1. The Texas Constitution
Chapter 21
The Texas Constitution
American Government
2006 Edition
(to accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions)
O’Connor and Sabato
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2. Roots of the Texas Constitution
Texas has had several written constitutions.
1836
1845
1861
1866
1869
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3. The 1836 Texas Constitution
Prior to its independence, Texas was governed as part of Mexico.
The 1824 Constitution of Mexico established a federal republic and provided that each state should write its own constitution in 1827.
Texas and Coahuila established a constitution in 1827.
Texas declared independence in 1836.
Republic of Texas
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4. The 1836 Texas Constitution
Contained a declaration of rights
Created a bicameral Congress
House and Senate whose members were popularly elected
Exercised powers similar to those of the U.S. Congress
Executive branch included a president and vice president
Judiciary consisted of courts at four levels: justice, county, district, and supreme courts.
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5. The 1836 Texas Constitution
Included a preamble and
Incorporation of a separation of powers combined with checks and balances
Recognition of slavery
Definition of citizenship that precluded Africans, the descendents of Africans, and Indians
A Bill of Rights
Adult male suffrage
An amending process
Very complex
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6. The 1845 Texas Constitution
A new constitution was necessary when Texas ceased to be an independent republic and joined the United States.
June 1845 — President Anson Jones
Meeting to discuss annexation
Drew up new state constitution which was ratified in October 1845
Texas was the 28th state to join the U.S.
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7. The 1845 Texas Constitution
Noted as an extremely good constitution
Straightforward, simple form
Created a bicameral legislature (House and Senate) that met every two years
Governor served a two year term
Limited to serving no more than 4 years in any six-year period.
Appointed Attorney General and Secretary of State
General Provisions: longest article
Limited legislatures powers
Created a public school system
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8. The 1866 Texas Constitution
When Texas reentered the union after the Civil War, presidential Reconstruction required certain changes to the state’s charter.
Acceptance of abolition of slavery
Also added series of narrowly adopted amendments
Governor’s term increased to 4 years
Governor prohibited from serving more than 8 years in a 12-year period
Governor given a line-item veto
Salaries increased
Only white men could serve in the legislature
State supreme court extended to 5 judges; elected to 10 year terms
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9. The 1869 Texas Constitution
Congress ended Reconstruction in 1867
More requirements were placed on Texas’s readmission
Texas required to have another constitutional convention with delegates elected by all male citizens over age 21 regardless of color or previous condition of servitude
Texas required to write a new state constitution that would provide for universal adult male suffrage
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10. The 1869 Texas Constitution
When this new constitution was written and the state had ratified the 14th Amendment, their case for readmission would be considered.
Convention broke up in confusion
45 delegates of 90 delegates signed a partially assembled constitution
Military officers gathered the materials together and in July 1869 voters approved the convention’s proposals
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11. Congress ended Reconstruction in 1867
More requirements were placed on Texas’s readmission
Texas required to have another constitutional convention with delegates elected by all male citizens over age 21 regardless of color or previous condition of servitude
Texas required to write a new state constitution that would provide for universal adult male suffrage
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12. The Current Texas Constitution
Party politics led to a special legislative session to assemble a constitutional convention in 1875.
76 Democrats and 14 Republicans were elected delegates.
Wide range of affiliations, occupations
Considered equal to the task of constitution making
Why is the 1876 Constitution considered quite different from its predecessors?
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13. Articles of the Texas Constitution
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14. Reasons for the 1876 Constitution
A reaction to Reconstruction
1869 constitution made many Texans angry
1869 constitution had led to Governor E.J. Davis’s regime
Power had been centralized in the state government
Enabling Act
Education policies in the administration had led to rising costs in property taxes
Movement in the 1870s calling for a politics of substantive issues and restrictive constitutionalism
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15. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
Currently has 17 articles.
Article 13 , Spanish and Mexican Land Titles, was deleted in 1969.
16 operable articles
Many in the original; others have been amended extensively
Statutory constitution
Creating the structure and powers of government in great detail
Different from the U.S. Constitution which is a liberal constitution, it establishes the basic structure and principles of government.
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16. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
Article 1 contains the Texas Bill of Rights.
Longer than the U.S. Bill of Rights and in some respects more extensive.
Article 2 establishes a separation of powers.
Prohibits an individual from holding positions in more than one branch simultaneously
Article 3 establishes the legislative branch, specifying its structure and powers.
Article 4 establishes the executive branch.
Retained the line-item veto
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17. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
Article 5 created a judicial system that included a supreme court, a court of appeals, district courts, county courts, commissioners courts, and justice of the peace courts.
Article 7 created a public school system that different dramatically from the system created by the Davis administration.
Article 9, the Counties article, contains no information about the structure of county government and its officials. This is found in Article 5.
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18. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
The constitution mandates a balanced budget.
Except for war or insurrection, debt is prohibited
Provides for dedicated funds – money to be used only for specified purposes
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19. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
Article 17 establishes the process for amending the Texas Constitution, limiting it to only one method.
Amendments proposed by joint resolution, which must receive a two-thirds vote by each chamber
Secretary of state must issue a statement that describes the proposed amendment
Statement must be approved by the attorney general and published twice in Texas newspapers that print official state notices
Ratification of a proposed amendment requires a simple majority of those who actually cast ballots in an election
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20. Provisions of the 1876 Constitution
By 2004, the Texas Constitution had been amendment 432 times in only 128 years.
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21. Criticism of the 1876 Constitution
One of the longest constitutions in the country
Amending process increased length and also created disorganization and confusion
Plural executive
Part-time legislature
Dedicated funds and specific prohibited activities limit ability to react to social and economic changes
Structure of Texas judiciary and method of selecting judges
Severe restrictions on local governments
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22. Constitution Revision
Piecemeal revision
Constitutional revision through constitutional amendment that add or delete items
In Texas, many piecemeal revisions motivated by attempts at comprehensive reform
Comprehensive revision
Constitutional revision through the adoption of a new constitution
1974 Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Revision Commission established in 1973
Adjourned without producing a new constitution
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23. Committees of the 1974 Constitutional Convention
Substantive Committees
Procedural Committees
Finance
Rules
Local Government
Administration
Education
Submission and Transition
Legislature
Style and Drafting
Judiciary
Public Information
General Provisions
Executive
Rights and Suffrage
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24. Constitution Revision
Why did the constitutional convention fail to produce a constitution?
The legislature was the constitutional convention.
The failure involved the decision rules used in the convention, especially the two-thirds rule.
Third reason for failure, and the single most important policy issue, was right-to-work.
There was also a lack of exceptional political leadership.
Finally, there were those who acted as obstructionists (cockroaches). In addition, there were revisionists, who opposed the constitutional revision because it did not go far enough.
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25. Constitution Revision
The 1975 Constitutional Amendments
8 Amendments taken from the 1974 convention
Rejected by voters.
Reasons for rejection?
Preceded by the Sharpstown political scandal and Watergate
Texans feared that the new constitution would make government too powerful
Particular concern over state income tax
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26. 1999 Constitutional Revision Effort
Proposed by Rep. Rob Junell and Sen. Bill Ratliff
Created a true chief executive
Simplified the judiciary
Definition of an efficient system of public education
Authorization of statewide property tax
Never considered
Texas Constitution remained unchanged
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