Civil Government of Virginia

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The board thus constituted shall select and associate with itself
two division superintendents of schools, one from a county and the
other from a city, who shall hold office for two years, and whose
powers and duties shall be identical with those of other members,
except that they shall not participate in the appointment of any
public school official.

Any vacancy occurring during the term of any member of the board
shall be filled for the unexpired term by said board.

SEC. 131. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, who shall be
an experienced educator, shall be elected by the qualified voters
of the State at the same time and for the same term as the
Governor. Any vacancy in said office shall be filled for the
unexpired term by the said board.

His duties shall be prescribed by the State Board of Education, of
which he shall be ex-officio president; and his compensation shall
be fixed by law.

SEC. 132. The duties and powers of the State Board of Education
shall be as follows:

First. It may, in its discretion, divide the State into
appropriate school divisions, comprising not less than one county
or city each, but no county or city shall be divided in the
formation of such divisions. It shall, subject to the confirmation
of the Senate, appoint, for each of such divisions, one
superintendent of schools, who shall hold office for four years,
and shall prescribe his duties, and may remove him for cause and
upon notice.

Second. It shall have, regulated by law, the management and
investment of the school fund.

Third. It shall have authority to make all needful rules and
regulations for the management and conduct of the schools, which,
when published and distributed, shall have the force and effect of
law, subject to the authority of the General Assembly to revise,
amend, or repeal the same.

Fourth. It shall select text books and educational appliances for
vise in the schools of the State, exercising such discretion as it
may see fit in the selection of books suitable for the schools in
the cities and counties respectively.

Fifth. It shall appoint a board of directors, consisting of five
members, to serve without compensation, which shall have the
management of the State Library, and the appointment of a
librarian and other employees thereof, subject to such rules and
regulations as the General Assembly snail prescribe; but the
Supreme Court of Appeals shall have the management of the law
library and the appointment of the librarian and other employees
thereof.

SEC. 133. Each magisterial district shall constitute a separate
school district, unless otherwise provided by law. In each school
district there shall be three trustees selected, in the manner and
for the term of office prescribed by law.

SEC. 134. The General Assembly shall set apart as a permanent and
perpetual literary fund, the present literary fund of the State;
the proceeds of all public lands donated by Congress for public
free school purposes; of all escheated property; of all waste and
unappropriated lands; of all property accruing to the State by
forfeiture, and all fines collected for offences committed against
the State, and such other sums as the General Assembly may
apppropriate.

SEC. 135. The General Assembly shall apply the annual interest on
the literary fund; that portion of the capitation tax provided for
in the Constitution to be paid into the state treasury, and not
returnable to the counties and cities; and an annual tax on
property of not less than one nor more than five mills on the
dollar to the schools of the primary and grammar grades, for the
equal benefit of all of the people of the State, to be apportioned
on a basis of school population; the number of children between
the ages of seven and twenty years in each school district to be
the basis of such apportionment: but if at any time the several
kinds or classes of property shall be segregated for the purposes
of taxation, so as to specify and determine upon what subjects
state taxes and upon what subjects local taxes may be levied, then
the General Assembly may otherwise provide for a fixed
appropriation of state revenue to the support of the schools not
less than that provided in this section.

SEC. 136. Each county, city, town if the same be a separate school
district, and school district is authorized to raise additional
sums by a tax on property, not to exceed in the aggregate five
mills on the dollar in any one year, to be apportioned and
expended by the local school authorities of said counties, cities,
towns and district in establishing and maintaining such schools as
in their judgment the public welfare may require: provided, that
such primary schools as may be established in any school year,
shall be maintained at least four months of that school year,
before any part of the fund assessed and collected may be devoted
to the establishment of schools of higher grade. The boards of
supervisors of the several counties, and the councils of the
several cities, and towns if the same be separate schools
districts, shall provide for the levy and collection of such local
school taxes.

SEC. 137. The General Assembly may establish agricultural, normal,
manual training and technical schools, and such grades of schools
as shall be for the public good.

SEC. 138. The General Assembly may, in its discretion, provide for
the compulsory education of children between the ages of eight and
twelve years, except such as are weak in body or mind, or can read
and write, or are attending private schools, or are excused for
cause by the district school trustees.

SEC. 139. Provision shall be made to supply children attending the
public schools with necessary text-books in cases where the parent
or guardian is unable, by reason of poverty, to furnish them.

SEC. 140. White and colored children shall not be taught in the
same school.

SEC. 141. No appropriation of public funds shall be made to any
school or institution of learning not owned or exclusively
controlled by the State or some political subdivision thereof:
provided, first, that the General Assembly may, in its discretion,
continue the appropriations to the College of William and Mary;
second, that this section shall not be construed as requiring or
prohibiting the continuance or discontinuance by the General
Assembly of the payment of interest on certain bonds held by
certain schools and colleges as provided by an act of the General
Assembly, approved February twenty-third, eighteen hundred and
ninety-two, relating to bonds held by schools and colleges; third,
that counties, cities, towns, and districts may make
appropriations to non-sectarian schools of manual, industrial, or
technical training, and also to any school or institution of
learning owned or exclusively controlled by such county, city,
town, or school district.

SEC. 142. Members of the boards of visitors or trustees of
educational institutions shall be appointed as may be provided by
law, and shall hold for the term of four years: provided, that at
the first appointment, if the board be of an even number, one-half
of them, or, if of an odd number, the least majority of them,
shall be appointed for two years.

ARTICLE X.

AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION.

SEC. 143. There shall be a Department of Agriculture and
Immigration, which shall be permanently maintained at the capital
of the State, and which shall be under the management and control
of a Board of Agriculture and Immigration, composed of one member
from each congressional district, who shall be a practical farmer,
appointed by the Governor for a term of four years, subject to
confirmation by the Senate, and the president of the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute, who shall be ex-officio a member of the
board: provided, that members of the board first appointed under
this Constitution from the congressional districts bearing odd
numbers shall hold office for two years.

SEC. 144. The powers and duties of the board shall be prescribed
by law: provided, that it shall have power to elect and remove its
officers, and establish elsewhere in the State subordinate
branches of said department.

SEC. 145. There shall be a Commissioner of Agriculture and
Immigration, whose term of office shall be four years, and who
shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, and whose
powers and duties shall be prescribed by the Board of Agriculture
and Immigration until otherwise provided by law.

SEC. 146. The president of the Board of Agriculture and
Immigration shall be ex-officio a member of the Board of Visitors
of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

ARTICLE XII

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND PRISONS.

SEC. 147. There shall be a state penitentiary,--with such branch
prisons and prison farms as may be provided by law.

SEC. 148. There shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to
confirmation by the Senate, a board of five directors which,
subject to such regulations and requirements as may be prescribed
by law, shall have the government and control of the penitentiary,
branch prisons, and prison farms, and shall appoint the
superintendents and surgeons thereof. The respective
superintendents shall appoint, and may remove, all other officers
and employees of the penitentiary, branch prisons, and prison
farms, subject to the approval of the board of directors. The
superintendents and surgeons shall be appointed for a term of four
years, and be removable by the board of directors for misbehavior,
incapacity, neglect of official duty, or acts performed without
authority of law. The terms of the directors first appointed shall
be one, two, three, four, and five years respectively; and
thereafter, upon the expiration of the term of a director, his
successor shall be appointed for a term of five years.

SEC. 149. For each state hospital for the insane now existing, or
hereafter established, there shall be a special board of
directors, consisting of three members, who shall be appointed by
the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate; such board
shall have the management of the hospital for which it is
appointed, under the supervision and control of the general board
of directors hereinafter constituted. The terms of the directors
first appointed shall be two, four, and six years, respectively,
and thereafter, upon the expiration of the term of a member, his
successor shall be appointed for a term of six years.

SEC. 150. There shall be a general board of directors for the
control and management of all the state hospitals for the insane
now existing or hereafter established, which shall consist of all
the directors appointed members of the several special boards. The
general board of directors shall be subject to such regulations
and requirements as the General Assembly may from time to time
prescribe, and shall have full power and control over the special
boards of directors and all of the officers and employees of the
said hospitals.

SEC. 151. The general board of directors shall appoint for a term
of four years a superintendent for each hospital, who shall be
removable by said board for misbehavior, incapacity, neglect of
official duty, or acts performed without authority of law. The
special board of each hospital, shall, subject to the approval of
the general board, appoint for a term of four years all other
resident officers. The superintendent of each hospital shall
appoint, and may remove, with the approval of the special board,
all other employees of such hospital.

SEC. 152. There shall be a Commissioner of State Hospitals for the
Insane, who shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to
confirmation by the Senate, for a term of four years. He shall be
ex-officio chairman of the general and of each of the special
boards of directors, and shall be responsible for the proper
disbursement of all moneys appropriated or received from any
source for the maintenance of such hospitals; he shall cause to be
established and maintained at all of the hospitals a uniform
system of keeping the records and the accounts of money received
and disbursed and of making reports thereof. He shall perform such
other duties and shall execute such bond and receive such salary
as may be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE XII.

CORPORATIONS.

SEC. 153. As used in this article, the term "corporation" or
"company" shall include all trusts, associations and joint stock
companies having any powers or privileges not possessed by
individuals or unlimited partnerships, and exclude all municipal
corporations and public institutions owned or controlled by the
State; the term "charter" shall be construed to mean the charter
of incorporation by, or under, which any such corporation is
formed; the term "transportation company" shall include any
company, trustee, or other person owning, leasing or operating for
hire a railroad, street railway, canal, steamboat or steamship
line, and also any freight car company, car association, or car
trust, express company, or company, trustee or person in any way
engaged in business as a common carrier over a route acquired in
whole or in part under the right of eminent domain; the term
"rate" shall be construed to mean "rate of charge for any service
rendered or to be rendered"; the terms "rate," "charge" and
"regulation," shall include joint rates, joint charges, and joint
regulations, respectively; the term "transmission company" shall
include any company owning, leasing, or operating for hire, any
telegraph or telephone line; the term "freight" shall be construed
to mean any property transported, or received for transportation,
by any transportation company; the term "public service
corporation" shall include all transportation and transmission
companies, all gas, electric light, heat and power companies, and
all persons authorized to exercise the right of eminent domain, or
to use or occupy any street, alley or public highway, whether
along, over, or under the same, in a manner not permitted to the
general public; the term "person," as used in this article, shall
include individuals, partnerships and corporations, in the
singular as well as plural number; the term "bond" shall mean all
certificates, or written evidences, of indebtedness issued by any
corporation and secured by mortgage or trust deed; the term
"frank" shall be construed to mean any writing or token, issued
by, or under authority of, a transmission company, entitling the
holder to any service from such company free of charge. The
provisions of this article shall always be so restricted in their
application as not to conflict with any of the provisions of the
Constitution of the United States, and as if the necessary
limitations upon their interpretation had been herein expressed in
each case.

SEC. 154. The creation of corporations, and the extension and
amendment of charters (whether heretofore or hereafter granted),
shall be provided for by general laws, and no charter shall be
granted, amended or extended by special act, nor shall authority
in such matters be conferred upon any tribunal or officer, except
to ascertain whether the applicants have, by complying with the
requirements of the law, entitled themselves to the charier,
amendment or extension applied for, and to issue, or refuse, the
same accordingly. Such general laws may be amended or repealed by
the General Assembly; and all charters and amendments of charters,
now existing and revocable, or hereafter granted or extended, may
be repealed at any time by special act. Provision shall be made,
by general laws, for the voluntary surrender of its charter by any
corporation, and for the forfeiture thereof for non-user or mis-
user. The General Assembly shall not, by special act, regulate the
affairs of any corporation, nor, by such act, give it any rights,
powers or privileges.

SEC. 155. A permanent commission, to consist of three members, is
hereby created, which shall be known as the State Corporation
Commission. The commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor,
subject to confirmation by the General Assembly in joint session,
and their regular terms of office shall be six years,
respectively, except those first appointed under this
Constitution, of whom, one shall be appointed to hold office until
the first day of February, nineteen hundred and four, one, until
the first day of February, nineteen hundred and six, and one,
until the first day of February, nineteen hundred and eight.
Whenever a vacancy in the commission shall occur, the Governor
shall forthwith appoint a qualified person to fill the same for
the unexpired term, subject to confirmation by the General
Assembly as aforesaid Commissioners appointed for regular terms
shall, at the beginning of the terms for which appointed, and
those appointed to fill vacancies shall, immediately upon their
appointments, enter upon the duties of their office, but no person
so appointed, either for a regular term, or to fill a vacancy,
shall enter upon, or continue in, office after the General
Assembly shall have refused to confirm his appointment, or
adjourned sine die without confirming the same, nor shall he be
eligible for reappointment to fill the vacancy caused by such
refusal or failure to confirm. No person while employed by, or
holding any office in relation to, any transportation or
transmission company, or while in any wise financially interested
therein, or while engaged in practicing law, shall hold office as
a member of said commission, or perform any of the duties thereof.
At least one of the commissioners shall have the qualifications
prescribed for judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and any
commissioner may be impeached or removed in the manner provided
for the impeachment or removal of a judge of said court. The
commission shall annually elect one of their members chairman of
the same, and shall have one clerk, one bailiff and such other
clerks, officers, assistants and subordinates as may be provided
by law, all of whom shall be appointed, and subject to removal, by
the commission. It shall prescribe its own rules of order and
procedure, except so far as the same are specified in this
Constitution or any amendment thereof. The General Assembly may
establish within the department, and subject to the supervision
and control, of the commission, subordinate divisions, or bureaus,
of insurance, banking or other special branches of the business of
that department. All sessions of the commission shall be public,
and a permanent record shall be kept of all its judgments, rules,
orders, findings and decisions, and of all reports made to, or by,
it. Two of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business, whether there be a vacancy in the
commission or not. The commission shall keep its office open for
business on every day except Sundays and legal holidays.
Transportation companies shall at all times transport, free of
charge, within this State, the members of said commission and its
officers, or any of them, when engaged on their official duties.
The General Assembly shall provide suitable quarters for the
commission and funds for its lawful expenses, including pay for
witnesses summoned, and costs of executing processes issued, by
the commission of its own motion, and shall fix the salaries of
the members, clerks, assistants and subordinates of the commission
and provide for the payment thereof, but the salary of each
commissioner shall not be less than four thousand dollars per
annum After the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eight,
the General Assembly may provide for the election of the members
of the commission by the qualified voters of the State, in which
event, vacancies thereafter occurring shall be filled as here
inbefore provided, until the expiration of twenty days after the
next general election, held not less than sixty days after the
vacancy occurs, at which election the vacancy shall be filled for
the residue of the unexpired term

SEC 156 (a) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and to
such requirements, rules and regulations as may be prescribed by
law, the State Corporation Commission shall be the department of
government through which shall be issued all charters and
amendments or extensions thereof, for domestic corporations, and
all licenses to do business in this State to foreign corporations,
and through which shall be carried out all the provisions of this
Constitution, and of the laws made in pursuance thereof, for the
creation, visitation, supervision, regulation and control of
corporations chartered by, or doing business in, this State The
commission shall prescribe the forms of all reports which may be
required of such corporations by this Constitution or by law, it
shall collect, receive, and preserve such reports, and annually
tabulate and publish them in statistical form, it shall have all
the rights and powers of, and perform all the duties devolving
upon, the Railroad Commissioner and the Board of Public Works, at
the time this Constitution goes into effect, except so far as they
are inconsistent with this Constitution, or may be hereafter
abolished or changed by law

(b) The commission shall have the power, and be charged with the
duty, of supervising, regulating and controlling all
transportation and transmission companies doing business in this
State, in all matters relating to the performance of their public
duties and their charges therefor, and of correcting abuses
therein by such companies, and to that end the commission shall,
from time to time prescribe, and enforce against such companies,
in the manner hereinafter authorized, such rates, charges,
classifications of traffic, and rules and regulations, and shall
require them to establish and maintain all such public service,
facilities and conveniences, as may be reasonable and just, which
said rates, charges, classifications, rules, regulations and
requirements, the commission may, from time to time, alter or
amend. All rates, charges, classifications, rules and regulations
adopted, or acted upon, by any such company, inconsistent with
those prescribed by the commission, within the scope of its
authority, shall be unlawful and void. The commission shall also
have the right at all times to inspect the books and papers of all
transportation and transmission companies doing business in this
State, and to require from such companies, from time to time,
special reports and statements under oath concerning their
business, it shall keep itself fully informed of the physical
condition of all the railroads of the State, as to the manner in
which they are operated, with reference to the security and
accommodation of the public, and shall, from time to time, make
and enforce such requirements, rules and regulations as may be
necessary to prevent unjust or unreasonable discriminations by any
transportation or transmission company in favor of, or against,
any person, locality, community, connecting line, or kind of
traffic, in the matter of car service, train or boat schedule,
efficiency of transportation or otherwise, in connection with the
public duties of such company Before the commission shall
prescribe or fix any rate, charge, or classification of traffic,
and before it shall make any order, rule, regulation or
requirement directed against any one or more companies by name,
the company or companies to be affected by such rate, charge,
classification, order, rule, regulation or requirement, shall
first be given, by the commission, at least ten days' notice of
the time and place, when and where the contemplated action in the
premises will be considered and disposed of, and shall be afforded
a reasonable opportunity to introduce evidence and to be heard
thereon, to the end that justice may be done, and shall have
process to enforce the attendance of witnesses, and before the
commission shall make or prescribe any general order, rule,
regulation or requirement, not directed against any specific
company or companies by name, the contemplated general order,
rule, regulation or requirement shall first be published in
substance, not less than once a week for four consecutive weeks in
one or more of the newspapers of general circulation published in
the city of Richmond, Virginia, together with notice of the time
and place, when and where the commission will hear any objections
which may be urged by any person interested, against the proposed
order, rule, regulation or requirement, and every such general
order, rule, regulation or requirement, made by the commission
shall be published at length, for the time and in the manner above
specified, before it shall go into effect, and shall also, as long
as it remains in force, be published in each subsequent annual
report of the commission. The authority of the commission (subject
to review on appeal as hereinafter provided) to prescribe rates,
charges and classifications of traffic, for transportation and
transmission companies, shall be paramount, but its authority to
prescribe any other rules, regulations or requirements for
corporations or other persons shall be subject to the superior
authority of the General Assembly to legislate thereon by general
laws provided, however, that nothing in this section shall impair
the right which has heretofore been, or may hereafter be,
conferred by law upon the authorities of any city, town or county
to prescribe rules, regulations or rates of charge to be observed
by any public service corporation in connection with any services
performed by it under a municipal or county franchise granted by
such city, town or county, so far as such services may be wholly
within the limits of the city, town or county granting the
franchise. Upon the request of the parties interested, it shall be
the duty of the commission, as far as possible, to effect, by
mediation, the adjustment of claims, and the settlement of
controversies, between transportation or transmission companies
and their patrons

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