PS 205: Michigan Constitution Questions Some hints: The goal is to familiarize you with the constitution by giving you

particular things to look for. You are not expected to read the full Constitution. Use the table of contents at the front to help you scan for things that might help you answer these questions. Do read the short, friendly introduction that provides a brief history of the Constitution. It will help you with at least one question. 1What in the MI constitution is relevant to daily life? (This is a broad question to come back to after you have spent some time playing with the constitution. After looking through the constitution, it seems like most of it deals only indirectly with daily life. What I mean by this is that it dictates what you can't do. It also lays down the basic foundations for the structures of society, but doesn't really filter down to the individual. You don't really notice all the things that are in the contitution. 2Has MI adopted a new constitution since the original? Yes. Michigan has had 4 constitutions in total. The first was adopted in Detroit in the year 1835, two full years before Michigan became a state. The next two constitutions were adopted in 1850 and 1907, both in the city of Lansing. The most recent constitution of Michigan was adopted on April 1, 1963, again in Lansing, and became effective on the 1st of January in 1964. 3What provisions exist in the MI Constitution regarding: 4Sales tax The Michigan constitution states that no tax may be imposed on prescription drugs for human consumption or food that is not intended for immediate consumption. Also, the state cannot impose a sales tax for retailers that is more than 4% of their gross taxable sales of tangible personal property. There is also a section describing an additional 2% sales tax imposed on retailers of which the proceeds would go to the State school aid fund. 5Income tax The constitution forbids the state of Michigan or any of its subdivisions from imposing an income tax.

6Death Penalty The constitution strictly forbids the use of the death penalty under any circumstances. 7Abortion The Michigan Constitution does not say anything about abortion specifically. 8Definition of marriage Marriage is described by the Michigan constitution as being the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose. This, in effect, bans gay marriage constitutionally. 9National guard All that is stated regarding the national guard is that the state has the right to organize a militia which shall be organized, equipped and disciplined as provided by law. 10International relations (maybe powers of the Governor?) I could not find anything in the Michigan constitution specifically about international relations. 11Identify at least one provision in the constitution that interests you. Read it, explain it, and explain what you think is interesting/significant about it. One of the most interesting provisions is the Equal Protection and discrimination. The provision essentially states that everyone is equal under law, that no one should be discriminated against, and so on. The interesting part is the very specific groups that are outlined as being protected by this provision. The provision states that no one should be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of religion, race, color or national origin. This conspicuously leaves out sexual orientation, and although it is not particularly surprising I think it's interesting because it sheds some light on how abstract the notions of equality are here in the US.

12One the last page of her article Challenges Facing State Constitutions in the Twenty-First Century, Ann Lousin outlines four provisions that she thinks state constitutions should contain. How do you think the MI Constitution does with her provisions? The Michigan constitution does have a Bill of Rights, with 27 provisions. Whether or not this constitutes a STRONG bill of rights is debatable, as it does seem like the provisions in the Bill of Rights are among the shortest and vaguest in the constitution. Despite this, however, it seems to succeed in the second provision, regarding elections. This section has twice as many provisions as the bill of rights does, and the language used in this section is much more specific. Another provision proposed by the author was that a constitution should consolidate power into the state government in order to reduce the number of local districts. Most of the provisions in the constitution regarding local government deal specifically with budget and finances, which makes it seem like the local governments have a certain amount of autonomy from the state government (not too much of course). Lastly, there does not seem to be much adaptation as the author calls for in regards to the loss of revenue due to the internet.