Article III, Section 32 of the Texas Constitution ("Reading on Three Several Days")
As amended November 2, 1999:
No bill shall have the force of a law, until it has been read on three several days in each House, and free discussion allowed thereon; but four-fifths of the House, in which the bill may be pending, may suspend this rule, the yeas and nays being taken on the question of suspension, and entered upon the journals.
Editor Comments
The Republic of Texas constitution (1836) and each of the state's first four constitutions (1845, 1861, 1866, & 1869) contained a provision that required bills be read on three several days. In colonial assemblies, such requirements were literally complied with. In other words, bills were read in their entirety to the members in open session. But it appears that was never done in Texas. The long-accepted legislative practice in Texas has been to read only the bill's number, author, and part of its title.
As adopted in 1876, this section read: "No bill shall have the force of a law, until it has been read on three several days in each House, and free discussion allowed thereon; but in cases of imperative public necessity (which necessity shall be stated in a preamble or in the body of the bill), four-fifths of the House, in which the bill may be pending, may suspend this rule, the yeas and nays being taken on the question of suspension, and entered upon the journals." It has been amended once.
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- Day Land & Cattle Co. v. State, 4 S.W. 865, 873 (Tex. 1887) ("The constitution declares that the 'necessity shall be stated . . . . If the legislature states facts or reasons which in its judgment authorize the suspension of the rule and the immediate passage of a bill, the courts certainly have no power to re-examine that question, and to declare that the legislature came to an erroneous conclusion. The legislature ascertains in its own way the facts on which it bases its action, and it is made the sole judge whether facts exist to authorize the immediate passage of a bill; and whatever facts or reasons it may give for such action must be held sufficient.")
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)