Chapter 21

The Texas Constitution

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

American Government: Continuity and Change9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato

Roots of the Texas Constitution

Texas has had several written constitutions. 1836 1845 1861 1866 1869

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

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

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

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.

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

The 1861 Texas Constitution

Texas seceded from the U.S. in February 1861 (Civil War)

Convention to transition Texas into the Confederacy Replace the 1845 constitution Deleted provision that provided for the

emancipation of slaves But other provisions regarding slaves

and slave trade were not incorporated

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

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

Convention wrote a partially assembled constitution and it was approved by voters.

Met the requirements of congressional Reconstruction Extended the term of senators to 6 years Increased the governor’s salary and allowed the governor to appoint the

attorney general and secretary of state Reduced judicial offices and their terms Created a strong and expensive state government

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?

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

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 Liberal constitution

Incorporates the basic structure of government and allows the legislature to provide the details through statutes

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

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

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.

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

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.

Provisions of the 1876 Constitution

By 2006, the Texas Constitution had been amendment 439 times in only 130 years.

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 Limits the executive power of the governor to implement

policy Part-time legislature with low salary 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

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

Comprehensive Revision Effort

The 1974 Constitutional Convention Constitutional Revision Commission

Group established to research and draft a constitution for a constitutional convention

Started with great expectations Adjourned without producing a new

constitution

Comprehensive Revision Efforts 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 the right-to-work provision.

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.

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

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

The Texas Marriage Amendment