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Texas Constitution:Article III, Section 56 (view source)
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This important section generally prohibits the enactment of "local" laws and "special" laws. In addition, Article XII, Section [[Texas Constitution:Article XII, Section 1|1]] mandates that "[n]o private corporation shall be created except by general laws." | This important section generally prohibits the enactment of "local" laws and "special" laws. In addition, Article XII, Section [[Texas Constitution:Article XII, Section 1|1]] mandates that "[n]o private corporation shall be created except by general laws." | ||
What constitutes a local law or special law, like much of the jurisprudence regarding this type of legislative restriction, can be unclear. Cf. Harwood v. Wentworth, 162 U.S. 547, | What constitutes a local law or special law, like much of the jurisprudence regarding this type of legislative restriction, can be unclear. Cf. ''Harwood v. Wentworth'', 162 U.S. 547, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9629641612988174310#p563 563-64] (1896) ("[T]here is such a relation between the salaries fixed for each class of counties, and the equalized assessed valuation of property in them, respectively, as to show that the act is not local and special in any just sense, but is general in its application to the whole Territory and designed to establish a system for compensating county officers that is not intrinsically unjust, nor capable of being applied for purposes merely local or special."); Charles Binney, ''Restrictions Upon Local and Special Legislation in State Constitutions'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=lXQ1AQAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false 25-26] (1894) ("(1) A general law is one which applies to and operates uniformly upon all members of any class of persons, places or things, requiring legislation peculiar to itself in the matter covered by the law. (2) A special law is one which relates either to particular persons, places or things, or to persons, places or things which, though not particularized, are separated, by any method of selection, from the whole class to which the law might, but for such limitation, be applicable. (3) A local law is one whose operation is confined within territorial limits other than those of the whole State or any properly constituted class of localities therein."). | ||
Roughly three-fourths of state constitutions contain one or more provisions restricting the enactment of local laws and special laws. Some of the provisions are relatively simple and some, referred to by some commentators as laundry lists, are rather lengthy. Such provisions serve a variety of purposes, including: (1) preventing the Legislature from usurping local government control over public policy matters normally handled locally (i.e., stopping the Legislature "from meddling in local matters"); and (2) reserving more time for the Legislature to study, debate and address public policy matters of statewide importance. | Roughly three-fourths of state constitutions contain one or more provisions restricting the enactment of local laws and special laws. Some of the provisions are relatively simple and some, referred to by some commentators as laundry lists, are rather lengthy. Such provisions serve a variety of purposes, including: (1) preventing the Legislature from usurping local government control over public policy matters normally handled locally (i.e., stopping the Legislature "from meddling in local matters"); and (2) reserving more time for the Legislature to study, debate and address public policy matters of statewide importance. | ||