Some examples of how the government was restricted were [1] :. The structure of the current constitution of Texas Constitution of is a Preamble, 17 Articles, and Amendments Since [2]. Skip to main content. By , Reconstruction was winding to a halt, and Democrats had regained power in Texas. They seized the opportunity to undo the hated acts. The Constitutional Convention wrote a new document. In general, the new constitution reflected the lack of faith in government the delegates had formed over the Reconstruction years.
They slashed the power of officials along with their salaries and terms of office. The document was submitted to the voters and ratified the following year as the Constitution of Texas still operates under the constitution today. Article 10 of the Texas Constitution is labeled "Railroads. Article 11 of the Texas Constitution is labeled "Municipal Corporations" and consists of 13 sections, two of which have been repealed.
It recognizes counties as legal political sub-units of the state, grants certain powers to cities and counties and empowers the legislature to form school districts. Article 12 of the Texas Constitution is labeled "Private Corporations" and consists of seven sections, five of which have been repealed.
Article 13 of the Texas Constitution was repealed on August 5, Article 14 of the Texas Constitution is labeled as "Public Lands and Land Office" and consists of its eight sections, seven of which have been repealed. Article 15 of the Texas Constitution is labeled "Impeachment" and consists of nine sections. It lays out the rules under which Texas government officials can be removed from office and describes the process of impeachment. The Texas House of Representatives is granted the power of impeachment.
Article 16 of the Texas Constitution is entitled "General Provisions" and consists of 73 sections, 27 of which have been repealed and one of which has been redesignated. Miscellaneous provisions include limits on interest rates, civil penalties for murder, the punishment for bribery, prohibitions on garnishment of wages and provisions for the constitutional protection of a mechanic's lien.
Article 17 of the Texas Constitution is entitled "Mode of Amending the Constitution of This State" and consists of two sections, of which one has been repealed. It prescribes the procedure for amending the constitution. On February 15, , the current Texas state constitution took effect. This version is the state's fifth document since Texas achieved statehood. Prior to entering the United States, Texas had an additional two constitutions, the Coahuila y Tejas and the Constitution of the Republic of Texas.
The current constitution included sections organized into 17 articles when it was ratified in It substantially restricted the governor's powers and went into great detail on many relatively minor issues. This excessive detail was intended to prevent state officials from taking advantage of vague language in order to usurp local governance. It also created the state's unusual double supreme court system.
This Constitution, in greatly amended form, is still in effect today. In , a Constitutional Convention was held in order to modernize and streamline the Constitution, which was viewed as cumbersome and outdated.
However, the proposed revision failed by only 3 votes and was never submitted to the voters. The Legislature attempted to incorporate some proposals via constitutional amendments the next year, but all eight proposed amendments were defeated. Although the process did not result in a new constitution, it did leave a lasting legacy in the form of a trove of valuable research materials for constitutional scholars and historians.
Handbook of Texas article on the Constitutional Convention. In Print. A4 A1. Current and past Constitutions can be located electronically on the Tarlton Law Library website and on the Texas Legislature Online , as well as most free legal research websites.
The Texas Legislative Council publishes an updated version of the Constitution every two years on its website. Westlaw and Lexis both provide annotated versions of the Constitution; however, Westlaw's annotations are much more complete and there is an index, while Lexis' annotations are sparse and the Constitution is not indexed.
Constitutional Amendments. Amendments to the Texas constitution originate as joint resolutions in the Texas Legislature, then go to the voters for approval. As of , the current constitution has been amended times. All of these amendments, as well as those that were on the ballot but did not pass, can be found in the Texas Legislative Reference Library's searchable database of amendments.
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