-
Essay / Texas Constitution: Conforming to 21st Century Needs
The government of the State of Texas is divided into three distinct but equal branches of government which are the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch under the Texas Constitution adopted in 1876. I will focus on the legislative branch of Texas government. We'll look at the history of the Texas Legislature, how bills are passed, and how the Legislature can advance the Texas economy. The Texas Legislature is the Texas state legislature that meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. When Texas entered the union in 1845, the legislature began meeting from February 16 to May 13, 1846. The legislature is headed by the Texas Legislature which has 150 members of the House of Representatives and 31 members of the State Senate. Legislatures meet every odd year to write new laws and also to find solutions to problems facing the state. The president appoints the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the committee that studies the legislation and then decides which representative will serve on those committees. The first important question the House Speaker and Lt. Governor ask of the House Legislature is to decide what rules lawmakers will follow during the session. Legislative procedures are written into the state constitution, but new rules can be adopted by the House Legislature and then approved by majority vote. Once the rules are adopted, legislatures can begin considering the bills. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Texas, like all U.S. states, maintains its own state constitution that outlines the basic structures and principles of its government. The current constitution was adopted in 1876, but it is actually the 7th constitution that Texas wrote for itself. The first dates back to 1827, when Texas was still part of Mexico but was preparing to secede. They then wrote a new constitution as the Republic of Texas in 1836, and then their first state constitution after joining the United States in 1845. Texas rewrote the constitution in 1861, when it seceded from the United States to join the Confederacy and had to rewrite this document twice after the Civil War before finally arriving at their current version. Besides this long history, the Texas Constitution is also long. Currently, this document contains nearly 500 amendments, making it one of the longest state constitutions in the United States. In contrast, the United States Constitution contains only 27 amendments. So why have Texans amended their constitution so many times? It is important to remember that Texas has always been committed to the notion of individual freedoms and therefore feared giving too much power to one government. Accordingly, it was decided that the state government had only those powers expressly granted by the constitution. If a power is not found in the constitution, the Texas government cannot simply say that power is implied. They must amend the constitution. The Constitution of the United States of America does not provide for local governments. Local governments are created and regulated by states which grant powers to municipal governments in charters. Local governments include city, town and country governments. Other common forms of local government are townships, boroughs and.