The creation of the Texas constitution took many tries and many years to get the current version we have. Just like the United States Constitution, the current Texas constitution has many strengths along with many weaknesses. A constitution is supposed to be brief, give general principles, create a government framework, and give authority to specific institutions. Although the Texas Constitution has some positives, it is almost the complete opposite of what a constitution should be. Although there are many weaknesses to the Texas constitution, there are also strengths present, for it has been governing a state for almost 150 years. Just like the United States Constitution, the Texas government has three branches and a system of checks and balances to ensure that no branch becomes too powerful. Each branch must give consent to the other two on any issue, and this is a positive because it ensures that the branches will stay equal and no branch will run away and take the state out of a democracy. Another positive is that the government …show more content…
The Texas Constitution is definitely not this. It is 93,000 words with 483 amendments, and this number is continually growing. With this many words, it is obvious that the document goes into detail and is restrictive to the changing state. For example, instead of allowing the salary of members of the senate to grow with the economy, it is set at $7,200 per year. Back in the years that the constitution was written, this was an acceptable salary, if not a large one. But due to the restrictions in the Constitution, the state is not able to adapt to change as it should be able to. Salaries are not the only changes that are being hindered by the constitution. Texas started out as a rural frontier, but now it is an urban state. The current constitution is counterproductive to the current condition of the state, which causes the numerous amendments being added to
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that set outs the structure and how the government functions. This present bill was put into place on February 15, 1876, and is the seventh bill in Texas history including the Mexican Constitution. The reason Texas Constitution is so long is because Texas is one of the largest states in America and its amendments range from the proposed amendments, which range from a measure allowing El Paso County to finance parks and recreational areas, to a measure facilitating partnerships between cities, counties or government agencies, will bring the total number of amendments considered by Texas voters to 656 since the state Constitution. Political Participation is any activity that shapes, affects,
In the Texas Constitution it talks about information that just deals with Texas alone, that the U.S. Constitution doesn't have. For one, it talks about Education. Explaining how it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the state to establish and make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. The Texas Constitution also includes information about corporations, municipal and private. It has the Spanish and Mexican Land titles under it which no other state has in their constitution. And finally the Texas Constitution establishes rules concerning railroads.
The U.S. constitution and the Texas constitution have similarities and differences. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a summary of the rights given to all people. These constitutions also talk about suffrage and taxes. Just like how both of these constitutions have similarities, they also have differences. The Texas constitution is longer than the U.S. constitution and discusses the rights first. It also deals with state and local issues not brought up in the U.S. constitution. Both constitutions have a Bill of Rights, but the Texas constitution discusses citizens’ rights at the beginning of article one. The Texas Bill of Rights has the same protections for citizens like the U.S. Bill of Rights does, but the Texas Bill of Rights extends beyond federal protections. The executive branch is the branch that the president is in charge of. The definition of the executive branch is “The branch of federal and state government that is broadly
The 1876 Texas State constitution is the basic framework of today’s legislature it consists of three branches the legislative branch which is comprised of the house and senate, and the executive and judiciary branch. In the following paragraphs we will discuss the Texas legislature’s major responsibilities relative to checks and balances.
Texas and California are two states in the US that are comparable in terms of their population, resources, size, economy and constitution. The Texas Constitution is the foundation of the statehood of Texas within which the government operates in the same way that U.S. constitution governs the affairs of the whole country with its allocated power. The Texas constitution has a huge influence on the daily lives of Texans Possibly even more than the U.S. Constitution. Although all states have its own constitution, Texas and California have different ways in which they gained their constitution. Like most state in the U.S. The state of California gained its constitution after the civil war, the constitution was ratified in 1879 and It is similar to the Texas constitution in many ways. Both constitutions are founded on the unanimous vote of its people and are grounded by the rule of
The Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution is very similar to each other in terms of structure. Both documents provide framework, and the amendments come from the will of the people. The Texas Constitution was written to govern the the individual state alone so it should be more specific and less flexible to change. On the other hand, the U.S Constitution is more flexible than the Texas Constitution because of the fact that it was designed to be governing a total of fifty states with each individual states differing from others in values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and the states consist of individuals who have similar values. Today, we are still operating under the 1876 Constitution with four hundred ninety-one amendments, which includes a preamble and seventeen
The economy of Texas it’s no longer based on farms and ranches, but on the industry, finance, shipping, energy, etc. (67). All this explains why the constitution it’s now outdated and doesn’t connect with current Texas. In conclusion, Texas constitution has both strengths and weakness, but it feels that the weakness outshines the strengths. The main problem is that it does not represent Texas anymore, so the rights given by the constitution and the limited government feel useless against this fact.
The constitution mandates the legislators to hold biennial sessions; however, the governor also has the constitutional power to call for special or emergency sessions. Accordingly, the constitution empowers the legislators to amend the constitution, set policies, and also manage all state run institutional affairs. As mentioned in the first question, the constitution empowers the legislators to conduction processes such as legislative oversight and constituent functions, which are necessary whenever it comes to the implementation of government policies and programs. In a nutshell, the constitution of Texas simply provides a means for the legislators to follow the law especially when it comes to performing critical functions of the
The Texas Constitution has evolved in many ways throughout history. Before the current constitution there were five predecessors. There were many factors that effected each of the five constitutions. After very long governance by Spain and Mexico and a small war with Mexico, the Texans finally won their independence. The first constitution had become official in September of 1836. This first constitution was called the Republic Of Texas Constitution. After struggling for about nine years to become apart of the Union, Texas’s second constitution was created. The Second constitution was called the Statehood Constitution and was thought to be one of the best constitutions of time. The Jacksonian Democracy greatly influenced the Statehood Constitution. The idea of the Jacksonian Democracy was to increase the people’s participation in the government. This Constitution lasted about 16 years until Texas joined the Confederate Sates of America in 1861. This third constitution was called the Civil War Constitution. The main goal was to modify the
The government of the state of Texas is a difficult and complicated institution that is composed of many different levels. The question comes in to everyone's mind at one time or another whether or not to trust the government. It could be that people believe that the officials will take advantage of their power, or simply people don't like the idea of being controlled by someone who is not a family member or friend. To avoid this centralized power, the government is divided into stages and this is a reasonable ground for trusting the government. Government runs this state and it does deserve to be trusted.
There has been seven Texas Constitutions since 1827 including our current Constitution, which was established on 1876. Our current constitution has been amended hundreds of times because of its tight restrictions. The Legislative department is the dominant branch of the Texas Constitution it is subject to check and balances in the tripartite system. The Executive department limits the government’s power, and the judicial powers is divided into smaller courts. These three branches of the Texas are examples of how restricted and limited our constitution is.
Texas is one of the most powerful states in the union. Texas seems to thrive when other states are going under. Maybe the writers of the New Texas Constitution got it right. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Texas is a prime example of the state constitutions in general. Ever since the integration
Despite, all of the revisions the Texas Constitution still has its strengths and weaknesses. The strengths it has a clear definition of restrictions on what government officials can and can’t do. It has the Bill of