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The Texas Constitution is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of Texas. Texas has had six constitutions: the 1836 Constitution of the Republic of Texas, and the state constitutions of 1845, 1861, 1866, 1869, and 1876.

The 1876 constitution, which took effect on February 15, is the current constitution of Texas. Texas' Constitution is the one of the longest state constitutions in the United States, and one of the oldest still in effect. Although criticized by some observers as a chaotic constitution that has been amended more than 400 times, critics should consider the document's restrictive nature.

Almost all expansions to the authority of the state must come through constitutional amendment, not statute. This is because the constitution restricts the authority of state government to those powers specifically granted to it. There is no Necessary-and-Proper Clause to facilitate controversial legislation. However, although long and chaotic, it nowhere near approaches the size and chaos of the Alabama Constitution, which has been amended 771 times despite having been enacted 25 years after Texas' Constitution. Furthermore, Texas does not have the initiative; thus, the problems arising from the California Constitution do not apply to the Texas Constitution.

Because of the unwieldiness of the state constitution, there have been several proposals for a constitutional convention to propose a new constitution. In 1974, the Texas Legislature met in joint session as a convention, but failed to propose a new constitution. In 1975, the Legislature, meeting in regular session, revived much of the work of the 1974 convention and proposed it as a set of eight amendments to the existing constitution. All eight of the amendments were rejected by the voters. There have been several subsequent proposals to revise the constitution, but none of those efforts has been successful.

Articles of the Texas Constitution

Article 1: "Bill of Rights"

Article One is the Texas Constitution's bill of rights. The article originally contained 29 sections; since 1876, five sections have been added. Most of the article's provisions concern specific fundamental limitations on the power of the state government.

Many of the rights-related provisions of the federal constitution have counterparts in Article One. Every provision of the first ten amendments to the federal constitution—the United States Bill of Rights—has such a counterpart. Several other provisions from the main body of the federal constitution, such as its prohibitions of ex post facto laws and bills of attainder, also have counterparts. The provisions in the Texas constitution, however, are generally wordier and more particularistic than their federal counterparts.

The provisions of the Texas constitution apply only against the government of Texas. However, a number of the provisions of the federal constitution are held to apply both to the federal government and to the states. This means that the Texas courts must interpret a duplicated state provision, such as the freedom of speech, at least as broadly as the federal courts do its federal counterpart. The Texas courts may (but are not required to) interpret the state provision more broadly, ruling that it limits government power more than its federal counterpart (Braden, 1972).

Section 4 prohibits office holders from the requirements of any religious test, provided they "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being". The latter requirement, most likely, would not survive a US Constitutional challenge, and is rarely if ever enforced.

Section 32 comprises Texas' Defense of marriage amendment, adopted in November 2005.

Article 2: "The Powers of Government"

Provides for the separation of the powers of the government.

Article 3: "Legislative Department"

Describes the composition of the Legislature and the qualifications for service therein. Describes the legislative process. States the powers granted and denied to the Legislature.

Unlike the United States Constitution, which states that bills to raise revenue may originate only in the House, Section 31 states that any bill may originate in either chamber.

In addition, Section 49a requires the Comptroller of Public Accounts to certify the amount of available cash on hand and anticipated revenues for the next biennium; no appropriation may exceed this amount (except in cases of emergency and then only with a 4/5ths vote of both chambers), and the Comptroller is permitted to reject and return to the Legislature any appropriation in violation of this requirement.

Article 4: "Executive Department"

Describes the powers and duties of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comptroller of public accounts, commissioner of the general land office, and attorney general.

Article 5: "Judicial Department"

Describes the composition, powers, and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Appeals, the District, County, and Commissioners Courts, and the Justice of the Peace Courts. See Texas judicial system for comments regarding the complicated structure of the Texas court system.

Article 6: "Suffrage"

Denies voting rights to minors, felons, people who are mentally handicapped. Describes rules for elections.

Article 7: "Education"

Establishes provisions for public schools, asylums, and universities. ". . . it shall be DUTY OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools" (Article 7, Texas Constitution). This issue has surfaced in recent lawsuits involving the State's funding of education and restrictions it has placed on local school districts. This Article also discusses the creation and maintenance of the Permanent University Fund.

Article 8: "Taxation and Revenue"

Permits the Legislature to impose certain taxes and exempts certain facilities from taxation and revenue.

Texas does not have a personal income tax. In order to prevent the Legislature from unilaterally imposing such a tax, in November 1993 the voters approved an amendment (Section 24) which places restrictions on any future imposition of such a tax. The major restrictions are as follows:

  • The initial imposition of such tax must be approved by the voters in a state-wide referendum.
  • Any change in the tax (whether the rate, income levels, or otherwise) resulting in an increase to the "collective liability" of all persons subject to such tax, must also be approved by the voters.
  • Any tax, if ever approved, is limited to use in funding education.

No such restriction exists on imposition of a corporate income tax or similar tax; in May 2006 the Legislature replaced the existing franchise tax with a gross receipts tax.

Article 9: "Counties"

Provides rules for the creation of counties and determining the location of county seats. It also includes several provisions regarding the creation of county-wide hospital districts in specified counties, as well as other miscellaneous provisions regarding airports and mental health.

Article 10: "Rail Roads"

Establishes rules concerning railroads.

Article 11: "Municipal Corporations"

Recognizes counties as legal political subunits of the State, grants certain powers to cities and counties, empowers the legislature to form school districts.

Article 12: "Private Corporations"

Article 12 contains two sections directing the legislature to enact general laws for the creation of private corporations and prohibiting the creation of private corporations by special law. Four other sections were repealed in 1969 and 1993.

Article 13: "Spanish and Mexican Land Titles"

Establishes provisions for Spanish and Mexican land titles. This article was repealed in 1969.

Article 14: "Public Lands and Land Office"

Article 14 contains a single section establishing the General Land Office and the office of commissioner of the General Land Office. Six other sections were repealed in 1969.

Article 15: "Impeachment"

Describes the process of impeachment and lists grounds on which to impeach judges. The House of Representatives is granted the power of impeachment.

Article 16: "General Provisions"

Contains miscellaneous provisions, including limits on interest rates, civil penalties for murder, and the punishment for bribery.

Article 17: "Mode of amending the Constitution of this State"

Describes the procedure for amending the constitution.

Texas does not have a provision for the initiative and therefore amendments may be proposed only by the Legislature. Amendments require 2/3rds vote of both chambers (the Governor neither signs nor vetoes them) and a majority vote of the people.

References

  • Braden, George D. (1972). Citizens' guide to the Texas Constitution. Austin: Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
  • Hill, John L. (1976). Constitution of the State of Texas. Austin: of the Attorney General of Texas.
    • Includes the text of the constitution as of November 2, 1976, along with a brief informational introduction.

See also

External links

1876 in law | Government of Texas | State constitutions of the United States | Texas law

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Texas Constitution".

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