Constitution of Texas


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, 1836, 1845, 1861, 1866, and 1869. Texas constitutional conventions took place in 1861, 1866, 1868–69, and 1875.
The constitution is the second-longest state constitution in the United States and is also the third-most amended state constitution. From 1876 to 2024, 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. 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. 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"

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..
  • 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, 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"

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"

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 contains many substantive limitations on the power of the legislature and a large number of exceptions to those limitations.
Two-thirds of the elected members in either chamber constitutes a quorum to do business therein, contrary to the provision for the United States Congress requiring only a majority. 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, but bills to raise revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.
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.
The largest Section within this article is Section 49, which includes 30 separate sub-sections. 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 ; no appropriation may exceed this amount, and the Comptroller is required to reject and return to the Legislature any appropriation in violation of this requirement.
Section 49-g created the state's "Rainy Day Fund".

Article 4: "Executive Department"

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.
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 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 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"

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"

denies voting rights to minors, felons, and people who are deemed mentally incompetent by a court. 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"

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.
This Article also discusses the creation and maintenance of the Permanent University Fund and mandates the establishment of "a University of the first class" to be called The University of Texas, as well as "an Agricultural, and Mechanical department" ; it also establishes Prairie View A&M University in Section 14. The University of Texas was originally created in the Constitution of 1858, and Texas A&M University was created from the Morrill Act. In 1915 and 1919, Constitutional Amendments were proposed to separate the two university systems, although both failed.