20 Constitution of 1876
Texas Democrats gained control of Congress in 1873 and decided it was time to draft a new constitution for Texas. The Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 met in Austin with the purpose of replacing the Constitution of 1869- it was believed that the new constitution should restrict the state government and hand the power back to the people. Some examples of how the government was restricted were[1]:
- Legislative sessions moved from annual to biennial sessions
- Creation of a plural executive
- Mandated a balanced budget
- State Judges would be elected by the people
- The people would vote on the ratification of amendments
The structure of the current constitution of Texas (Constitution of 1876) is a Preamble, 17 Articles, and 491 Amendments (Since 2015)[2]. The Texas Constitution does not contain a “necessary and proper clause” like the U.S. Constitution, therefore making it the second longest state constitution in America (2nd only to Alabama’s).
- Article 1: Bill of Rights
- Similar civil liberties and civil rights as in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights
- Article 2: The Powers of the Government
- Establishes three branches of government with separation of powers
- Article 3: Legislative Department
- Specifics about the Texas Legislator
- Article 4: Executive Department
- Specifics about the plural executive
- Article 5: Judicial Department
- Specifics about the Texas Judicial system
- Article 6: Suffrage
- Forbids the following from voting:
- any non US citizen
- any non-registered Texas voter
- any convicted felon who has not completed their sentence
- any person deemed mentally incompetent by the courts
- Forbids the following from voting:
- Article 7: Education
- Mandates an “efficient” free public school system
- Established the Permanent School Fund
- Article 8: Taxation and Revenue
- Places limits on the raising and spending of public funds
- Article 9: Counties
- Authorizes the Texas Legislature to create county governments
- Article 10: Railroads
- Regulated the railroad system
- Article 11: Municipal Corporations
- Specifics regarding local governments, including empowering them to tax, and how to charter cities
- Article 12: Private Corporations
- Specifics regarding private businesses, including how they would be regulated
- Article 13: Spanish and Mexican Land Titles
- Specifics on what which land with previous claims would become state property
- Article 14: Public Lands and Land Office
- Established the Land Office which regulated land titles
- Article 15: Impeachment
- Specifics on how to remove a public official from office
- Article 16: General Provisions
- Miscellaneous regulations i.e. forbid Congress from printing money, forbid U.S. public officials from holding a state office
- Article 17: Mode of Amending the Constitution of this State
- 2/3rds proposal from Congress
- Registered voters vote on approval, and with a majority vote the amendment is ratified
The entire Texas Constitution can be accessed at http://www.constitution.legis.state.tx.us/