Changes

The current Texas Constitution was adopted by voters in 1876, the seventh one in its history (including when it was part of Mexico as well as an independent republic and part of the Confederacy).

The current Texas Constitution was adopted by voters in 1876, the seventh one in its history (including when it was part of Mexico as well as an independent republic and part of the Confederacy).

The Constitution is highly restrictive: it states that the Texas government has only the powers specifically enumerated therein (it does not have the state equivalent of the United States Constitution's "Necessary and Proper Clause") and also significantly limits the government's ability to take on debt and/or pledge the state's credit for certain obligations.  As such, through November 2022, when the most recent election to amend the state constitution was held, 700 amendments have been proposed, of which the voters have approved 517, rejected 180, and interestingly three amendments never made it to the ballot.  The number of amendments is somewhat high given that the Texas Constitution allows for only one mode of amendment: amendments initiated and passed by 2/3 of each chamber of the [[Texas Legislature]] and subsequently approved by a majority of the voters.  Because of the frequent amendments, it is also the second-longest state constitution behind the extremely verbose [[Alabama Constitution]] even after a recompilation of the latter.  Attempts at a total rewrite or major revisions to the Texas Constitution in the 1970's were rejected by voters: the only significant revisions took place in 1969 when the entirety of Article XIII (an obsolete provision dealing with Spanish and Mexican land titles) and 53 other obsolete sections from other Articles were proposed for removal and approved.

The Constitution is highly restrictive: it states that the Texas government has only the powers specifically enumerated therein (it does not have the state equivalent of the United States Constitution's "Necessary and Proper Clause") and also significantly limits the government's ability to take on debt and/or pledge the state's credit for certain obligations.  As such, through November 2024, when the most recent election to amend the state constitution was held, 714 amendments have been proposed, of which the voters have approved 530, rejected 181, and interestingly three amendments never made it to the ballot.  The number of amendments is somewhat high given that the Texas Constitution allows for only one mode of amendment: amendments initiated and passed by 2/3 of each chamber of the [[Texas Legislature]] and subsequently approved by a majority of the voters.  Because of the frequent amendments, it is also the second-longest state constitution behind the extremely verbose [[Alabama Constitution]] even after a recompilation of the latter.  Attempts at a total rewrite or major revisions to the Texas Constitution in the 1970's were rejected by voters: the only significant revisions took place in 1969 when the entirety of Article XIII (an obsolete provision dealing with Spanish and Mexican land titles) and 53 other obsolete sections from other Articles were proposed for removal and approved.

Unlike the Alabama or United States Constitutions, amendments (or repeals thereof) are incorporated into the actual text of the Texas Constitution.  This has resulted in some odd numbering, because whatever number is assigned in the resolution proposing an amendment is the one used, even if another amendment with the same number is also proposed and approved in the same year: for example, Article III (dealing with the Legislature) has two separate sub-sections both numbered "49-n" and two other separate ones each numbered "49-d-14" (and a prior two numbered "49-g", though one of those was later repealed).

Unlike the Alabama or United States Constitutions, amendments (or repeals thereof) are incorporated into the actual text of the Texas Constitution.  This has resulted in some odd numbering, because whatever number is assigned in the resolution proposing an amendment is the one used, even if another amendment with the same number is also proposed and approved in the same year: for example, Article III (dealing with the Legislature) has two separate sub-sections both numbered "49-n" and two other separate ones each numbered "49-d-14" (and a prior two numbered "49-g", though one of those was later repealed).