New York Constitution - 1967 Convention

1967 Convention

In the 1960s, demand grew for a new Constitution. Thus, 1965, the State Legislature put the question to the voters on the holding of a constitutional convention in 1967. The voters approved. A committee was established to gather information for the Convention. In 1966, 186 people were elected to become members in the Convention. Unlike all the other Conventions, the candidates for membership ran in partisan elections, which the Democrats won a majority of. The Convention was chaired by Anthony Travia, the Speaker of the State Assembly.

Proposed changes included:

• Expansion of citizens' rights
• Repealing of the Blaine Amendment, which prohibited the State from funding parochial schools
• State takeover of costs for the court system, and the administration of welfare programs
• Allowing the legislature to incur debt without referendum
• The addition of a "statute of restrictions", or "two-part constitution", whereby a short Constitution would be enacted, and other provisions would be placed in a separate document that differed from normal statute as it took two years to amend.

The proposed changes were bundled into one document, and were met with stiff opposition. Thus, in November 1967, the voters rejected the new Constitution, with no county voting in favor.