Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 20 and Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 22: Difference between pages

Revision as of 15:05, July 31, 2023

Adopted February 15, 1876:

A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact to the House, of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.

Editor Comments

Because the phrase "personal or private interest" is vague and imprecise, this section is aspirational in nature rather than an enforceable rule of law.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

None.

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 20 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Eligibility of Persons Entrusted with Public Money"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876:
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article III, Section 22 of the Texas Constitution (''<small>"Disclosure of Interest in Measure or Bill; Not to Vote"</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Adopted February 15, 1876:
-'''No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the Legislature, or to any office of profit or trust under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, or for all public moneys with which he may have been entrusted.'''
+'''A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact to the House, of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.'''
 |editor=
-None.
+Because the phrase "personal or private interest" is vague and imprecise, this section is aspirational in nature rather than an enforceable rule of law.
 |recent=
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 |historic=
-* ''Orndorff v. State ex rel. McGill'', 108 S.W.2d 206, [108_SW2_206.pdf---] (Tex.Civ.App.–El Paso 1937, ref'd) ("In any event, we think that neither a discharge in bankruptcy, were it intended to affect such a claim, nor the barring of the judgment through the operation of the statutes of limitations, would satisfy the requirement of section 20 of article 3 of the Constitution. That provision disqualifies the candidate until he 'shall have obtained a discharge' . . . . These statutes do not mitigate the effect of the prohibition of the State against the holding of office by one in default. This denial of privilege is outside the province of congressional action and prohibitive of contrary State legislative action.")
+None.
-|seo_title=Article III, Section 20 of the Texas Constitution ("Eligibility of Persons Entrusted with Public Money")
+|seo_title=Article III, Section 22 of the Texas Constitution ("Disclosure of Interest in Measure or Bill; Not to Vote")
-|seo_keywords=Article 3 Section 20, Texas Legislature, tax collector
+|seo_keywords=Article 3 Section 22, Texas Legislature, conflict of interest
 |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