The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas and enumerates the basic rights of its citizens. The current document was adopted on February 15, 1876, and is the seventh constitution in Texas history. The previous six were adopted in 1827 (while Texas was still part of Mexico and half of the state of Coahuila y Tejas), 1836 (the Constitution of the Republic of Texas), 1845 (upon admission to the United States), 1861 (at the beginning of the American Civil War), 1866 (at the end of the American Civil War), and 1869. Texas constitutional conventions took place in 1861, 1866, 1868–69, and 1875.Spaw, Patsy McDonald (1990). The Texas Senate: Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889. Texas A&M University Press. .
The constitution is the second-longest state constitution in the United States (exceeded only by the Constitution of Alabama) and is also the third-most amended state constitution (only the Alabama and California constitutions have been amended more often)."Number of state constitutional amendments in each state". Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute. From 1876 to 2024 (following the 88th Legislature), the Texas Legislature proposed 714 constitutional amendments. Of that total, 530 were approved by the electorate, 181 were defeated, and 3 never made it on the ballot."Constitutional Amendments". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Texas Legislature. Retrieved September 26, 2024. Most of the amendments are due to the document's highly restrictive nature: the constitution stipulates that the state of Texas has only those powers explicitly granted to it; there is no counterpart of the federal Necessary and Proper Clause.
As with many state constitutions, it explicitly provides for the separation of powers and incorporates its bill of rights directly into the text of the constitution (as Article I). The bill of rights is considerably lengthier and more detailed than the federal Bill of Rights, and includes some provisions not included in the federal Constitution.
Articles of the Texas Constitution of 1876
Preamble
Article 1: "Bill of Rights"
Article 1 of the Texas Constitution serves as its bill of rights. Originally composed of 29 sections, five additional sections have since been added. Several of these provisions outline specific, fundamental limitations on the power of the state government. Importantly, the protections offered by the Texas Bill of Rights apply solely to actions by the Texas government. However, many protections found in the U.S. Constitution are also applied to state governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Differences with the U.S. Bill of Rights While the Texas Bill of Rights includes many rights similar to those found in the U.S. Bill of Rights, it is notably more detailed and contains several provisions that are unique to Texas.
Section 6-a mentions the state of Texas does not have the right to prohibit or limit any assembly of people who congregate and exercise their right to religious freedom. (Added, November 2, 2021). Section 11d states that bail will be denied by judges in cases of violent and/or sexual offence cases where clear evidence shows that the person in question poses a danger or may be a flight risk.
Section 12 recognizes the writ of habeas corpus as an unqualified right and prohibits its suspension under any circumstances. This differs from the U.S. Constitution, which allows suspension “in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion when the public safety may require it.” Section 21 prohibits both corruption of blood and forfeiture of estates, including in cases of suicide. This expands upon the U.S. Constitution's Article III, Section 3, which limits such forfeitures to only during the life of the person convicted. Section 34 protects the right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, subject to regulations intended for wildlife conservation. The section explicitly clarifies that it does not alter any laws relating to trespassing, property rights, or eminent domain. Section 37 recognizes parental rights over their children in cases of care, custody, and control over said child's upbringing and rights for overall decisions made on behalf of the child at the parent's discretion.
Invalidated sections
Section 32, added in 2005, prohibited state recognition of same-sex marriage. This section became legally unenforceable following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. Section 4 prohibits religious tests for public officeholders,"Constitution of the State of Texas" (PDF). tlc.texas.gov. Texas Legislative Council. yet it includes language requiring officeholders to “acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.” While this section has not been invalidated by the Texas Legislature or directly overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, it may be legally vulnerable under federal precedent. A similar clause was struck down in Silverman v. Campbell in South Carolina.
Other rights
Section 11 guarantees that individuals detained before trial are eligible for bail by sufficient sureties, with exceptions for capital offenses and other limited circumstances defined by law.
Article 2: "The Powers of Government" Article 2 provides for the separation of powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the state government, prohibiting any branch from encroaching on the powers of the others.
Article 3: "Legislative Department" Article 3 vests the legislative power of the state in the "Legislature of the State of Texas", consisting of the state's Senate and House of Representatives. It also lists the qualifications required of senators and representatives and regulates many details of the legislative process. The article (the longest in the constitution) contains many substantive limitations on the power of the legislature and a large number of exceptions to those limitations (notably in Sections 49-52 which discuss state limitations on debts, credit pledges, and grants, and limitations on sub-level governments for the same).
Two-thirds (2/3) of the elected members in either chamber constitutes a quorum to do business therein (Section 10), contrary to the provision for the United States Congress requiring only a majority (this larger requirement has resulted in occasions where a significant number of members from one political party, in an attempt to stop legislation, have in the past left the state so as to deny a quorum). A smaller number in each chamber is empowered to adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.
As with the United States Constitution, either house may originate bills (Section 31), but bills to raise revenue must originate in the House of Representatives (Section 33).
Section 39 allows a bill to take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature if the bill passes both chambers by a two-thirds vote, unless otherwise specified in the bill. If the bill does not pass by this majority it takes effect on the first day of the next fiscal year (in Texas, the fiscal year runs from September 1 until the following August 31).
The largest Section within this article is Section 49 ("State Debts"), which includes 30 separate sub-sections (including two sub-sections both added in 2003 and both curiously numbered as "49-n", along with two other sub-sub-sections numbered "49-d-14"). Section 49 limits the power of the Legislature to incur debt to only specific purposes as stated in the Constitution; in order to allow the Legislature to incur debt for a purpose not stated numerous amendments to this section have had to be added and voted upon by the people.
In addition, Section 49a requires the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to certify, prior to the Legislature entering into its regular session, the amount of available cash on hand and anticipated revenues for the next biennium (officially titled the "Biennial Revenue Estimate" or "BRE"; the biennium covers the next two fiscal years beginning on September 1 of odd-numbered years and ending August 31 two years later); no appropriation may exceed this amount (except in cases of emergency, and then only with a four-fifths vote of both chambers), and the Comptroller is required to reject and return to the Legislature any appropriation in violation of this requirement.
Section 49-g (one of two such sections numbered as such, the other—now repealed—dealt with funding for the later-cancelled Superconducting Supercollider Project) created the state's "Rainy Day Fund" (technically called the "Economic Stabilization Fund").
Article 4: "Executive Department" Article 4 describes the powers and duties of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Attorney General. With the exception of the Secretary of State the above officials are directly elected in what is known as a "plural executive" system. (Although the Texas Agriculture Commissioner is also directly elected, that is the result of Legislative action, not a Constitutional requirement.)
The qualifications of the Governor of Texas is that he is at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, and had resided in the State for at least five years preceding his election. The Governor is prohibited from holding any other office, whether civil, military or corporate, during his tenure in office, nor may he practice (or receive compensation for) any profession.
The Governor is the "Chief Executive Officer of the State" and the "Commander in Chief of the military forces of the State, except when they are called in actual service of the United States". He is vested with power to call forth the Militia, convene the Legislature for special session in extraordinary occasions, to execute the laws of the State, and to fill up vacancies not otherwise provided for by law, if consented to by two-thirds of the Senate. The Governor has a qualified negative on all bills passed by the Legislature, which may be overridden by two-thirds of both Houses of the Legislature by votes of the yeas and nays. Finally, the Secretary of State (who has the constitutional duty of keeping the Seal of the State) is appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
All commissions are signed by the Governor, being affixed with the State Seal and attested to by the Secretary of State.
Under Section 16 of this article, the Lieutenant Governor automatically assumes the power of Governor if and when the Governor travels outside of the state, or is subject to impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives.
Article 5: "Judicial Department"
Article 5 describes the composition, powers, and jurisdiction of the state's Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and District, County, and Commissioners Courts, as well as the Justice of the Peace Courts.
Article 6: "Suffrage" Article 6 denies voting rights to minors, felons, and people who are deemed mentally incompetent by a court (though the Legislature may make exceptions in the latter two cases). It also describes rules for elections.
Qualified voters are, except in treason, felony and breach of peace, privileged from arrest when attending at the polls, going and returning therefrom.
Article 7: "Education" Article 7 establishes provisions for public schools, asylums, and universities. Section 1 states, "it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools". This issue has surfaced repeatedly in lawsuits involving the State's funding of education and the various restrictions it has placed on local school districts.