ipl-logo

The Rules For Amending The Texas Constitution During 1970's

522 Words3 Pages

Throughout my paper I am going to describe the rules for amending the Texas constitution, the attempts at constitution reform during 1970’s, explain why the reform attempts failed and discuss why I believe the Texas constitution should have board language instead of having frequent amendments. The rules for amending the Texas Constitution are found in Article 17 of the Texas Constitution. Article 17 of the Texas Constitution explains the rules in the following steps: proposed amendments, publication, submission to voters and adoption (Sec 1. Article 17, Texas Constitution, amended Nov. 7, 1972 and Nov. 2, 1999). The Legislature proposes the amendments and the proposal for submission must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each House (Sec 1a. Article 17, Texas Constitution). The proposition is then published twice in each newspaper in the state, also it will be published in a public place in each county courthouse for 30 days. The first notice should be published at least 50 days prior to the …show more content…

In 1971, the 62nd Texas Legislature passed a resolution calling a Constitutional Revision Commission. At least 62 percent of voters approved the need for the revision commission. The commission then went to work coming up with revisions that they believed needed to be made to the Texas Constitution. The majority of the reform was attempted in 1975 the Legislature approved submitting eight amendments to the Texas Constitution, which could be considered a new constitution, to voters. The special election in November 1975 all eight of the amendments were defeated. In Texas 250 of the 254 counties, none of the propositions were approved. During that special election only 23 percent of the voters actually voted. It’s rumored that Governor Briscoe warned that adoption of the amendments would result in state income tax, increase cost of state government and overly powered Legislature

Show More
Related

  • Differences And Similarities Between Texas And US Constitutions

    283 Words  | 2 Pages

    The United States Constitutions and Texas Constitutions are similar to each other. Both of them run with a bicameral legislature consisting of House of Representatives and a Senate. In both, members should vote for representatives, and legislative branch makes the laws. The both constitution are similar as they provide for a separation of powers, checks and balance, between legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Texas Charter

    620 Words  | 3 Pages

    in keeping with Article 17 of the Texas charter, the proposed amendment ought to publish two times in each newspaper for a consecutive 4 weeks. the thing concerning to change is commonly prepared with the aid of the Secretary of nation wherein it's far then permitted by using the attorney preferred. The Secretary of state sends an authorized replica of the proposed change or amendments to each county clerk who is then instructed to publish change/amendments in public areas within the courthouse at the least a month earlier than the election. If it seems from the returns that a majority of the votes casted were solid in prefer of an modification, it's going to then turn out to be a part of this constitution. The reform within the 1970’s – 1979’s turned into very essential within the formation of nowadays’s Texas

    Read More

  • Texas Legislative Branch Research Paper

    1973 Words  | 8 Pages

    Unlike the U.S. legislative branch the Texas legislature meets every odd-numbered year to write new laws and to find solutions to the problems facing the state. In Texas this time period is called the “Regular Session” and lasts for 140 days. While this may seem like a short time period compared to the national legislature, the governor can call the legislature to meet at

    Read More

  • How Did The Texas Constitution Influence The Government

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Texas Constitution was a product of the Reconstruction era, the tumultuous period that preceded the Civil War. The document reflects the fears and hopes of its framers. They were fearful of an oppressive state after living under the oppressive scrutiny of the Reconstruction Era. They hoped to prevent that from happening again by putting strong restraints on the government. Most of those restraints have followed Texas into the modern era.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Constitution And Texas Constitution

    468 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then once the proposal is approved, the governor can't do anything to get rid of the proposal and it continues to go on. Which leads to the point of the amendments becoming so much more frequent. In that case the total number of Texas amendments in the constitution continues to keep growing bigger and

    Read More

  • Ratification Of The Us Constitution Dbq Essay

    827 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who

    Read More

  • The Purpose Of The Texas Penal Model

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    overview In 1854 the Texas legislature authorized a commission to codify the existing laws in Texas; and in 1856 the Texas Penal Code was established. Prior to 1856 Texas was governed mostly by common law; it was not until 1895 that the Texas Penal code was revised. In 1974 the Texas Penal code went through another revision, this time more extensive than the previous revisions, and mostly based on the American law institute penal code model. The main goal of the revision was too Clarify and consolidate the fundamental law of crimes, and to modernize and simplify the penal code for the rural, less populated areas of Texas, to reasonably grade offenses based on the severity of the crimes; as well as to ensure that the punishment for committing

    Read More

  • The Texas Constitution: Redistriction In The United States

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Texas Secretary of State website, “Article III, Section 28, of the Texas Constitution requires the Texas Legislature to redistrict both houses (the Texas House of Representatives and Texas State Senate) at its first regular session after publication of the federal decennial census.” (https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/faqcensus.shtml) The Texas Tribune describes the purpose of redistricting as equalizing the population in state and congressional districts after the census is published, and ensuring that minority populations are represented. (7) Gerrymandering is re-drawing these geographical boundaries to give a particular political party a numeric advantage over an opposing party. Texas history is rich with examples

    Read More

  • Texas Legislative Process Essay

    556 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Texas legislative process is governed by the Texas constitution as well as the House of Representative and the Senate. Its primary function is to enact laws to provide for the health, welfare, education, environment, and economic and general well-being of the citizens of Texas. It also establishes public policy through the passage of bills and resolutions and proposes amendments to the state constitution, which are then submitted to the voters for approval or disapproval. When a bill is proposed, it must go through the legislative process before it becomes a law. The legislative process is very long and has many steps.

    Read More

  • Essay On Texas Government

    944 Words  | 4 Pages

    Texas is the second most populated and second largest state in United State. Due to its size, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both American South and Southwest. Most of the population centers are located in areas of formers prairies, grass lands, forests, and the coastline. The current Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876. Like most of the states, it also provides for a separation off power.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Us And Texas Constitution

    985 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to ratify, three-fourths of all state legislatures must ratify or three-fourths must approve via Ratifying Conventions. Initiative and referendum are powers granted to the electorate by the constitution of several states and refer to the processes that allow voters to vote directly on certain legislation. They represent direct check on democracy as people can exercise their powers to accept or reject a piece of legislation. Texas does not provide for this, however, states such Arizona has initiated statues and amendments and New Mexico has referendum only. The current Texas Constitution is ridiculed by scholars as being a burden by excessive detail, outdated and contradictory provisions as well as too hard to amend and it is too unclear in outlining the separation of powers which exists in Texas.

    Read More

  • Why Are Informal Amendments Important

    242 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Constitution is a piece of paper that is meant to change and grow as a nation it changes and grows. The formal amendment process includes two steps, proposal and ratification. An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress. The amendment can then be ratified either by the agreement of three-fourths of the states’ legislatures

    Read More

  • How Did Edmund Davis Radicalize The Constitution Of 1876

    621 Words  | 3 Pages

    The particular condition that the Constitution of 1876 was drafted under was the government and overthrow of Edmund Davis (Harpham, Champagne 81). Some of the main principles behind the Constitution were popular control of state government, limitations on state government, strengthening the economy, and finally promotion of agrarian interests. Some of the more important aspects reflecting the political philosophy of the framers were the high value placed on individual freedom from government. As well as the lack of faith the framers had in the government. Under the Reconstruction Constitution of 1869, Edmund Davis governed.

    Read More

  • Texas Constitution Pros And Cons

    762 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Constitution of 1876 was toward the end in the development of a new, restructured and revised constitution in Texas, yet it was not the last attempt to revise the natural law of Texas. Pressure begin to build to change and streamline the Texas Constitution in the late 1960s. By 1969, fifty-six obsolete and out dated provisions were revoked, including a whole article. This called for a more fundamental overhaul and restructuring of the Constitution, which led to an extensive and prolonged process of constitutional revision that began in the 1970s. Efforts during this time were imperative for two reasons: it explained a long-standing concern whether the legislature had the constitutional right to convene as a constitutional convention; and secondly, the Texas Constitutional Revision Commission provided a thorough revision of the state constitution that served as the foundation for a new

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Constitution And Texas Constitution

    670 Words  | 3 Pages

    Texas Constitution V. Maine Constitution What is a constitution? According to Merriam Webster Dictionary a constitution is a document that describes the system of beliefs and laws by which a country, state or organization is governed. In numerous ways, the Texas and Maine constitution are similar documents.

    Read More

More about The Rules For Amending The Texas Constitution During 1970's

Open Document