POLS Chapter 3 Lecture Notes 9 23 12 Constitutions State Constitutions A lot of variations between states o Reflections of a state s political culture Ex Conservative or liberal o Reflection of a state s history o Reflection of a citizen s understanding of Good Government o Reflection of geography Alaska does not tax citizens their resources can pay for the economy State Constitutions within Federal Political System Dual Constitutionalism All establish roles and responsibilities of government All define institutional structure All establish operational procedures o Nebraska ONLY unicameral state o Texas meets every 2 years for 180 days All spell out rights of citizens o Natural Law Higher Law Differences from U S Constitution Permanence Length o States have longer constitutions o Alabama Longest 330 000 words o Southern states have the longest constitutions Specificity Embrace of Democracy Finances pass bills o Referendums and ballot initiatives Helps to get something put on the agenda o Balanced budgets appropriation bills States differ in percentage of votes needed to o During recession local government can t stimulate economy through deficit spending o Try to demonstrate fiscal responsibility Southern states had more constitutions because of seceding and then coming back Louisiana 11 Colonial Charters 1606 allowed people to govern certain areas of land o When U S declares independence they lose colonial charters and lose Rights of Evolution of State Constitutions Englishmen Legislative power o Unicameral v Bicameral Legislature 13 colonies started with bicameral o Power of Governors o Jim Crow Laws and the franchise North franchises more people few people own all of the land in the north John Adams argues each state should define their own constitution getting away from idea of the crown Texas Constitutions State of Coahuila y Tejas 1824 1836 o 1st governs TX in 1824 finalized in 1827 o Constitution is part of a provincial constitution for Mexican government o Loose constitution that allows white families to settle o Enforces Roman Catholicism as state religion o Enforces strong government o Santa Anna Mexican President at the time Constitution of Republic of Texas 1836 1845 o Drafted soon after and ratified in 1836 o Paralleled U S Constitution o Allowed slavery Statehood Constitution 1845 1861 o Required for admission in the union o Modeled after other southern state constitutions o Regarded as one of the nation s best constitutions at the time Progressive Influenced by Jacksonian Democracy Civil War Constitution 1861 1866 Made almost every office elective and limited by short terms o Secession prompted the adoption of a slightly revised constitution o Altered the 1845 constitution to further protect slavery and to declare allegiance to confederacy o Very little change to 1845 constitution Reconstruction Constitution 1866 1869 o New constitution was ratified in effort to meet requirements imposed by President Andrew Johnson on southern states for readmission to the union o Provisions of this constitution didn t satisfy radical leadership of U S congress and so it was short lived Radical Reconstruction Constitution 1869 1876 o Constitution drafted in 1868 and 1869 contained many features that modern reformers would like to see Centralized power Generous salaries for state officials Appointed judges Annual legislative sessions o Made strong governor Present Texas Constitution Historical background Sentiment favoring constitutional revision appeared as soon as democrats regained control of legislative branch in 1872 Following failure of reform effort in 1874 a constitutional convention was organized in 1875 o 90 delegates VERY conservative o Reflected retrenchment Believed in white supremacy and determined to limit government power Document produced by convention contained many provisions restricting governments powers and ESPECIALLY those of the governor Constitution reflect the time of its writing Strong conservative agrarian interest State s voters approved by wide margin in 1876 General Features Contains 17 articles o Article 1 Bill of Rights o Provides for limited government Popular sovereignty Legislature 31 member senate 150 member house by the governor Article 3 Spells out specific actions that legislature can t do o Requires balanced budget o Receive salary of 7 200 annually Executive officials Lt Governor Attorney General Article 4 o Officials get elected separately o Texas has the weakest governor o Both meet odd number of years 140 days every 2 years or if a special session is called Governor is chief executive officer of state but shares responsibility with 5 other elected Judicial Overly specific Article 5 o Requires each county have elected sheriff o Separate supreme courts for civil and criminal matters o Judges elected and DON T have to have formal legal training Amending State Constitutions Formal changes o Legislative proposals Congress proposes o Ballot initiatives and referendums People suggest Makes society more democratic o Constitutional Convention o Constitutional Revision Commissions o Ratification Informal changes o Judicial review o Shifting powers between powers o Neglect Amendments Proposed by absolute 2 3 majority vote in both houses Ratified by simple majority vote in statewide election Amendments necessary due to restrictive character specificity of document 456 Major Defects of 1876 Constitution Excessive Length o 17 Articles 340 Sections 55 00 Words when drafted Poorly Drafted o Some articles are blank o One sentence has 765 words o Over 3000 amendments have introduced Contains dead wood Legislative Dominance o Contains thoughts references back to 1876 o Only legislature is allowed to made amendments Local Government is limited o County is the lowest level of government o Every county is created equal regardless of number of residents Texas has 254 counties Commissioner sheriff justice of peace in every county There are roughly 100 amendments per state Some states require 2 sessions of an amendment being suggested for it to be voted on This prevents short lived ideas Most states require majority of supermajority Why State Constitutions Vary Historical circumstances o Governor Davis for Texas Political culture o Traditionalistic Individualistic Geography Model Constitution Perceptions of good government Operating rules and selection for office Distribution of political power Inclusion of specific citizen s rights Representative v direct
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