Compared to the US Constitution, the Texas Constitution is long and convoluted. There’s more a state should do than a federal government. And the amendment process is much easier to accomplish than a US constitutional amendment. A joint resolution passes out of both legislative chambers, and then appears on the following November ballot. If it receives a majority of votes, it becomes part of the Texas Constitution.
Proposed amendments are more likely to pass than not. Since
1876, there have been 714 proposed constitutional amendments; 530 were approved,
and only 181 were not. (If you’re keeping track, there were also 3 that came
out of the legislature and never made it to the ballot, for reasons somewhat
lost to history.) My math shows a 75% pass rate. Maybe it’s because many people
trust the legislature—maybe more than they should. But this year my recommendations
for the 17 proposed amendments are just over ¾ in favor, with 13 for and 4
against.
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