Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 36 and Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 57: Difference between pages

Revision as of 17:11, July 26, 2023

Adopted February 15, 1876:

No local or special law shall be passed, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in the locality where the matter or thing to be affected may be situated, which notice shall state the substance of the contemplated law, and shall be published at least thirty days prior to the introduction into the Legislature of such bill and in the manner to be provided by law. The evidence of such notice having been published, shall be exhibited in the Legislature, before such act shall be passed.

Editor Comments

Note that Article III, Section 56(b) generally prohibits "local or special" laws.

A local bill proposes a local law that applies to a limited area of the state.

A bracket bill proposes a law that applies to a limited area based on criteria.

Depending on its wording and effect, a bracket bill may be judged a local bill.

A special bill proposes a special law that applies to a limited class of persons.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

Connor v. City of Paris, 27 S.W. 88, 92 (Tex. 1894) ("That the legislature may empower a city to levy upon abutting property an assessment to pay a part of the cost for improving a street upon which such property fronts is too well settled by the decisions of this court to admit of argument. . . . It is claimed that the charter, so far as it authorizes the assessment, is void, because no notice was required to be given by the council before the ordinance was adopted; being in violation of article 3, § 57, of the constitution. This was not a special law, within the meaning of that section, which has reference alone to the acts of the legislature.")

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)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article III, Section 36 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Revival or Amendment by Reference Prohibited"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876:
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article III, Section 57 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Notice of Intention to Apply for Local or Special Law"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876:
-'''No law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title; but in such case the act revived or the section or sections amended shall be re-enacted and published at length.'''
+'''No local or special law shall be passed, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in the locality where the matter or thing to be affected may be situated, which notice shall state the substance of the contemplated law, and shall be published at least thirty days prior to the introduction into the Legislature of such bill and in the manner to be provided by law. The evidence of such notice having been published, shall be exhibited in the Legislature, before such act shall be passed.'''
 |editor=
-None.
+Note that Article III, Section [[Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 56|56(b)]] generally prohibits "local or special" laws.
+A local bill proposes a local law that applies to a limited area of the state.
+A bracket bill proposes a law that applies to a limited area based on criteria.
-|other=
+Depending on its wording and effect, a bracket bill may be judged a local bill.
-None.
+A special bill proposes a special law that applies to a limited class of persons.
 |recent=
@@ Line 17: / Line 21: @@
 |historic=
-* ''Popham v. Patterson'', 51 S.W.2d 680, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/051_S.W.2d_680.pdf#page=5 684] (Tex. 1932) ("Appellee contends that the act of 1930 is void because in violation of section 36, article 3 . . . . It is true that the act of 1930 does have effect to change article 2688 in part; the change being to fix the term of office of county school superintendents at four instead of two years, but the mere fact that a later act amends a former act by implication does not render the later act repugnant to the above constitutional provision. Cooley's Constitutional Limitation (8th Ed.) vol. 8, p. 315; Southerland on Statutory Construction (2d Ed.) vol. 1, p. 446.")
+* ''Connor v. City of Paris'', 27 S.W. 88, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/Vol_027_SWR_88.pdf#page=5 92] (Tex. 1894) ("That the legislature may empower a city to levy upon abutting property an assessment to pay a part of the cost for improving a street upon which such property fronts is too well settled by the decisions of this court to admit of argument. . . . It is claimed that the charter, so far as it authorizes the assessment, is void, because no notice was required to be given by the council before the ordinance was adopted; being in violation of article 3, § 57, of the constitution. This was not a special law, within the meaning of that section, which has reference alone to the acts of the legislature.")
-* ''Henderson v. City of Galveston'', 114 S.W. 108, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/Vol_114_SWR_108.pdf#page=5 112] (Tex. 1908) ("But when the Legislature in enacting new legislation adopts the mode of amending existing laws, the Constitution speaks and prescribes a rule that must be followed. That was the mode expressly adopted here, and the amendment was attempted by 'adding to' the existing section. . . . But no authority cited, and none that we know of, has held that a section of a statute may be amended by adding words to it, without re-enacting the entire section as amended, and such a holding would be condemned by the plain words of the Constitution.")
-* ''Snyder v. Compton'', 28 S.W. 1061, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/Vol_028_SWR_1061.pdf#page=2 1062] (Tex. 1894) ("The practice [prohibited was] amending a statute by reference to its title, and by providing that it should be amended by adding to or striking out certain words, or by omitting certain language, and inserting in lieu thereof certain other words. It was not intended to prohibit the passage of a law which declared fully its provisions, without direct reference to any other act, although its effect should be to enlarge or restrict the operation of some other statutes. Similar provisions in other constitutions have been construed not to apply to implied amendments.")
-|seo_title=Article III, Section _ of the Texas Constitution (" ... ")
+|seo_title=Article III, Section 57 of the Texas Constitution ("Notice of Intention to Apply for Local or Special Law")
-|seo_keywords=Article 3 Section _, Texas Legislature, ...
+|seo_keywords=Article 3 Section 57, Texas Legislature, ...
 |seo_description=The legislative power of Texas is vested in a Senate and House of Representatives.
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