The initial terms of office of members of the House of Delegates selected from other districts shall begin 20 days after the date of certification of their election and shall expire on the second Monday in January of the first odd-numbered year following their election; except that if this provision would result in a term shorter than one year, their terms shall expire on the second Monday in January of the third odd-numbered year following their election. The (B) Governor and Lieutenant Governor. terms of office of the first Governor and the first Lieutenant Governor shall begin 20 days after certification of their elections and shall expire on the second day of January following the date of the next Presidential election. If this provision would result in terms shorter than one year, their terms shall expire on the second day of January of the year after the second Presidential election year following their election. (C) Holdover Term for Mayor. If the first election for Governor of the State has not been held by the date that the State comes into being, or if for any other reason a Governor cannot assume office on that date, the Executive power of the State shall be . exercised temporarily by the person last elected as Mayor of the District of Columbia prior to the effective date of this Section of the Constitution. If (D) Holdover Terms for Council Members. the first election for State Delegates has not been held by the date that the State comes into being, or if for any other reason the members of the House of Delegates cannot assume office on that date, the legislative power of the State shall be exercised temporarily by the persons last elected as members of the Council of the District of Columbia prior to the effective date of this Section of the Constitution. - (E) No Interim Elections. No new election for Mayor or Council shall be held after this Section of the Constitution becomes effective. If such an election would ordinarily be scheduled between the date when this Article of the Constitution becomes effective and the date when the other Articles of the Constitution become effective, the Mayor and the Council shall hold over. (F) Eligibility for Re-election. - The first term of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall count as a fuli term for the purposes of determining eligibility for re-election only if it is of four-year duration or longer. Section 4. Judiciary and Other Officers (A) Judges. The Chief Judge and Associate Judges of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia on the date when this Section enters into force shall become the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the State. The Chief Judge and Associate Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on that date shall become the Chief Judge and Associate Judges of the Superior Court of the State. At the general election held in the final year of their terms, such Judges shall be subject to retention or rejection by the voters in accordance with the provisions of Article IV. Retired Judges of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia and of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia shall become Retired Justices of the Supreme Court of the State and Retired Judges of the Superior Court of the State, respectively. They may be assigned by the Chief Justice for temporary service. (B) Judicial Nomination Commission. of seven of the members first appointed to the Judicial Nomination Commission shall be shorter than six years, as provided by law, so that terms of members will expire on a staggered basis. The Governor of the State and the Board of Governors of the United State Bar shall determine, for their initial appointments, which appointees shall serve which terms. (C) Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure. The persons first selected as members of the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure shall begin to serve their terms upon the expiration of the terms of corresponding incumbent members of the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure established by Section 431 of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Reorganization Act (Dec. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 792). (D) Marshals. - By agreement between the State and the United States, the United States Marshal may provide services to the courts of the State until the State has appointed its own officers to provide these services. (E) Other Officers. - Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all other officers filling any office by election or appointment shall continue to exercise their duties, according to their respective commission or appointments, until their offices shall have been abolished or their successors have assumed .office. Section 5. Existing Laws, Rights, and Proceedings (A) Laws and Regulations. All laws and regulations of the District of Columbia not inconsistent with this Constitution shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation or are amended or repealed. (B) Congressional Legislation. Legislation passed by Congress applicable only to the District of Columbia and not inconsistent with this Constitution is hereby adopted as state law, subject to amendment or repeal by the House of Delegates. 11 (C) Legal Continuity. All existing writs, actions, suits, judicial and administrative proceedings, civil or criminal liabilities, prosecutions, judgments, sentences, orders, decrees, appeals, causes of action, contracts, claims, demands, titles, and rights shall continue unaffected except as modified in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. The State shall be the legal successor to the District of Columbia in all matters. (D) Residence and Qualifications. Residence, citizenship, or other qualifications under the District of Columbia may be used toward the fulfillment of corresponding qualifications required by this Constitution. (E) Debts, Assets, and Records. and liabilities of the District of Columbia, as of the date that the State comes into being, shall be assumed by the State, and debts owed to the District of Columbia shall be collected by the State. Assets and records of the District of Columbia shall become the property of the State. Section 6. United States Senators and Representatives (A) - Senators-Elect and Representatives Elect. The Senators-elect and Representatives-elect chosen by the people prior to admission of the State to the Union shall serve as United States Senators and Representatives in Congress until their successors have assumed office. (B) First Elections. New elections for these offices shall be held at the first general election which occurs in an even-numbered year after this Constitution becomes effective. - At that (C) Staggered Terms for Senators. time, one Senator shall be elected for the long terr and one Senator for the short term. Each term shall begin on the third day of the following January and shall expire on the third day of January in an oddnumbered year to be determined by authority of the United States. Section 7. Agencies with Federally Appointed Officers Boards, commissions, or other agencies of the District of Columbia, the duties of which are consistent with this Constitution and the membership of which includes persons who hold office because they also hold or were appointed by persons who hold federal office, shall continue to function without those federally appointed officers. No vacancies shall be deemed to be created by the abolition of the federal positions. Section 8. Transfer of Matters to the Attorney General Upon assuming office, the Attorney General of the State shall assume control of all matters formerly handled by the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia. When the Attorney General is prepared to handle legal matters of the type previously handled by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, the Attorney General shall arrange with the United States Attorney for the orderly transfer of such matters to the office of the Attorney General. The House of Delegates may limit the time within which matters shall be transferred. The Attorney General may agree with the United States Attorney to enable the United States Attorney to continue to handle any case or category of cases, including any case arising after this Constitution becomes effective, so that responsibility over these matters is transferred in an orderly manner. To facilitate continuity, the Attorney General may also agree to permit the United States Attorney to complete any case. Until a matter is transferred at the request of the Attorney General, it may be handled by the United States Attorney as if it had been transferred to the Attorney General. Section 9. Amendments Before the Constitution After the voters have approved it and before Article XVII enters into force, amendments to this Constitution may be adopted by the voters of the District of Columbia after affirmative recommendation by a District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention or by a two-thirds vote of the Council of the District of Columbia. This Section shall take effect when the Constitution is approved by the voters. |