Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 50

Adopted February 15, 1876:

The Legislature shall have no power to give or to lend, or to authorize the giving or lending, of the credit of the State in aid of, or to any person, association or corporation, whether municipal or other, or to pledge the credit of the State in any manner whatsoever, for the payment of the liabilities, present or prospective, of any individual, association of individuals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever.

Editor Comments

This section first appeared in the Texas Constitution of 1876. Neither ...

Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. DM-382 (1996), opined that: "We disapprove of Attorney General Opinions No. 2996, MW-461, JM-533, JM-749, and JM-1229, and any other prior opinions of this office insofar as they state or imply that a mere credit sale of goods or services by the State or one of its political subdivisions violates the credit clauses of the constitution."

—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)