The state of Texas is regulated not only by the Constitution of the US. It has its own Constitution of the state of Texas, written in the 1876. It is a set of rules and regulations, which determine socially significant aspects and identify the type of the government and its functions (May 17). In fact, this constitution has many similar features, comparing with the United States Constitution. However, there are also different aspects, which determine the peculiarities of the living conditions in this state. In general, we can distinguish the following characteristics of the current Texas Constitution.
The Constitution of the State of Texas is considered to be the longest state constitution in the United State. Although, it was created in the 1876, many amendments were made since that time. it is important to mention that any amendment should be provided by voting, and not by the initiative, constitutional convention (May 101). Moreover, the government should provide a brief description of the probable amendments so that the public can get all the needed information in advance.
Nowadays, we can consider the Constitution of the State of Texas to be a regulating document, although, its power is rather limited as the main document is, obviously, the national Constitution. At the same time, the text of the constitution is slightly confusing. For example, similar topics can be described in different parts of the Constitution of Texas while others can have no proper explanation.
The Constitution of the State of Texas contains the Bill of Rights. According to it, all citizens can freely express their opinions, religious beliefs and personal interests and values. Moreover, this constitution guarantees equal rights to every citizen, emphasizing on the importance of their providing in the everyday life. At the same time, it limited the work of the government to a certain extent.
Speaking about the branches of power, the Constitution of Texas strictly emphasized on the necessity of their separation. Thus, we can distinguish between legislative, executive and judicial power in Texas. General statements are quite similar to the US Constitution. However, speaking about the legislative power, we can notice that its work is limited, and their authority is restricted (May 103). For instance, legislative department in Texas has no possibilities to incur debts or issue bonds for special aims.
What is about education, Texas installs a system of the free public schools. It is a task of the legislative power to solve problems and issues, connected with the introduction of the necessary formal education. Moreover, it discusses the question of the introducing of the Permanent University Fund and different types of colleges in order to provide an educational background for the citizens. In addition, the Constitution of the state of Texas regulates the creation of the healthcare centers, hospitals, airports and other elements of the social sphere in order to develop the state's infrastructure (Hill 43).
The process of taxation is regulated mainly by the national laws and the US Constitution. The local government has no rights to provide a local system of the taxes in order to use them with the local purposes.
To sum up, the Constitution of the state of Texas is the local document, which regulates the social sphere particularly in this state. Although it was created more than a century ago, it still covers main social spheres and regulates them in a proper way. This Constitution is not the only regulating document in the state as it is also ruled by the national Constitution. Comparing with the US Constitution, this one has limited opportunities. However, they are enough to regulate the state's law and order.
