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→Structure: add Articles IV through VIII
***Section 49a requires the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to prepare and certify, prior to the start of each regular session, the amount of revenue estimated for the next biennium (beginning September 1 after the Legislature adjourns and ending August 31 in the second year following). Absent a public emergency and then only with 4/5 vote of both chambers can this estimate be exceeded; should the Legislature pass appropriations in excess of the estimate the Comptroller has the authority to return it to the originating chamber.
***Section 49a requires the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to prepare and certify, prior to the start of each regular session, the amount of revenue estimated for the next biennium (beginning September 1 after the Legislature adjourns and ending August 31 in the second year following). Absent a public emergency and then only with 4/5 vote of both chambers can this estimate be exceeded; should the Legislature pass appropriations in excess of the estimate the Comptroller has the authority to return it to the originating chamber.
***Section 49-g (the second sub-section so numbered, a prior one was later repealed) establishes the '''Economic Stabilization Fund''', more popularly called the "Rainy Day Fund". The fund has grown tremendously in recent years (with rising oil and gas prices, as it is funded from severance taxes above an established threshold) and is sometimes used by the Legislature to fund major capital projects.
***Section 49-g (the second sub-section so numbered, a prior one was later repealed) establishes the '''Economic Stabilization Fund''', more popularly called the "Rainy Day Fund". The fund has grown tremendously in recent years (with rising oil and gas prices, as it is funded from severance taxes above an established threshold) and is sometimes used by the Legislature to fund major capital projects.
*'''Article IV: Executive Department'''
**Establishes the offices, qualifications, and duties of the Executive Branch officers: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. (The Agriculture Commissioner is a position designated by legislative action.) With the exception of the Secretary of State, all positions are popularly elected every four years (the Secretary of State must be confirmed by the Texas Senate). The Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately. Also determines qualifications for notaries public.
*'''Article V: Judicial Department'''
**Establishes the various courts in the state, including the bifurcated final appellate court system of a Court of Criminal Appeals (for criminal cases) and a Supreme Court (for civil cases), and qualifications for judges.
*'''Article VI: Suffrage'''
**Establishes qualifications for voters and rules for elections.
*'''Article VII: Education'''
**Establishes provisions for public schools and public universities. This article has been the subject of numerous lawsuits over public school funding.
*'''Article VIII: Taxation and Revenue'''
**Contains numerous restrictions on taxation at both the state and local levels. Notably, a statewide property tax is prohibited as well as a personal income tax (which Texas has never had, a feature it uses to attract people and businesses to the state). Also includes many exemptions from property tax (such as 100% disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, and religious and nonprofit organizations.
[[Category:State Constitutions]]
[[Category:State Constitutions]]