The U.S. and Texas Constitutions
See Me
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Hall, April
Barrett, Jennifer
Barton, Jessica
Degroot, Nicole
Rutherford, Kimberly
Tran, Toan
Cagle, Stephen
Carle, Krystene
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Eakles, James
Jones, Herbert
Kauffman, Justin
Lucas, Lajordan
Nedelea, Traian
Rangel, Juan
How Has the Constitution Endured?
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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
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Evolving interpretation
Amendment
Evolving Interpretation
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Interpretation generally undertaken by courts
Interpretation evolves to fit new
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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
Amendment - Methods
1. Amendment Proposed
2/3 Vote of House and
Senate
or
Convention Demanded by
2/3 of State Legislatures
2. Amendment Ratified
3/4 State Legislatures
or
3/4 State Ratifying
Conventions
Amendment
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Rarely used
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Requires general consensus to pass House,
Senate, and ¾ of states
Lawmakers recognize the dangers
What types of amendments have passed?
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Bill of Rights
Expansions of electorate
Changes to election procedures and qualifications
Basic expansions or limits on government power
What Doesn’t Get Added
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“Social” legislation (like forbidding the burning
of the flag, or allowing prayer in schools)
Why?
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Harder to get a consensus
Not the sort of enduring sentiment that should be
affixed in Constitution
Prohibition was the exception – didn’t work well
A Note on the ERA
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First introduced in 1923
House, 1971; Senate, 1972; 7-year limit for
ratification
1978 – House/Senate extend deadline to June
30, 1982
35 States Ratified Before Deadline
Why Did the ERA Die?
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Concern for women in the military
Concern for loss of labor and family-law
protections for women
Tangled with other issues
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Abortion
Gay marriage
Texas Constitution
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Why a state constitution?
Similarities and differences between Texas and
U.S. constitutions
Why Do We Have State
Constitutions?
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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
Similarities Between U.S. and Texas
Constitutions
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Popular sovereignty
Three-branch separation of powers
Checks and balances
Federal system (central government and
smaller regional governments)
Explicit limits on government power
Some Big Differences
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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
Texas v. U.S. Constitution
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Over 85,000 words
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Approx. 7400 words
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432 amendments
adopted since 1876
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Compare w/ 27 total for
U.S. Constitution
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Recent Amendments
Texas v. U.S. Constitution
Amendment Process
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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
Why the Differences?
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Homogeneity
Size
History