After laying the foundation for our look at Texas government last week with the sections on the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Texas Constitution(s) this week looks at two - actually three - specific sections within the constitution and sets up a look at the three governing institutions statewide.
- The Texas Bill of Rights. This is the first article in the Texas Constitution and it will allow us to contrast the way that rights and liberties are established in the state and the national government. If you've taken 2305 you'll remember that the U.S. Bill of Rights was amended to the constitution after ratification and as a condition of it. A government based on delegated powers did not need such a document according to the framers, but opponents needed a guarantee.
States are different matters since their powers are potentially endless. While walking through this document we will also begin to note the features in the Texas Constitution that are explicitly intended to keep the powers of state government restricted. We will also note the breadth of rights covered in this section, plus the language that makes rights more of a guarantee than that you see on the national level.
- Local Governments in Texas. This takes us to two sections in the Texas Constitution, the 9th which covers counties and the 11th which covers municipal corporation (cities). This section gives us our best opportunity to look at the purposes of each of these levels of governments as well as the nuances between the two.
They are very different entities and serve very different purposes.
- The Separated Powers. This section is meant mostly as a reminder of material we would have covered in 2305 about the purpose of the separated powers, as well as the problems it can pose for governance. Powers are designed differently in the state of Texas, which raises the possibility - and reality - that the legislative, executive and judicial powers are checked in different ways, with different results.
It's an open question whether governing power in Texas is far more likely to become concentrated than power on the national level.
This section will also set us up to begin looking more thoroughly at the governing powers in the state in sections 3,4, and 5 of the Constitution.
