Article XVI, Section 68 of the Texas Constitution
Added November 8, 1983:
The legislature may provide for the advancement of food and fiber in this state by providing representative associations of agricultural producers with authority to collect such refundable assessments on their product sales as may be approved by referenda of producers. All revenue collected shall be used solely to finance programs of marketing, promotion, research, and education relating to that commodity.
Editor Comments
The clear purpose of this section was to overrule the 1975 Texas Supreme Court decision referenced below.
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- Conlen Grain & Mercantile, Inc. v. Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Bd., 519 S.W.2d 620, 624 (Tex. 1975) ("An occupation tax is a form of excise tax . . . . The subject of taxation is the business or occupation of producing sorghum grain for commercial purposes. The tax must be paid only by those who engage in that occupation, and that it must be paid by all so engaged except with respect to grain that is consumed in the producer's operations without having been processed or handled in a commercial transaction. In our opinion the assessment is an occupation tax on a person engaged in an agricultural pursuit within the meaning of Article VIII, Section 1, of our Constitution.")
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (multi-volume and up-to-date resource available at all law and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (one-volume resource available at most law and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (two-volume resource available at most law and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (resource published online and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (resource published online and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (resource published online and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)