Provisions
IV of 1801 • Assembly, how constituted.
APPROVED
The Text
1801 Constitutional Amendment I [Assembly reorganized.]:
That the number of the members of the assembly hereafter to be elected shall be one hundred, and shall never exceed one hundred and fifty.
1801 Constitutional Amendment II [Apportionment of new assembly.]:
That the legislature, at their next session, shall apportion the said one hundred members of the assembly among the several counties of the state, as nearly as may be, according to the number of electors which shall be found to be in each county by the census directed to be taken in the present year.
1801 Constitutional Amendment IV [Future apportionments of legislature.]:
That from the first Monday in July next, and on the return of every census thereafter, the number of the assembly shall be increased at the rate of two members for every year, until the whole number shall amount to one hundred and fifty; and that upon the return of every such census, the legislature shall apportion the senators and members of the assembly amongst the great districts and counties of this state, as nearly as may be, according to the number of their respective electors; Provided, that the legislature shall not be prohibited by anything herein contained, from allowing one member of assembly to each county, heretofore erected within this state.
The full provision includes both the amendment and the text it amends – NY Constitution 1777, Article IV:
That the assembly shall consist of at least seventy members, to be annually chosen in the several counties, in the proportions following, vis.:
For the city and county of New York – Nine.
The city and county of Albany – Ten.
The county of Dutchess – Seven.
The county of Westchester – Six.
The county of Ulster – Six.
The county of Suffolk – Five.
The county of Queens – Four.
The county of Orange – Four.
The county of Kings – Two.
The county of Richmond – Two.
The county of Tryon – Six.
The county of Charlotte – Four.
The county of Cumberland – Three.
The county of Gloucester – Two.
A Few Facts
• Joined the Constitution in 1801
• In Article IV:
• Has 344 words
• Was proposed by the Constitutional Convention
• Was adopted without a vote
• Changed the text of a previously existing provision
• Amends or builds on:
◦ 1777-IV
Credits
We did lots of research to publish this data, and we're updating the records to let you know where we got it. Check back soon for our sources!