POLS 207 2nd Edition Lecture 3 Outline of Current Lecture I State Constitutions a Preamble b Bill of Rights c Outline of Structure Powers of State Government d Section On How the Constitution Can Be Amended Legislative Proposal Popular Initiatives II Other Concepts Related to Amending the constitutions a Referendum Constitutional Conventions Constitutional Commissions III Differences between the US and TX Constitution a Length Frequency of Amendments Focus Range of Powers Supremacy Clause IV Texas s 7 Constitutions a 1827 Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas b The Republic of Texas Constitution of 1836 c The Statehood Constitution of 1845 d The Confederacy Constitution of 1861 e The Readmission Constitution of 1866 f The Reconstruction Constitution of 1869 g The Constitution of 1876 V Policy Responsibilities of States and Communities Chapter 1 Politics in States and Communities a Education Health and Welfare Transportation Public Safety Civil Rights Physical Environment and Taxation Current Lecture State Constitutions Topic STATE CONSTITUIONS each state has a constitution that establishes the structure of government defines the powers available to the government and describes the limits on the power of the government includes the powers government can cannot exercise helps predict what governments will do constitutionalism is linked to limited government o without constitutions there would be no restrictions on government power Typical State Constitution contains the following 1 A Preamble 2 Bill of Rights 3 Outline of Structure and Powers of State Government 4 Section Relating to how the Constitution can be Amended 1 PREAMBLE preamble the introduction We the people begins the US Constitution Preamble the importance it s a statement about the purpose of government and where the authority of government comes from the preamble is like the philosophy of the government Where does the authority come from we the people 2 BILL OF RIGHTS In general the Bill of Rights outlines the protections to individual freedom guarantees of liberty examples freedom of speech assembly exercise of religion jury trial due process these same protections in the federal gov constitution are repeated in state constitutions state constitutions usually include additional rights and freedoms NOT found in the US constitution Equal Rights Amendment was not ratified in US Constitution but most state constitutions include it o equal gender rights ban on gender discrimination 3 STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT 1 Describes the powers of the Executive Governor Legislature and Courts 2 Describes the structure of the Executive Branch other branches o bicameral Legislatures in all states except one o only unicameral Legislature is Nebraska 3 Describes the organization and powers of local governments o local governments in counties cities etc are described in a state constitution 4 AMENDING STATE CONSTITUTION state constitutions are amended more frequently than the US Constitution o at least once every other year o in order to make a constitution last you need a way to change amend it Several methods of amending state constitutions o the general two stage process proposal and ratification o 1 Legislative Proposal this is the most common method of amending state constitutions across the US the Legislature proposes the amendment then it is put before the people for a vote ratification takes place by vote of the public usually just need a simple majority not always an effective method because politicians in the Legislature don t want to make a stand and lose support of people o 2 Popular Initiatives the public proposes the amendment through a petition 10 15 percentage of public needed or whatever number required by the state constitution ratification vote by the public yes or no on the amendment if passes it becomes part of the state constitution this is a way to bypass the Legislature no part of the government actually has to propose or ratify people can change state constitution without government What types of issues get dealt with typically controversial issues abortion gambling death penalty etc direct democracy method public is directly involved sets up a picture that a group of people can change the constitution HOWEVER you really need interest groups to back these popular initiative amendments need some organization behind it and a movement to do it will need to run some advertising to get people to vote in favor of your amendments NOT just a bunch of average citizens can do it usually need some interest groups Other Concepts Related to Means of Amending the Constitution REFERENDUM o simple yes or no vote of the public o example the ratification vote voted on by the people whether the amendment is proposed by the legislature or the public as in popular initiative Constitutional Conventions o more theoretical than practical o proposed by state legislatures voters vote on whether or not to have them then vote on the outcome of the convention o the idea of a convention is most often to write a new constitution o very infrequently used Constitutional Commissions o example maybe we don t have a state lottery but it would be a great way to make money so should we make an amendment first establish a commission to look into the issue o Steps Legislature identifies an issue that might need a constitutional amendment Establish a commission group of people to look into the issue propose an amendment commission turns the amendment over to the legislature to see if they want to propose it o Basically the commission is an add on to the legislature proposal process o commission group of independent people outside of legislature to look at the issue at the forefront of the process Differences Between The US Constitution and State Constitutions 1 Length The US Constitution is roughly 8000 words The average state constitution is about 36 000 words which is much longer than US Constitution Alabama s is over 350 000 words Why are state constitutions typically longer added amendments more policy 2 Frequency of Amendments US Constitutions has 27 Amendments including 10 Bill of Rights plus 17 additional amendments Average state constitution is amended more frequently about once every two years No state has fewer amendments than the US Constitution Alabama s has over 700 amendments note the more detailed a state constitution is the more likely interest groups have been influential in the amendment process o interest groups want to get their
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