Texas Constitution of 1876

The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas.

The current document took effect on February 15, 1876, and is the seventh (including the Mexican constitution) constitution in Texas history. The previous six were adopted in 1827 (while Texas was still part of Mexico), 1836 (as the Republic of Texas), 1845, 1861, 1866 and 1869.

The current constitution is among the longest of state constitutions in the United States. Since its initial adoption in 1876, the legislature has proposed 666 constitutional amendments of which 662 have gone before Texas voters; of the 662 which Texas voters have been asked to adopt, 484 have been approved by the electorate and 179 have been defeated.

Most of the amendments are due to the document's highly restrictive nature: the State of Texas has only those powers explicitly granted to it by the Constitution. However, despite its length, it is not nearly as long as the Alabama Constitution (which has been amended over 800 times despite having been adopted 25 years after Texas' current constitution) nor the California Constitution (which, due to provisions allowing amendments via initiative, is subject to frequent revision).

As with many state constitutions, it explicitly provides for the separation of powers and incorporates its bill of rights directly into the text of the constitution (as Article I). The bill of rights is considerably lengthier and more detailed than the federal Bill of Rights, and includes some provisions unique to Texas.

Article 1 is the Texas Constitution's bill of rights. The article originally contained 29 sections; four sections have since been added. Some of the article's provisions concern specific fundamental limitations on the power of the state.

The provisions of the Texas Constitution apply only against the government of Texas. However, a number of the provisions of the U.S. Constitution are held to apply to the states as well, under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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