New York State Constitutional Conventions and Constitutional History

The Constitutional History of New York: This five-volume set by Charles Z. Lincoln, published in 1905, is a fundamental resource for NYS constitutional history from the beginning of the colonial period to 1905. Volume 1 includes the text of the first Constitution of New York (1777), the second Constitution of New York (1821), and the third Constitution of New York (1846). Volume 4 includes the text of the Constitution of the State of New York as revised in 1894 with the amendments of 1899, 1901 and 1905. Volume 5 includes a general index, index of persons and table of cases, as well as, tables of statutes held to be constitutional and unconstitutional. Charles Lincoln was a member of the New York Constitutional Convention of 1894 and chairman of the Statutory Revision Commission from 1895 -1900.

Documents from the 1821 Constitutional Convention

• A Report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention of the State of New York
• Documents, committee reports etc. [New York State Constitutional Convention, 1821]
• Journal of the Convention of the State of New York, 1821
• Reports of the Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of 1821. - Pgs-1-371 (official version)
•  Reports of the Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of 1821. - Pgs-372-703 (official version)

Documents from the 1846 Constitutional Convention

• Debates and proceedings in the New-York state convention, for the revision of the Constitution
•  Documents of the convention of the state of New York, 1846 - 1846_vol 1
• Documents of the convention of the state of New York, 1846 - 1846_vol 2
• Journal of the convention of the State of New York : begun and held at the Capitol in the city of Albany, on the first day of June, 1846 - 1846_vp1
• Journal of the convention of the State of New York : begun and held at the Capitol in the city of Albany, on the first day of June, 1846 - 1846_vp2
• Manual for the use of the Convention to revise the constitution of the state of New York, convened at Albany, June 1, 1846. Prepared pursuant to order of the Convention, by the secretaries, under supervision of a select committee
• Report of the debates and proceedings of the convention for the revision of the constitution of the state of New York. 1846 - 1846

Documents from the 1915 Constitutional Convention

• Calendars of the Constitutional convention of the state of New York, 1915, begun and held at the Capitol in the city of Albany on Tuesday the sixth day of April
• City and county government
• Convention manual of procedure, forms and rules for the regulation of business in the seventh New York State Constitutional Convention, 1915. A manual for the use of the delegates
• Documents of the Constitutional convention of the state of New York, 1915, begun and held at the Capitol in the city of Albany on Tuesday the sixth day of April
• Exercises in commemoration of the seven hundredth anniversary of Magna charta
• Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the state of New York, 1915 : begun and held at the Capitol in the city of Albany on Tuesday the sixth day of April
• New York Constitutional Convention index : a complete record of all proposed amendments introduced in the Convention beginning April 6, 1915
• New York state constitution annotated - p1
• New York state constitution annotated - p2
• The Constitution and government of the State of New York : an appraisal : transmitted to the New York State Constitutional Convention
• The Constitution of the State of New York adopted November 6, 1894, as amended and in force April 6, 1915
• The government of the City of New York
• The revision of the state constitution: a collection of papers, addresses and discussions presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, November 19 and 20, 1914 - p1
• The revision of the state constitution: a collection of papers, addresses and discussions presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, November 19 and 20, 1914 - p2

Constitutional Convention of 1938

New York State Constitutional Convention Committee. [Reports] 1938: The New York State Constitutional Convention Committee was established by Governor Lehman as "an unofficial committee, non-partisan and non-political in character and in motive, to undertake and direct the preparation and publication of accurate, thorough, and … impartial factual studies on the important phases of government, certain to be considered at the Constitutional Convention." The reports of the Constitutional Committee, commonly known as the Poletti Report, were prepared prior to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1938 and printed as a series of twelve volumes. These volumes were intended to serve as research and background information for the delegates of the Convention so that the delegates were prepared "to discharge their duties wisely, deliberately and without waste of time and money."

Volumes 1-5 are general reference volumes and were prepared by staff of the Law Revision Commission, the research staff of the NYS Commission on the Revision of the Tax Laws and others. Volumes 6-11 are the studies and reports of the six sub-committees of the Constitutional Convention Committee. The volumes are:

• volume 1: New York State Constitution annotated;
• volume 2: Amendments proposed to New York Constitution, 1895-1937;
• volume 3: Constitutions of the states and United States;
• volume 4: State and local government in New York;
• volume 5: New York City government: functions and problems;
• volume 6: Problems relating to Bill of Rights and general welfare;
• volume 7: Problems relating to legislative organization and powers;
• volume 8: Problems relating to executive administration and powers;
• volume 9: Problems relating to judicial administration and organization;
• volume 10: Problems relating to taxation and finance;
• volume 11: Problems relating to home rule and local government and
• volume 12: General Index.

All online documents from the 1938 Constitutional Convention

• New York State Constitutional Convention... V11: Problems Relating to Home Rule and Local Government.
• New York State Constitutional Convention... V12: General Index
• New York State Constitutional Convention... V5: New York City Government Functions and Problems.
• New York State Constitutional Convention... V8: Problems Relating to Executive Administration and Powers.
• Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the state of New York commemorative of the life and public service of Elihu Root held at the Capitol, Monday, June 6, 1938

Constitutional Convention of 1967

The New York State Constitutional Convention of 1967 was held in Albany from April 4 - September 26, 1967. The proposed Constitution was submitted to the voters on November 7, 1967 at a general election. All of the 1967 Convention's proposals were rejected by the people. The State Library has digitized the following official publications of the 1967 Convention:

• Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York, April fourth to September twenty-sixth, 1967: This 12-volume set includes the journal, record, propositions and documents of the 1967 Constitutional Convention. Volume 11 of the Proceedings is a collection of 60 documents; Volume 12 is an index to the Proceedings.
• Reports Nos. 1-16 (Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention)
• Rules of the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention and Pertinent Resolutions and Statues.

All online documents from the 1967 Constitutional Convention

• New York State Constitutional Convention: Delegates 1967
• Official text of proposed constitution of the State of New York, to be submitted to the electors of the State on November 7, 1967
• Position paper of Louis J. Lefkowitz, attorney general, to the Constitutional Convention, Committee on the Executive Branch, in support of the proposition that the present constitutional provision for the election of the attorney general should be retained.
• Rules of the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention : and pertinent resolutions and statutes, 1967.
• The Lieutenant Governor : staff report, July 18, 1967

The 1967 Convention was the last State Constitutional Convention held in New York State to date. New Yorkers voted against calling a constitutional convention in 1977, in 1997 and in 2017.

Documents from the Temporary State Commission on Constitutional Revision (1994)

• The delegate selection process. (1994)
• The New York State Constitution : a briefing book.