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America v.1 (1906), Francis Newton Thorpe, ed.  Includes: Treaty with Mexico ceding California 1848, Constitution of California 1849, Act for Admission of California 1850, Constitution of California 1879.
• The Genesis of California's First Constitution, 1846-49 (1895), by Rockwell Dennis Hunt.  A 19th century legal treatise that provides a detailed account of the legal status of California from the American conquest to the adoption of the Constitution.
• The Establishment of State Government in California, 1846-1850 (1914), by Cardinal Leonidas Goodwin. This treatise details the years preceding, during and immediately following the ratification of California‰s first Constitution. Includes an index and bibliography.
• Constitution of the State of California (1894), annotated by W.F. Henning. Includes: Constitution of California 1849, Constitution of California 1879.
• Constitution of the State of California (1899), annotated by W.F. Henning. Includes: Constitution of California 1849, Constitution of California 1879.
• Constitution of the State of California: Adopted in Convention at Sacramento, March 3, 1879 (4th ed. 1916), Edward F. Treadwell, ed.
• HeinOnline: State Constitutions Illustrated: California (1813 - )

Print Historic Constitutions

• West's Annotated California Codes, Call Number: State 1st Floor KFC30.5 .W4. Located in vol. 3.
• Constitution of the State of California, Annotated (Bancroft-Whitney Company), Call Number: State 1st Floor KFC30.5 .D4 C665 1981.Part of Deering's California Codes Annotated, located in fourth vol, entitled "Constitution Article XIII-End."
• The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide, by Joseph R. Grodin, Calvin R. Massey, Richard B. Cunningham, Call Number: State 1st Floor KFC 680 1879 .A6 G76 1993.
• William Finely Swindler, Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions (1973-1979), Call Number: State 1st Floor KF4530 .S94. California documents, including a comparative outline of California Constitutions, bibliography and index are in volume 1.
• Constitution of the State of California (various editions at the Law Library).
• More Law Library books on the constitutional history of California.

First Convention:

• Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1849. California Secretary of State. California State Archives has PDF versions of the state constitution in both English and Spanish accessible through its web site. Documents that are not available electronically include: the Engrossed copy of the Constitution; the Journal of the Convention Assembled to Frame a Constitution for the State of California, which is a handwritten record of convention proceedings; and Constitutional Convention Papers.
• Report of the Debates in the Convention of California, on the formation of the state constitution, in September and October, 1849 (1850), by J(ohn) Ross Browne. Proceedings of California's first Constitutional Convention.
• The Genesis of California's First Constitution (1846-49) (1895), by Rockwell Dennis Hunt. Chapter II elaborates on the "Desire for Organized Government, and Congressional Failure," Chapters III and IV discuss the Constitutional Convention to its completion.
• The Establishment of State Government in California, 1846-1850 (1914), by Cardinal Leonidas Goodwin. Chapter IV elaborates on the "Call and Organization of the Convention," Chapters V through XI elaborate on the topics discussed during the first Constitutional Convention.
• California Legal History: The California Constitution of 1849. Article by Myar K. Saunders, appearing in 90 Law Library 447 (Summer 1998), that looks at the historical background of the California Constitution of 1849 and the provisions that show the conflict between Anglo-American and Spanish-Mexican legal traditions. The appendix contains annotated bibliographical references to resources on the Constitution, primary and secondary source materials and memoirs and correspondence written during and about the convention.

Second Convention:

• Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the State of California, Convened at the City of Sacramento, Saturday, September 28, 1878 (1880). A 3 volume record of the second Constitutional Convention in 1879.
• In print: Motivation and Political Technique in the California Constitutional Convention, 1878-79 (1930), Call Number: Stacks JK8725 1879 .S82. An analysis of the social and political factors that shaped the creation of California's second state constitution.

• HeinOnline: State Constitutions Illustrated: California (1813 - )
• LLMC Digital: California Historical Constitutional Materials (1830 - 1881)

For provision-by-provision commentary on the state's constitution with analysis of the state's current constitution and its evolution, see Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States. Editions held by the Law Library will be found in the catalog, including those published under a former series title.