The Proposed Constitution of 1933

by John L. Sanders, Director of the Institute of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A significant effort at general revision of the Constitution was made in 1931-33. A Constitutional Commission created by the General Assembly of 1931 drafted and the General Assembly of 1933 approved a revised Constitution. Blocked by a technicality raised in an advisory opinion of the State Supreme Court, the proposed Constitution of 1933 never reached the voters for approval. It would have granted the Governor the veto power; given to a l Judicial Council composed of all the judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts power to make all rules of practice and procedure in the courts inferior to the Supreme Court; required the creation of inferior courts by general laws only; removed most of the limitations on the taxing powers of the General Assembly; required the General Assembly to provide for the organization and powers of local governments by general law only; established an appointive State Board of Education with general supervision over the public school system; and set forth an enlightened policy of state responsibility for the maintenance of educational, charitable, and reformatory institutions and programs.

Several provisions of the proposed Constitution of 1933 were later incorporated into the Constitution by individual amendments, and to a limited extent it served as a model for the work of the 1957-59 Constitutional Commission.

Between the mid-1930's and the late 1950's, greater receptiveness to Constitutional change resulted in amendments authorizing the classification of property for taxation; strengthening the limitations upon public debt; authorizing the General Assembly to enlarge the Supreme Court, divide the State into judicial divisions, increase the number of Superior Court judges, and create a Department of Justice under the Attorney General; enlarging the Council of State by three members; creating a new, appointive State Board of Education with general supervision of the schools; permitting women to serve as jurors; transferring the Governor's power to assign judges to the Chief Justice and his parole power to a Board of Paroles; permitting the waiver of indictment in non-capital cases; raising the compensation of the General Assembly and authorizing legislative expense allowances; increasing the general purpose property tax levy limitation and the maximum income tax rate; and authorizing the closing of public schools on a local option basis and the payment of educational expense grants in certain cases.

The increased legislative and public willingness to accept Constitutional change between 1934 and 1960 resulted in 32 Constitutional amendments being ratified by the voters while only six were rejected.