Article XVII, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution
As amended November 2, 1999:
(a) The Legislature, at any regular session, or at any special session when the matter is included within the purposes for which the session is convened, may propose amendments revising the Constitution, to be voted upon by the qualified voters for statewide offices and propositions, as defined in the Constitution and statutes of this State. The date of the elections shall be specified by the Legislature. The proposal for submission must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, entered by yeas and nays on the journals.
(b) A brief explanatory statement of the nature of a proposed amendment, together with the date of the election and the wording of the proposition as it is to appear on the ballot, shall be published twice in each newspaper in the State which meets requirements set by the Legislature for the publication of official notices of offices and departments of the state government. The explanatory statement shall be prepared by the Secretary of State and shall be approved by the Attorney General. The Secretary of State shall send a full and complete copy of the proposed amendment or amendments to each county clerk who shall post the same in a public place in the courthouse at least 30 days prior to the election on said amendment. The first notice shall be published not more than 60 days nor less than 50 days before the date of the election, and the second notice shall be published on the same day in the succeeding week. The Legislature shall fix the standards for the rate of charge for the publication, which may not be higher than the newspaper's published national rate for advertising per column inch.
(c) The election shall be held in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Legislature, and the returning officer in each county shall make returns to the Secretary of State of the number of legal votes cast at the election for and against each amendment. If it appears from the returns that a majority of the votes cast have been cast in favor of an amendment, it shall become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation thereof shall be made by the Governor.
Editor Comments
As adopted in 1876, this section read: "The Legislature, at any biennial session, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected in each House, to be entered by yeas and nays on the journals, may propose amendments to the Constitution, to be voted upon by the qualified electors for members of the Legislature, which proposed amendments shall be duly published once a week for four weeks, commencing at least three months before an election, the time of which shall be specified by the Legislature, in one weekly newspaper of each county, in which such a newspaper may be published; and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers of said election, to open a poll for, and make returns to the secretary of state, of the number of legal votes cast at said election for and against said amendments; and if more than one be proposed, then the number of votes cast for and against each of them; and if it shall appear from said return, that a majority of the votes cast have been cast in favor of any amendment, the said amendment so receiving a majority of the votes cast, shall become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation shall be made by the governor thereof."
The section has been amended twice. The 1972 amendment addressed special sessions and modified the notification requirements. The 1999 amendment was a non-substantive revision.
Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. CM-874 (1971), opined that: "The Governor does not have constitutional power to veto proposed constitutional amendments."
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- Torres v. State, 278 S.W.2d 853, 855 (Tex.Crim.App. 1955) (citations omitted) ("Article 8.38, Vernon's Texas Election Code, provides for a canvass of the returns of an election on the 17th day after the . . . . It is apparent therefore that at the time of the trial the returns of the election had not been canvassed. A constitutional amendment becomes a part of the Constitution upon the date that the official canvass of the returns shows that it has been adopted. The effective date does not relate back to the date of the election at which it was adopted, nor is the effective date postponed until the date of the Governor's proclamation declaring its adoption. It therefore follows that the motion to quash is without merit.")
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)