The PA Council of Censors

THE CENSORIAL SYSTEM

The framers of the 1776 Pennsylvania constitution did not trust solely to "a mere demarcation on parchment of the constitutional limits of the several departments of government" to protect the people against oppression and tyranny. They introduced a special organ of government for this purpose, called the council of censors. The censors were charged with the duties of inquiring whether the constitution had been preserved inviolate, and whether the government had performed their duties properly without assuming unconstitutional powers. They were also to inquire whether the public taxes had been justly levied and collected, in what manner they had been spent, and whether the laws had been duly executed. They were empowered to send for persons, papers, and records, to pass public censures, to order impeachments, and to recommend to the legislature the repeal of such laws as should appear to them to have been enacted contrary to the principles of the constitution. Furthermore, they were empowered to call by a two-thirds vote a constitutional convention to amend any article of the constitution which might be defective, explain such as might be thought not clearly expressed, and add such as might be necessary for the preservation of the rights and happiness of the people.

The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 has been described as the most democratic in America and was authored primarily by Timothy Matlock, Dr. Thomas Young, George Bryan, James Cannon, and Benjamin Franklin.

Innovations of the 1776 Constitution

The 1776 Constitution contained five of the six points of the Penn's Charter over 50 years before it was written. Some of the radical innovations included:

A judiciary appointed by the legislature for seven-year terms, and removable at any time.

The provision that all legislation should be held until the next session of Assembly, so that the people of the state could assess the utility of the proposed law.

A Council of Censors (elected every seven years) to conduct an evaluation of the activities. They could "censure" actions by the government deemed to have violated the constitution. The Council of Censors was the only body with the authority to call a convention to amend the constitution.

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