chapter 2 federalism and the texas constitution
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CHAPTER 2: FEDERALISM AND THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION
Brandi Dickey
Breanna Desbien
Mackenzie Daniels
Period 3
FEDERALISM IN A NUT SHELL
Federalism is a dual system where the national and
state governments share power and authority over
citizens. Because of this, states have their own
executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Federalism
allows the national level of government to give power to
states but does not allow it to be taken away that easily.
Different Types of Federalism:• Cooperative Federalism- National power increased.• New Federalism- Categorical grants decreased and
block grants became less restrictive.
Taxes are collected by
both the national and
state governments due
to Federalism. Likewise,
both work together to
implement programs
involving social services
and other things.
We live in a “constitutional
republic”. This means that
we, as a country, follow the
constitutional law. Because of
this, the use of judicial
review decides whether
decisions made by Texas (or
any other state) legislature is
constitutional.
Federalism: Shared
Powers Constitutions
FEDERALISM: CONSTITUTIONAL
RESTRICTIONS ON STATES
Federalism changed many things about how Texas ran. Many
of those changes came from the Constitutional Restrictions
placed on every state in the United States. The passage of the
Bill of Rights have contributed to state restriction
alongside limited national government power.• Article I Section 10- Prohibits States from levying taxes on
goods from other states.• Article IV- Sets boundaries and limits for how states treat
one another.• Section 1-Full Faith and Credit shall be given.• Section 2- Citizens of each state are entitled to Privileges and
Immunities given in other states.• Section 3- No new States can be created in an existing state.• Section 4- The U.S. will protect each state.
NATIONAL GAINS
The balance of power has shifted more in the favor of the
national government.
Taxing and Spending Policies cause the national
government to have more power over the states.
The Supreme Court began to use the 14th amendment (due
process and equal protection under the law) to apply the
Bill of Rights to state governments.• Example: Texas couldn’t prosecute Gregory Lee Johnson for
burning the American Flag because of the 1st amendment.
Federal Courts have jurisdiction over areas previously under
state control.
THE “NEW” NEW FEDERALISM
1995- Republican members of the House and Senate promised a
smaller scope of government. However, it didn’t reduce by much.• Devolution- The transfer of programs from the national level to
the state level.
Federal grants started to come with fewer conditions but as a
consequence, states started to have larger shares of many social
service programs.
National Government Mandates (regulations for states set
by Congress) frustrated states to a large extent.
STATE CONSTITUTIONS IN GENERAL
Most state constitutions are similar in design and
concept. They typically answer the question “Who
does what?”
Even though the U.S. typically follows
constitutional law (found in the Constitution; who
knew?), many states have a mix of constitutional
law with legislative law (bills passed by
legislature). Texas is a prime example of this.
TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS OVER THE YEARS
Texas has had seven constitutions so far.
1827- The first was created when Texas was still a part of
the Mexican Federation. In fact, Texas was joined in part with
Coahuila as one state.
1836- Between the fall of the Alamo and the victory at San
Jacinto, the constitution of the Republic of Texas was created
(modeled by that of the U.S.)
1846- Because Texas was annexed by the U.S. a new
constitution was created.
TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS OVER THE YEARS CONTINUED
1861- Texas joined the. Confederacy.
1866- Once Texas rejoined the Union after the Civil War, a
new constitution was written to make slavery illegal.
1869-The former Confederacy was divided into 5 military
districts.
1876- The Reconstruction constitution is adopted to limit
government power and reject Radical Republicanism. It is
the current constitution and has more than 80,000 words.
LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT POWER IN TEXAS’ 1876
CONSTITUTION
The Balanced Budget Provision- Limited the
state’s ability to fall into debt
Biennial Sessions Returned- This was simply
because the less time legislature is in session, the
less opportunities there are for laws to be passed.
Judicial Branches, district courts, and the
terms of judges decreased.
THE BILL OF R IGHTS IN TEXAS’ 1876 CONSTITUTION
As a response to the Davis Administration
(infamous for the implementation of alleged abuses
and the “Obnoxious Acts”), the 1876 constitution
included a Bill of Rights to protect individual
rights.• The Obnoxious Acts of the Davis Administrations
refers to when Governor E.J. Davis and the Republican legislature created a state militia and police force (including African Americans), enabled the governor to fill vacancies in political offices, and other acts found incorrigible by some citizens.
REASONS WHY TEXAS’ BILL OF RIGHTS WERE
IMPORTANT
The United State’s Bill of Rights did not go into
very much detail about the relationship between a
state and its citizens. In fact, the U.S. Bill of Rights
did not apply to state and local governments
until around 1946 (70 years after the Texas Bill of
Rights)
The Texas Bill of Rights allowed Texas to give its
citizens more protection than the U.S. constitution
stated in its Bill of Rights.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE TEXAS BILL OF
RIGHTS
Texas’ Bill of Rights is wordier than that of the U.S.
Likewise, the Texan Bill of rights has 30 provisions
while the U.S.’ Bill of Rights only has 10.
Texas’ Bill of Rights oppose monopolies and
states that citizens will not be imprisoned for
debts.
HOW TO: AMEND THE CONSTITUTION
To amend the Texas Constitution requires both the
House and Senate to approve the proposition by
two-thirds. In addition to this approval, it is
required for the amendment to be ratified by
legislature with a majority of approval from
voters.
Fun Fact: As of 2010, the Texas Constitution has
been amended 467 times.
PROSPECTS FOR REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION
There has been no serious attempt to revise the current
Constitution for Texas. This is, in part, because of the obstacles that
must be overcome before the constitution can be revised. These
obstacles include, but are not limited to:• Opposition from other groups- If the current way benefits a
group, then that group will fight to keep things the way they are..• Loss of Benefits outweigh gain of benefits- Since there is no
guarantee for the future, many people find it more worthwhile to leave things alone.
• Uncomfortable conversation- Most people don’t like change, so to talk about something so drastic and concrete scares the average citizen.
IN CONCLUSION
Since the integration of Texas into the United States, Texas
has become a lot more restricted than it had been previously.
Federalism has caused the state to lose the freedom it had as a
Republic but has given it security and protection in return. Due
to its history within the U.S. Texas has had to revise/compose
its constitution a total of seven times. The current constitution
has been around since 1876 and even though it has been
amended frequently, it has not been rewritten since then.
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