The U.S. and Texas Constitutions

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The U.S. and Texas Constitutions
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See Me

• Hall, April
• Barrett, Jennifer
• Barton, Jessica
• Degroot, Nicole
• Rutherford, Kimberly
• Tran, Toan
• Cagle, Stephen
• Carle, Krystene

• Eakles, James
• Jones, Herbert
• Kauffman, Justin
• Lucas, Lajordan
• Nedelea, Traian
• Rangel, Juan

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How Has the Constitution Endured?

• The little black dress of government
• Mostly negative rights, very few demands or
  obligations placed on government
• Only the bare bones of the system, so there is
  room to adjust to changes
• Change through
• Evolving interpretation
• Amendment

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Evolving Interpretation

• Interpretation generally undertaken by courts
• Interpretation evolves to fit new
• Political realities (like recognizing right of
  privacy in context of abortion)
• Technological and social developments (like
  extending 4th Amend. protection to computer
  files)
• Interpretative change depends on the lack of
  specificity in language of constitution

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Amendment - Methods
1. Amendment Proposed
2/3 Vote of House and Senate
Convention Demanded by 2/3 of State Legislatures
or
2. Amendment Ratified
3/4 State Legislatures
3/4 State Ratifying Conventions
or
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Amendment

• Rarely used
• Requires general consensus to pass House, Senate,
  and ¾ of states
• Lawmakers recognize the dangers
• What types of amendments have passed?
• Bill of Rights
• Expansions of electorate
• Changes to election procedures and qualifications
• Basic expansions or limits on government power

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What Doesnt Get Added

• Social legislation (like forbidding the burning
  of the flag, or allowing prayer in schools)
• Why?
• Harder to get a consensus
• Not the sort of enduring sentiment that should be
  affixed in Constitution
• Prohibition was the exception didnt work well

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A Note on the ERA

• First introduced in 1923
• House, 1971 Senate, 1972 7-year limit for
  ratification
• 1978 House/Senate extend deadline to June 30,
  1982

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35 States Ratified Before Deadline
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Why Did the ERA Die?

• Concern for women in the military
• Concern for loss of labor and family-law
  protections for women
• Tangled with other issues
• Abortion
• Gay marriage

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Texas Constitution

• Why a state constitution?
• Similarities and differences between Texas and
  U.S. constitutions

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Why Do We Have State Constitutions?

• Federal system states still have power
• States need to establish system of government
• States can give more rights to their citizens
  than those granted by the U.S. Constitution

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Similarities Between U.S. and Texas Constitutions

• Popular sovereignty
• Three-branch separation of powers
• Checks and balances
• Federal system (central government and smaller
  regional governments)
• Explicit limits on government power

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Some Big Differences

• Value of liberty more heavily weighted in Texas
  system more explicit limits on government
  power, more explicit reservations to the people
• Greater fragmentation of power (eg. plural
  executive)
• More specific / addresses social issues

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Texas v. U.S. Constitution

• Over 85,000 words
• 432 amendments adopted since 1876
• Recent Amendments

• Approx. 7400 words
• Compare w/ 27 total for U.S. Constitution

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Texas v. U.S. Constitution
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Amendment Process

• 2/3 vote in state house and senate
• Explanation of amendments published twice in
  every newspaper (those recognized for state
  notices)
• Approval by a majority of voters

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Why the Differences?

• Homogeneity
• Size
• History