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We, the citizens of the New Hampshire Boys State, in order to from a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the New Hampshire Boys State.
Section 1. All
legislative powers shall be vested in a Legislature of New Hampshire Boys State
which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Section 2. The citizens of
Section 3. Both bodies in the
Legislature shall choose their respective officers, who shall herein be listed
in the article, by majority vote of the body's members who are registered
voters. If a vacancy shall arise in any officer's position, the body shall
immediately elect a replacement from among its members.
Section 4. The House of
Representatives shall elect a Speaker of the House who shall be its primary
officer, preside over meetings, as well as joint sessions of the legislature.
The Senate shall elect a President of the Senate who shall be its primary
officer and preside over meetings.
Section 5. The House and Senate
shall have a clerk who is appointed by the presiding officer. The clerk shall
be responsible for writing down the minutes of the meetings, keeping official
copies of all bills considered by the body, and keep a journal of the
proceedings in the House or Senate and may make this journal public to any
citizen of
Section 6. The House shall have
the sole power to bring all impeachments by a 2/3 vote. No impeachment shall be
brought before the House except for a gross violation of this Constitution.
Section 7. No individual may
simultaneously hold more than one elected office. Should the situation arise
that a person is elected to a second office, he must resign from the first.
In the case of a tie in either legislative house, the presiding officer shall
cast the tie-breaking vote.
Section 8. All bills raising
revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. The Senate may make
amendments to any bill previously passed by the House. The House may make
amendments to any bill previously passed by the Senate. The amended bill must
then be adopted by the originating house.
Section 9. Every bill which has
passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives by a simple majority
shall then be presented to the Governor of Boys State. If the Governor concurs
with the bill, he may sign it and it will become law. If he does not concur
with the bill, he may veto the bill and send an explanation of his veto to the
Legislature along with the bill. If the Legislature still desires the bill to
become law, they may override the veto of the Governor, after a motion to
reconsider, by a 2/3 majority vote of the members of the House and the Senate,
each body being considered separately.
Section 1. The
chief executive of
The elected positions of Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, District
Councilmen and Councilmen At-large shall be nominated for the general election
in primaries run in each political party. District Councilmen nominees must be
from their respective districts. In the general election a simple majority
shall be required for nominees to be elected to their respective positions.
Should the governor for any reason leave office, the immediate successor shall
be the Speaker of the House, followed by the President of the Senate. Should
the Secretary of State or Treasurer leave office the Governor shall appoint
replacements. If any At-large Councilmen leave office, elections shall be held
as soon as possible. Vacancies in the District Councilmen position shall be
filled by another district member who has been voted in by the respective
district.
The Governor shall hold the power to veto any bill or section of a bill passed
by the Legislature. However, the Legislature may override a veto by a 2/3 vote
from both houses.
The inaugural oath for all State elected positions shall be as follows:
"I, ________, being of sound mind and body, swear before God that I shall
faithfully execute the office of _________ and shall to the full extent of my
faculties, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of New Hampshire Boys
State. So help me God."
Section 2. During his term in
office, the Governor shall prepare and present three speeches. Immediately upon
inauguration he shall give before a joint session of legislature his inaugural
address. Another joint session shall be called at a later date and the Governor
shall give a "State of the State" address in which he informs the
citizens on the progress made by the government. His final speech shall be made
at a graduation where he will outline the week's
Section 1. For
the purpose of establishing law and order in the
Section 2. To ensure fairness, the
Judiciary Council will consist of five justices, who will be nominated by the
Governor and approved by the Executive Council and approved by a simple
majority in the Senate. The Chief Justice will be chosen by a vote in the
Judiciary Council.
Section 3. The role of the Chief
Justice is to oversee the impeachment of the Governor should there by a 2/3
vote in the House of Representatives to begin a trial. The trial is to be held
in the Senate, presided over by the Chief Justice. The Senate shall have the
sole power to try all impeachments. No impeached elected official shall be
removed except by a 2/3 vote in the Senate.
Section 1. All
changes and subsequent amendments to this document require a 2/3 vote in the
positive from both the House and the Senate, or ratification from 3/4 of the
residents of all cities and towns of
Section 2. Any member of both the
House and the Senate shall make no law restricting the rights of the citizens
to make amendments to this document.
Section 1. The
two thirds majority of both Houses of the Legislature, shall be sufficient for
the establishment of this Constitution between the cities and towns of
Below are the signatures of the heads of state affirming the decision to ratify the New Hampshire Boys State Constitution on the ninth day of July in the year of our LORD two thousand and four.
1. All citizens
are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech, religion, and expression.
2. All citizens are guaranteed the
right to vote, so long as they are properly registered.
3. All citizens are guaranteed the
right to due process of law and trial by their peers in cases of infraction.
4. No discrimination by any
individual or body based upon race, sex, creed, political alignment, or other
social standing against any party may be permitted.
5. Any rights not explicitly
claimed by the
Jon Daniel Lavalee, Governor
William Long, Speaker of the House
Tyler Hitter, President of the Senate
David Shepard, Secretary of State
Eric Cornelius, Treasurer
Stanley Steers, Executive Council District 1
Carleton Hanson, Executive Council District 2
Alexander Vadney, Executive Council District 3
Aaron Weinstein, Executive Councilor At-large
Anton Vorsteveld, Executive Councilor At-large