CHAPTER 2: FEDERALISM AND THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION

Brandi Dickey

Breanna Desbien

Mackenzie Daniels

Period 3

FEDERALISM IN A NUT SHELL

Federalism is a dual system where the national and

state governments share power and authority over

citizens. Because of this, states have their own

executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Federalism

allows the national level of government to give power to

states but does not allow it to be taken away that easily.

Different Types of Federalism:• Cooperative Federalism- National power increased.• New Federalism- Categorical grants decreased and

block grants became less restrictive.

Taxes are collected by

both the national and

state governments due

to Federalism. Likewise,

both work together to

implement programs

involving social services

and other things.

We live in a “constitutional

republic”. This means that

we, as a country, follow the

constitutional law. Because of

this, the use of judicial

review decides whether

decisions made by Texas (or

any other state) legislature is

constitutional.

Federalism: Shared

Powers Constitutions

FEDERALISM: CONSTITUTIONAL

RESTRICTIONS ON STATES

Federalism changed many things about how Texas ran. Many

of those changes came from the Constitutional Restrictions

placed on every state in the United States. The passage of the

Bill of Rights have contributed to state restriction

alongside limited national government power.• Article I Section 10- Prohibits States from levying taxes on

goods from other states.• Article IV- Sets boundaries and limits for how states treat

one another.• Section 1-Full Faith and Credit shall be given.• Section 2- Citizens of each state are entitled to Privileges and

Immunities given in other states.• Section 3- No new States can be created in an existing state.• Section 4- The U.S. will protect each state.

NATIONAL GAINS

The balance of power has shifted more in the favor of the

national government.

Taxing and Spending Policies cause the national

government to have more power over the states.

The Supreme Court began to use the 14th amendment (due

process and equal protection under the law) to apply the

Bill of Rights to state governments.• Example: Texas couldn’t prosecute Gregory Lee Johnson for

burning the American Flag because of the 1st amendment.

Federal Courts have jurisdiction over areas previously under

state control.

THE “NEW” NEW FEDERALISM

1995- Republican members of the House and Senate promised a

smaller scope of government. However, it didn’t reduce by much.• Devolution- The transfer of programs from the national level to

the state level.

Federal grants started to come with fewer conditions but as a

consequence, states started to have larger shares of many social

service programs.

National Government Mandates (regulations for states set

by Congress) frustrated states to a large extent.

STATE CONSTITUTIONS IN GENERAL

Most state constitutions are similar in design and

concept. They typically answer the question “Who

does what?”

Even though the U.S. typically follows

constitutional law (found in the Constitution; who

knew?), many states have a mix of constitutional

law with legislative law (bills passed by

legislature). Texas is a prime example of this.

TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS OVER THE YEARS

Texas has had seven constitutions so far.

1827- The first was created when Texas was still a part of

the Mexican Federation. In fact, Texas was joined in part with

Coahuila as one state.

1836- Between the fall of the Alamo and the victory at San

Jacinto, the constitution of the Republic of Texas was created

(modeled by that of the U.S.)

1846- Because Texas was annexed by the U.S. a new

constitution was created.

TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS OVER THE YEARS CONTINUED

1861- Texas joined the. Confederacy.

1866- Once Texas rejoined the Union after the Civil War, a

new constitution was written to make slavery illegal.

1869-The former Confederacy was divided into 5 military

districts.

1876- The Reconstruction constitution is adopted to limit

government power and reject Radical Republicanism. It is

the current constitution and has more than 80,000 words.

LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT POWER IN TEXAS’ 1876

CONSTITUTION

The Balanced Budget Provision- Limited the

state’s ability to fall into debt

Biennial Sessions Returned- This was simply

because the less time legislature is in session, the

less opportunities there are for laws to be passed.

Judicial Branches, district courts, and the

terms of judges decreased.

THE BILL OF R IGHTS IN TEXAS’ 1876 CONSTITUTION

As a response to the Davis Administration

(infamous for the implementation of alleged abuses

and the “Obnoxious Acts”), the 1876 constitution

included a Bill of Rights to protect individual

rights.• The Obnoxious Acts of the Davis Administrations

refers to when Governor E.J. Davis and the Republican legislature created a state militia and police force (including African Americans), enabled the governor to fill vacancies in political offices, and other acts found incorrigible by some citizens.

REASONS WHY TEXAS’ BILL OF RIGHTS WERE

IMPORTANT

The United State’s Bill of Rights did not go into

very much detail about the relationship between a

state and its citizens. In fact, the U.S. Bill of Rights

did not apply to state and local governments

until around 1946 (70 years after the Texas Bill of

Rights)

The Texas Bill of Rights allowed Texas to give its

citizens more protection than the U.S. constitution

stated in its Bill of Rights.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE TEXAS BILL OF

RIGHTS

Texas’ Bill of Rights is wordier than that of the U.S.

Likewise, the Texan Bill of rights has 30 provisions

while the U.S.’ Bill of Rights only has 10.

Texas’ Bill of Rights oppose monopolies and

states that citizens will not be imprisoned for

debts.

HOW TO: AMEND THE CONSTITUTION

To amend the Texas Constitution requires both the

House and Senate to approve the proposition by

two-thirds. In addition to this approval, it is

required for the amendment to be ratified by

legislature with a majority of approval from

voters.

Fun Fact: As of 2010, the Texas Constitution has

been amended 467 times.

PROSPECTS FOR REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION

There has been no serious attempt to revise the current

Constitution for Texas. This is, in part, because of the obstacles that

must be overcome before the constitution can be revised. These

obstacles include, but are not limited to:• Opposition from other groups- If the current way benefits a

group, then that group will fight to keep things the way they are..• Loss of Benefits outweigh gain of benefits- Since there is no

guarantee for the future, many people find it more worthwhile to leave things alone.

• Uncomfortable conversation- Most people don’t like change, so to talk about something so drastic and concrete scares the average citizen.

IN CONCLUSION

Since the integration of Texas into the United States, Texas

has become a lot more restricted than it had been previously.

Federalism has caused the state to lose the freedom it had as a

Republic but has given it security and protection in return. Due

to its history within the U.S. Texas has had to revise/compose

its constitution a total of seven times. The current constitution

has been around since 1876 and even though it has been

amended frequently, it has not been rewritten since then.