Article III, Section 3 of the Texas Constitution ("Election and Term of Office of Senators")

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As amended November 2, 1999:

The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified voters for the term of four years; but a new Senate shall be chosen after every apportionment, and the Senators elected after each apportionment shall be divided by lot into two classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first two years, and those of the second class at the expiration of four years, so that one half of the Senators shall be chosen biennially thereafter. Senators shall take office following their election, on the day set by law for the convening of the regular session of the Legislature, and shall serve thereafter for the full term of years to which elected.

Editor Comments

Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. GA-6 (2002), opined that: "[S]ince the 1966 amendment to sections 3 and 4 of article III, the term of office of members of the legislature begins on the day the legislature convenes in January of odd-numbered years. The clear implication is that a member of the Seventy-seventh Legislature who was elected to the Seventy-eighth Legislature at the general election of November 2002 has a small 'window of opportunity' during which he or she may be appointed by the governor to an office or position that requires senate confirmation."

Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

None.

Library Resources

Online Resources