Texas Constitution

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, 1876, is the current constitution of Texas. It is the one of the longest state constitutions in the United States, and one of the oldest still in effect. It has been criticized as being one of the most chaotic state constitutions in the United States. This criticism is supported by the fact that it has been amended over four hundred times. Because of this, 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 One

Describes the state's relationship with the United States, guarantees the people a republican form of government, and describes the rights of the people.

Article Two

Provides for the separation of the powers of the government.

Article Three

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.

Article Four

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

Article Five

Decribes the composition, powers, and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the District, County, and Commissioners Courts, and the Justice of the Peace Courts.

Article Six

Describes the qualifications for suffrage.

Article Seven

Establishes provisions for public schools, asylums, and universities.

Article Eight

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

Article Nine

Provides rules for the creation of counties and determining the location of county seats.

Article Ten

Establishes rules concerning railroads.

Article Eleven

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

Article Twelve

Establishes rules for private corporations.

Article Thirteen

Establishes provisions for Spanish and Mexican land titles. This article was repealed in 1959.

Article Fourteen

Makes rules for land grants.

Article Fifteen

Describes the process of impeachment and lists grounds on which to impeach judges.

Article Sixteen

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

Article Seventeen

Describes the procedure for amending the constitution.

References

Hill, John L. (1976). Constitution of the State of Texas. Austin: [Office of the Attorney General of Texas].

* Includes the text of the constitution as of November 2, 1976, along with a brief informational introduction.

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