Tarlton Law Library: Texas Legal Resources at Tarlton: State Constitution

Overview

The current constitution of Texas dates from 1876 and has been amended hundreds of times. In many ways, researching the state constitution is the same as researching other Texas statutory law. However, there are additional, specialized resources for the constitution in particular. This page first lays out links to online and print versions of the current constitution and amendments. Below that are selected online and print reference works and interpretive resources on the 1876 constitution.

Constitutional Text

Online:

Texas Constitution and Statutes
The Texas Legislative Council (TLC) maintains the official text of the Texas Constitution on the TCAS website at https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov. The constitutional provisions found on TCAS comply with the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA).
Texas Constitution
From the Texas Legislative Council. Includes amendments through Nov. 2, 2021 election. Unannotated; includes index. In PDF.

Print:

Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas
Call Number: KFT1230.5.V4 A1
9 volumes, at beginning of larger Vernon's set. Final volume includes index, along with historical essays and unannotated prior constitutions. Includes historical notes that reference earlier Texas constitutions. Includes uncredited interpretative commentary from 1955 by Professor A.J. Thomas and Ann Van Wynen Thomas that provide background and historical information.

Reference Works and Interpretative Resources

Online:

Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876
From the Texas Legislative Council. Table organized by constitutional section. Covers adopted and defeated amendments. Entries include a description, joint resolution number for amendments, date and outcome of elections, and selected comments.
Texas Constitutional Amendments database
From the Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Searchable by legislative session, proposition number, constitution article or section number, caption, and whether the amendment was adopted or defeated. Provides text of joint resolution along with legislative history.
Constitution of Texas: 1876
From Tarlton's digitized collection of Texas constitutions. Site also includes contemporaneous Journal of the 1875 convention. There was no official recording of debates, but site also includes 1930 compilation of contemporaneous newspaper coverage.
James C. Harrington, The Once and Future Texas Bill of Rights, State Bar of Texas 14th Annual Bill of Rights, May 15, 2020
CLE available via TexasBarCLE; registration required.
John Walker Mauer, State Constitutions in a Time of Crisis: The Case of the Texas Constitution of 1876, 68 Tex. L. Rev. 1615 (1990).
Josh Morrow, There Is Only One Texas Constitution, 52 St. Mary's L. Rev. 765 (2021)
The pre-ratification text of the Texas constitution appeared throughout the state in conflicting English- and foreign-language copies. This article solves these problems by showing that the parchment copy that the delegates to the constitutional convention signed and enrolled is the only instrument that governs the state today.
50 Constitutions
Current text of all 50 state constitutions available and searchable. Amendments to state constitutions will be added. A project of the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative.
The Democracy Principle: A project of the State Democracy Research Initiative
Covers state constitutional provisions touching on democracy; can browse by state or by category. Exploring by category—popular sovereignty, suffrage, government institutions, political equality, direct democracy, and constitutional change—also displays featured cases. From the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative.
State Constitution Tool
A comparative tool for text of all 50 states. A project of American Juris Link, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization.

Print:

Texas Constitution in State and Nation by Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes
Call Number: KFT1602 .R46 2014
Compilation and Analysis of the 1998 Texas Constitution and the Original 1876 Text by Robert H. Angell
Call Number: KFT1601 1876.A6 A54 1998
Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide by Janice C. May
Call Number: KFT1601 1876.A6 M39 1996
Texas volume of Reference Guides to the State Constitutions of the United States series.
The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis by George D. Braden et al.
Call Number: KFT1601 1876 .A255 1977
Also available online from the Texas State Law Library.
Amendments to Texas Constitution of 1876 by Harold J. Marburger
Call Number: KFT1601 1876.A7 M37 1956
Itemized results of proposed amendments during the first 80 years of the constitution’s history.

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Texas Legal Resources at Tarlton

Overview

Constitutional Text

Reference Works and Interpretative Resources