Texas Constitution:Article IV, Section 11A and Texas Constitution:Article IV, Section 11B: Difference between pages

Latest revision as of 14:29, October 19, 2022

Added November 7, 1989:

(a) The legislature by law may organize and combine into one or more agencies all agencies of the state that: (1) have authority over the confinement or supervision of persons convicted of criminal offenses; (2) set standards or distribute state funds to political subdivisions that have authority over the confinement or supervision of persons convicted of criminal offenses; or (3) gather information about the administration of criminal justice.

(b) The legislature by law may authorize the appointment of members of more than one department of government to serve on the governing body.

Editor Comments

In 1989, the Legislature created the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and its nine-member governing body the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ).

The TDCJ is responsible for the functions formerly assigned to the Texas Department of Corrections, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Texas Adult Probation Commission.

Subsection (a) of this section resolves any question regarding the Legislature's authority to establish the TDCJ.

Subsection (b) of this section exempts the TBCJ from the separation-of-powers mandate of Article II, Section 1.

—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 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article IV, Section 11A of the Texas Constitution (''<small>" ... "</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Added August 24, 1935:
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:Article IV, Section 11B of the Texas Constitution (''<small>" ... "</small>'')}}{{Texas Constitution|text=Added November 7, 1989:
-'''The Courts of the State of Texas having original jurisdiction of criminal actions shall have the power, after conviction, to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and to place the defendant upon probation and to reimpose such sentence, under such conditions as the Legislature may prescribe.'''
+'''(a) The legislature by law may organize and combine into one or more agencies all agencies of the state that: (1) have authority over the confinement or supervision of persons convicted of criminal offenses; (2) set standards or distribute state funds to political subdivisions that have authority over the confinement or supervision of persons convicted of criminal offenses; or (3) gather information about the administration of criminal justice.'''
+'''(b) The legislature by law may authorize the appointment of members of more than one department of government to serve on the governing body.'''
 |editor=
-None.
+In 1989, the Legislature created the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and its nine-member governing body the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ).
+The TDCJ is responsible for the functions formerly assigned to the Texas Department of Corrections, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Texas Adult Probation Commission.
+Subsection (a) of this section resolves any question regarding the Legislature's authority to establish the TDCJ.
+Subsection (b) of this section exempts the TBCJ from the separation-of-powers mandate of Article II, Section [[Texas Constitution:Article II, Section 1|1]].
 |other=
@@ Line 17: / Line 25: @@
 |historic=
-* ''State ex rel. Smith v. Blackwell'', 500 S.W.2d 97, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1712459637793412307#p101 101] (Tex.Crim.App. 1973) (footnote omitted) ("This has long been a maxim of constitutional law. If there has been any remission of the Governor's power of clemency after conviction in criminal cases, it is to be found in Article IV, Section 11A, Vernon's Ann. St. Constitution, which provides: '. . . .' This section of the Constitution is a limited grant of clemency to the courts by the people and does not encompass the general authority to grant commutation and pardons. The section itself has been held not to be self-enacting. ''State v. Klein'', 154 Tex.Cr.R. 31, 224 S.W.2d 250 (1949).")
+None.
 }}
 [[Category:TxCon ArtIV Sec]]