Texas Constitution talk:Article III, Section 56 and Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 57: Difference between pages

Latest revision as of 08:48, August 23, 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)

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-{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{PAGENAME}} of the Texas Constitution–discussion page}}__NOTOC__This page is available for comment and discussion regarding the page ''{{PAGENAME}} of the Texas Constitution''.
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article III, Section 57 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Notice for Local or Special Law"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876:
-== add ? ==
+'''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.'''
-However, a law
+|editor=
-that uses a population bracket to limit its application to a class of counties or municipalities
-does not violate Section 56 if, after considering the subject of the law, one finds a reasonable
-justification for applying the law to that particular class of counties or municipalities and not
-to counties or municipalities outside the class.1,
-== add ==
+Note that Article III, Section [[Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 56|56(b)]] generally prohibits "local or special" laws.
-* ''Smith v. Decker'', 312 S.W.2d 632, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17962249283603233454#p635 635-36] (Tex. 1958) (citation omitted) ("The use of population brackets alone, that is, segregating one county by the Legislature, by reason of population for the purpose of necessary legislation, does not necessarily render a law special in nature and contrary to the constitutional prohibition against same. However, it has long been held that the use of population brackets alone to direct legislation toward a particular county needing a particular type of legislation will not in itself save the law from being unconstitutional as a special law if the classification bears no reasonable relationship to the objects sought to be accomplished. There appears to be no logical or apparent reason for the exclusion from the Act of counties having cities of 100,000 to 349,999 inhabitants. There must be a substantial reason for the classification such as attempted here, otherwise the Act must fail.")
+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.
+|recent=
+None.
+|historic=
+* ''Connor v. City of Paris'', 27 S.W. 88, [https://texaslegalguide.com/images/027_SW_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.")
+|seo_title=Article III, Section 57 of the Texas Constitution ("Notice for Local or Special Law")
+|seo_keywords=Article 3 Section 57, Texas Legislature, ...
+|seo_description=The legislative power of Texas is vested in a Senate and House of Representatives.
+|seo_image=Texas_Constitution_of_1876_Article_3.jpg
+|seo_image_alt=Article III: Legislative Department
+}}
+[[Category:TxCon ArtIII Sec]]