State Capital
in Austin
Dallas County
Courthouse
Dallas City Hall
Two Constitutions
• Texas has two Constitutions
that rule over it. The Texas and
the U.S. Constitution.
• This is called Federalism.
• Federalism is a strong federal
government (in Washington
DC) that shares power with the
state governments.
• The state handles any
government responsibilities
not covered by the federal
government. (10th
Amendment to the US
constitution)
• Examples might be:
maintaining highways,
prisons, supporting public
schools and universities,
and public health.
University of Texas at Austin
Huntsville State Prison
Texas’ many Constitutions
Constitution
• Texas’s first constitution was adopted in
1824 when Texas was part of Mexico and
Mexico became a republic and wrote the
Constitution of 1824.
• In 1827, Coahuila y Tejas wrote a state
constitution that included Texas because it
was part of Mexico.
• Both were written in Spanish
• Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 and
wrote its own constitution for the Republic of Texas
• The writers based it on the US Constitution
• Looked much like the constitution of the southern
states of the U.S. and included a Bicameral
legislature.
REVOLVING CONSTITUTIONS
• 1845 - Texas was annexed by the
U.S. and had to write a new state
constitution
• 1861 - Texas joined the Confederate
States of America and again wrote a
constitution
• 1866 - Texas wrote another
constitution to rejoin the U.S. after
the Civil War.
• 1869 - This constitution was written
during Reconstruction by
Republicans from mostly out of state.
The Texas Constitution of 1876
• The Constitution of 1876 is
last and current
constitution we use in the
state of Texas
• It was heavily influenced
by the administration of
the governor elected in
1869…
E.J. Davis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• After the Civil War a “Radical Republican” named Edmund J.
Davis was elected Governor.
• He was absolutely hated and despised by most Texans
• After he was run out of office in the election 1874, the
politicians of Texas wrote the Constitution of 1876 to make
Texas have a “Limited Government” or a very weak state
government so no one like E.J. Davis could ever “hurt” Texas
again.
So how many is that?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
8 in all!!!
1824
1827
1836
1845
1861
1866
1869
1876
• The State Government is
the highest level of
Government in Texas.
These include the three
branches we already
talked about.
• The Capital is in Austin
and that is where most of
the State Government
offices are located
COUNTY
GOVERNMENTS
Below the State
government are
Counties.
There are 254
Counties in Texas
The most of any
state.
IMPORTANT COUNTY OFFICIALS
•Each county of Texas is made up of precincts that have
a county commissioner. This group of commissioners
makes up the County Commissioners Court. Though
it’s not really a court, this group sets the tax rate and
decides the budget for all county business.
•There are county treasurers and auditors that watch
over county money some counties have a county
attorney. (or Lawyer)
•The county clerk keeps county records including births,
deaths, marriage certificates, and property ownership.
• The Sheriff is the top law officer of a
county, and all counties have at least one
constable which help keep the peace and
serve court documents.
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez
Municipal (City) Governments:
-The Texas Constitution sets up rules for what type of government a city
can choose:
Bastrop, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Home-Rule City
General - Law City
City of more than
5,000 people that has
the right to be selfgoverned.
City of less than
5,000 people that
must obey laws set
up by the legislature
Most cities in Texas have a Mayor-Counsel form of
government where the citizens of the city elect the
Mayor and the Counsel.
-Some cities such as Dallas have a “Weak
Mayor” which has limited authority, while the
city counsel maintains most of the power
-Houston has a “Strong Mayor”, which has full
executive authority and has many more
responsibilities.
San Antonio maintains a
Counsel – Manager form of
Government
Other city government forms:
•Counsel-Manager, like in San Antonio, has the
counsel select a city manager, but maintains most
policy making power.
•Commission Systems have the city counsel members
each running different sections of the city government.
•Cities in Texas generate most of their money from
property and sales tax. Many cities have lower tax
rates because they get more money from tourism.
Why do you think that sales tax is lower in San Antonio than Dallas?
•Cities also make money from business to buy licenses
each year to operate and the city collects fees on new
building constructions, and inspections.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
There are over 1,050
Independent School Districts
in Texas. Each district is run
by a school board that
chooses a superintendent that
administrates the whole
district.
These ISD’s are funded by
the local cities and the state.
Dr. Robin Ryan