Texas constitution structure and provisions

Texas Constitution

The fundamental law of the State of Texas is clearly stated out in the Constitution of the State of Texas. This document was officially adopted by the voters of the State in 1876 and has since them been amended in several occasions. In addition, under this constitution, the principles for the operation of state government and legal system have been outlined. The principle of separation of powers has given way to three distinct branches of the government that include the legislature, the executive, and the judicial. The departments are guided by specific constitutional provisions. However, some of the provisions have been perceived as inhibitory to the proper functioning of the State and must be reformed. Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of Texas government, it is necessary for these provisions to be reviewed and necessary reforms adopted.

Legislative Branch

The legislative department is the dominant branch of the state of Texas as provided by the state constitution of separation of powers.

The structure of the legislature by itself is inhibitory to the effectiveness of popular representation in Texas. The legislature is provided with compensation that is often meager compared to other states. One of the reforms proposed is increasing the pay for legislators. It is evident that lower pay has made the legislators depend on other sources of income in order to sustain themselves, their families, and make up for their campaigning expenditure (Texas Politics, chapter 5). In fact, this could explain the reason as to why they engage in lobbying for other jobs contrary to the provision of the constitution that requires them to be dedicated only to their legislative duties (Kraemer, Charldean, and Prindle 34).

Secondly, there also exists a constitutional provision that provides that the legislators have a limited time for their session. Normally, these sessions are expected to be confined just within 140 days in a given year. This limited time for house business has forced the legislators to hurriedly and ineffectively brush through the various bills that are presented on the first day of regular business. For example, in 2010, 394 bills were presented. Such a high number clearly points at the need for extra time session for the legislators. The proposed reforms seek to increase the duration of these sessions (May 16).

Executive Branch

Texas constitution provides that the Executive Department shall comprise of a Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Attorney General. The Governor is the Chief Executive Officer of the State. All these officers, with the exception of Secretary of State, shall be elected by voters at the time and place of voting. A governor must at least be 30 years of age. Their compensation in terms of salaries and other allowances is determined by the legislature (May 12).

These provisions limit the powers of the Governor such that he becomes toothless. Most of the governor's decisions are subjected to the approval of the legislature. The bureaucracy of decision-making has not only slowed down decision-making process, but has also increased the complexity with which several decisions affecting the state are made (Kraemer, Charldean, and Prindle 37).

One of the suggested reforms includes giving the governor more power, especially in the appointment of some judicial officers. As the constitution is at the moment, a significant proportion of executive members are elected rather than appointed. Such a provision implies that the governor cannot come up with his or her own desired team that shares the same goals and ambitions for the state. In fact, this explains the reason as to why the power of a governor is limited as they cannot fire or hire an under-performing member in their department (Texas Politics, chapter 9).

Judicial Branch

The judicial branch of Texas government comprises the court system of the State and judicial agencies, which includes the Office of the administration. It plays the role of interpreting the law and resolving the conflicts related to it (Texas Politics, chapter 7).

There exists a provision in Texas constitution that permits legislators to form special courts to handle cases that require special attention. The problem associated with this provision is that incoherent court structure has resulted over the years. Notably, the ability of legislators to create fresh court levels has resulted in overlapping and unclear district courts. As at the moment, the Texas judicial system is made up of five court levels. Whereas some of them were created by the Texas constitution, other levels, as already stated, was a matter of legislative decision. The first court levels trace their origin to the entrenchment of the Texas constitution of the 1822 and 1836 (Kraemer, Charldean, and Prindle 44).

However, as the number and complexity of cases increased, the legislators were forced to create other courts. The ease with which the new court levels are created is the main reason as to why Texas seems to lack coherence of the court structure. The proposed reforms seek to eliminate the constitutional clause that gives the legislature absolute powers over the judiciary. Instead, their power can be limited by subjecting some of their decisions, which in this case include the creation of new court levels, to referendum (May 24).