Article XI, Section 3 of the Texas Constitution
As amended November 7, 1989:
No county, city, or other municipal corporation shall hereafter become a subscriber to the capital of any private corporation or association, or make any appropriation or donation to the same, or in anywise loan its credit; but this shall not be construed to in any way affect any obligation heretofore undertaken pursuant to law or to prevent a county, city, or other municipal corporation from investing its funds as authorized by law.
Editor Comments
The Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. GA-583 (2007), opined that: "The purpose of [Article III, Section 52(a) and this section] is not to bar all transactions between counties and private entities. An expenditure that directly accomplishes a legitimate county purpose may still be valid even when it incidentally benefits a private interest."
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- City of Cleburne v. Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co., 1 S.W. 342, 342 (Tex. 1886) ("Section 3 of article 11 of the constitution prohibits municipal corporations from making appropriations or donations or loans of its credit to private corporations. The object of this provision was to deprive municipalities of the power possessed by them under the constitution of 1869, in the exercise of which many counties and towns in the state assumed burdens . . . . The increase in population and values expected from railway connection in many instances never came; and the tax, not lightened from these sources, depressed values, prevented immigration, and became a curse to the localities which had invited it as a blessing.")
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)