The Texas Constitution and Government

The Texas Constitution and Government

Introduction

The Texas government is a complicated and difficult institution that is comprised of many levels. The question that pops up in the minds of many people is on whether the Texas government can be trusted or not. People still believe that people can take advantage of the power that they are accorded. To avoid the centralization of power, the government of Texas is divided into various stages to provide a reasonable ground for creating from the citizens. The constitution of Texas was ratified to meet the attitudes and the needs of a 1800s Texas. The objective of the paper is to determine whether the constitution of Texas developed a part-time government that is not able to meet the demands and the needs of a 2000s Texas by examining the ratifications and the writing of the present constitution together with the executive and legislative branches of Texas.

Is the Constitution of Texas an Antiquated Government?

The constitution of Texas is not an old-fashioned government. The working Texas Constitution took effect in 1876. The ease of amendment and the length of the constitution mean that it works more as a helper to the laws than a fixed set of governing principles. The drafters of the constitution of Texas made it flexible to amend it where it has been amended close to 500 times. The living document is dynamic and was created to be changed to echo the development and growth of the government. In Texas, amending, the constitution plays a critical role in the way of breaking the law.

The sections of the constitution of Texas are depended on the principles of the social contract and popular sovereignty theory. The Texas Constitution has the major principle of limited government. Other provisions of the constitution, together with the bill of rights, place restrictions on the power of the government. It also spells out the traditional rights of the Citizens of Texas like the right to religion and the procedural law due process. The other significant principle that is embodied in the constitution of Texas is the separation of power. The constitution is different from the U.S constitution which the factors emerge through powers that are defined in the articles that are related to the congress and the president while the Article 2 of the constitution of Texas provides for the separation of power.

The Executive and the Legislature

The government of Texas comprises of the executive and the judiciary a structure that is similar to the federal government. Each of these two branches has its responsibilities and methods of checking the other branches to make sure that power is not centralized. The executive branch comprises of the secretary of state, governor, attorney general, and many other executives and commissioners. On the other hand, the legislative branch includes the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives.

Many experts hold the belief that the constitution of Texas excessively fragments government responsibility and authority mostly in the executive branch. Even though the citizen expects the governor to establish policy priorities, he does not have control over other chosen state executives but instead shares both responsibility and authority for a policy with them. Even though the critiques hold such proves, the amendment process of the constitution makes it easy for the state government to meet needs that are changing. The governor of the state of Texas has the power veto bills that have been accepted by the legislature. The veto can be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the Senate and the House.

The legislative branch of the government developed a part-time legislature that is low-paid to make sure citizen-lawmakers who would be elected would be considerate of the needs of their constituents and not the needs of the professional politicians who live off the tax revenue of the citizens. In 1972, the voters of Texas accepted a constitutional amendment whose purpose was to prolong the term that the governor would serve together with other executive officeholders. The change accorded the governor more time to come up with public policies with the prospect of ensuring that they were implemented.

Constitutional Change and Adaptation

The piecemeal amendment process of the Texas constitution has made it easy for the state government to meet the changing requirements by adding words to the document. Only the legislature holds power for amending the law of Texas. Every regular legislative meeting approves a couple of amendments which the voters are expected to reject or accept. Many modifications that are made on the constitution are of importance to the entire state. The law of Texas allows for revision through constitutional convention, which the legislature is expected to call if the voters agree.

Many recent changes in the constitution have led to economic and pro-industry development push that compares with the sentiments of antibusiness of the original framers of the constitution. Many other recent amendments have been helpful in the development of indebtedness that is publicly-bonded that would have been hard to be comprehended by the 19^th-century developers of the constitution. Business’ have turned to the constitution for economic incentives and tax breaks and received a receptive ear by the office of the governor and the legislature as the constitution works to expand and diversify the economy.