ARTICLE XX: CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

Section 1: Civil Service. The legislature shall provide for a non-partisan and independent civil service with the duty to establish and administer personnel policies for the Commonwealth Government. The Commission shall be composed of seven members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Six members shall serve a term of six years, staggered in such manner that the term of one member expires each year, and one member shall serve a term of four years expiring concurrently with the term of the governor. Members of the civil service commission may be removed only for cause. The commission's authority shall extend to positions other than those filled by election or by appointment of the governor in the departments and agencies of the executive branch and in the administrative staffs of the legislative and judicial branches. Exemption from the civil service shall be as provided by law, and the commission shall be the sole authority authorized by law to exempt positions from civil service classifications. Appointment and promotion within the civil service shall be based on merit and fitness demonstrated by examination or by other evidence of competence.