The Texas Constitution is one of the longest constitutions in the United States. It comes second after the Alabama constitution. Owed to the fact that the constitution contains so much policy, it is among the most complex documents. Attempts to reform the constitution have been met with intense opposition from the general public. This may serve to explain the state’s political culture.
There are four basic functions of a constitution. Among the key functions is defining and delegating power and authority, which is necessary to legitimate the political institutions of the state. The second function of a constitution is to prevent governments from violating the basic rights or freedoms of citizens. The third function of the constitution is prevention of power concentration. In this way, a system for balances and checks is provided. The fourth function of a constitution is to generate a level of coordination and trust needed for diverse people to live harmoniously (Schmidt and Shelley, 715).
The Texas constitution in some ways reflects the general principles. The general structure of a democratic government is provided by the constitution. The constitution upholds the long tradition of American democracy by creating a system of balances and checks and separating powers into three branches. Also, the constitution has become a repository of pertinent constitution freedoms and protections such as community property, homestead protection, and the bill of rights, through a process of accumulation (Brown and Garcia, 60).
Despite reflecting most of the principles, the Texas constitution fails to reflect empowerment of government institutions, flexibility, and the general coherence required for a vast, modern, diverse state such as the current Texas. The basis of the constitution is a general distrust of not only political power, but also the politicians. It is extremely difficult to effectively exercise power without maintaining extraordinary majorities in different political realms because the constitution limits and decentralizes power. It is also unfortunate that just like it was in the state’s history, there is little hope for significant constitutional changes to take place (Tarr and Williams, 142).
The principles such as federalism and democracy are relevant to modern Texas politics because they serve in establishing the basic governmental structure. They do so by not only specifying where power lies, but also specifying the powers bestowed upon the government. The constitution provides for restrictions on spending and tax policies as well as restricting the state legislators implementing policies. For instance, it is constitutionally wrong for legislators to implement tax on personal income or allow the state to go into debt (Brown, 60).
The current Texas constitution has been amended several times because of the necessity of streamlining the political system. Attempts to amend the Texas constitution were also aimed at strengthening the government of Texas and changing the way the state government operated. Generally, improving the government has been the sole objective of amending the current Texas constitution severally. However, Texans have opposed the amendment attempts because of the fear that by improving the government, the taxes will increase (Schmidt, 715).
One of the key problems of the current Texas constitution is the fact that is overly long and too detailed. It is also clear that the constitution is poorly written, which is another problem. A third problem worth noting is that the current Texas constitution is confusing in organization. For instance, many different segments of the constitution cover individual subject areas such as the local government. The confusing organization gives rise to prose that is extremely difficult to comprehend (Brown, 61).
Amendment is one of the key ideas that have been discussed to resolve the three problems mentioned. Several amendments have allowed for addition to or deletion of some details from relevant sections or articles. To address the issue of confusing organization, professional transcription and editing has been discussed. However, the original framers of the constitution refused to do so because they were unwilling to spend public money. Owed to the overly long and vast details, it is extremely hard for modern writers to write in prose that is straight-forward and comprehensible. Therefore, no idea has been discussed to address the problem of poor writing (Schmidt, 716).
There are different types of special interests involved when advocating constitutional changes. State legislators are among the key special interests. While state legislators play the role of amending the law of the land, they at the same time know that the altered law will in turn affect them. Wealthy donors are also special interests who have a key influence in the outcome of any constitutional amendment.
An example of a contemporary constitutional reform group is the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform (Tarr, 142). This group pushed for constitutional reform in Alabama. It is a non-profit and grassroots group whose aim is to help Alabamians in drafting a novel constitution. The group was founded in the year 2000 as a movement for both constitutional amendment and civic renewal. It pushes for implementation of a state constitution that does not divide people, but rather, unites them. It also campaigns for a civic atmosphere whereby politics plays the role of benefiting all citizens instead of a few special interests (Tarr, 143).
It is necessary to have another Constitution Convention to address the problems with the current constitution of Texas. The convention should mainly focus on the interests of all citizens rather than a few special interests. The convention should also work towards modifying the constitution in such a way that it becomes comprehensible and less detailed. It is a high time that the Texans learnt to trust their political systems and politicians. This can only be achieved if the current constitution is amended with the help of an effective Constitution Convention.
Works Cited
Brown, Lyle, and Garcia, Sonia. Practicing Texas Politics, Boston, MA: Wadsworth
Cengage Learning, 2011, 60
Schmidt, Steffen, and Shelley, Mack. American Government and Politics Today, Texas
Edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011, 715
Tarr, George, and Williams, Robert. State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century:
The Politics of state constitutional reform. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2006, 142
