Article VIII, Section 22 of the Texas Constitution

Added November 7, 1978:

(a) In no biennium shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues not dedicated by this constitution exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state's economy. The legislature shall provide by general law procedures to implement this subsection.

(b) If the legislature by adoption of a resolution approved by a record vote of a majority of the members of each house finds that an emergency exists and identifies the nature of the emergency, the legislature may provide for appropriations in excess of the amount authorized by Subsection (a) of this section. The excess authorized under this subsection may not exceed the amount specified in the resolution.

(c) In no case shall appropriations exceed revenues as provided in Article III, Section 49a, of this constitution. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, amend, or repeal Article III, Section 49a, of this constitution.

Editor Comments

None.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

• Dewhurst v. Hendee, 253 S.W.3d 320, 336-37 (Tex.App.–Austin 2008, denied) (citations omitted) ("The meaning of the terms 'the state's economy' and 'the estimated rate of growth of the state's economy' is not self-apparent, but entails consideration of myriad technical and policy variables. Nor does article VIII, section 22 provide . . . . Instead, the provision expressly contemplates that the legislature will address these matters in the first instance when devising 'procedures to implement this subsection.' We cannot conclude that the legislature's determination to select SPI as the basis for calculating the growth factor was without guiding rules and principles relative to article VIII, section 22(a)'s purposes.")

• Hendee v. Dewhurst, 228 S.W.3d 354, 360-61 (Tex.App.–Austin 2007, denied) (footnote omitted) ("Article VIII, section 22 was borne of a tax reform effort in the late 1970s. It was one of several components of a 'Tax Relief Amendment' to the constitution proposed earlier that year by the 65th legislature during a special session called for that purpose . . . . H.J.R. 1, 65th Leg., 2d C.S. It was apparently modeled on a Tennessee provision. See Janice C. May, The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide 310 (1996). Article VIII, section 22 was ratified by the voters in November 1978. As the second sentence of Article VIII, section 22(a) requires, the legislature enacted laws to implement the provision.")

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)