Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 3: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:04, August 1, 2023

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: "[T]he 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

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 5: / Line 5: @@
 |editor=
-The Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. [https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2002/ga0006.pdf#page=6 GA-6] (2002), opined that: "[T]he 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."
+Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. [https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2002/ga0006.pdf#page=6 GA-6] (2002), opined that: "[T]he 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."
 |recent=