Explain the origin and development of the Texas Constitution. Demonstrate an understanding of the state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.

 

Core Competencies: Critical Thinking (CT); Communication (CM)
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) Potentially Related To This Assignment:
 SLO 1: Explain the origin and development of the Texas Constitution.
 SLO 2: Demonstrate an understanding of the state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.
 SLO 3: Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.
 SLO 4: Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Texas government.
 SLO 6: Analyze the state and local election process.
 SLO 7: Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
 SLO 8: Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas.

Instructions:

Read this entire document. Build some time into your schedule to just think about the
assignment. Taking time to think and reflect often helps enormously on critical thinking writing assignments.

You are an editorial columnist for a newspaper in a small town in Texas assigned to provide the paper’s readers with an analysis of amendments to the Texas constitution.

The editor–in–chief wants you to provide an explanation of the sorts of proposals that have historically been submitted to voters who ultimately decide whether proposed amendments should be ratified.

You are to write an editorial article in which you identify in which you identify and explain a sampling of proposed amendments. You decide to select a sampling of proposed amendments from each of the following categories:

1. Amendments that deal with specific public policy issues.

2. Amendments that
deal with governmental organization or powers of government at the state or local level.

3. Amendments that permit state government to issue debt (bond issues).
To get started with your assignment, go to the website of the Legislative Reference Library of Texas (URL
link: https://lrl.texas.gov/legis/constAmends/index.cfm). Click on the link to “View reports analyzing proposed amendments.” The website will display links to information pertaining to constitutional amendment elections from 1958 to 2019.
Click on the links to “Analyses of Proposed Constitutional Amendments” for various years over this 62–
year period. Each link you click will open a publication of the Texas Legislative Council providing information about the ballot measures that were submitted to voters that year.

In the Table of Contents for each, you can get a quick overview of the subject of each proposed amendment. You can click on the link to each proposed amendment listed in the Table of Contents to read an explanation of the proposal.

Elections listed on the website. You will need to review enough to get a good general understanding of the kinds of proposed amendments that have been historically submitted to voters.

Your editor–in–chief recommends that you examine amendments from a half dozen or so elections. For example, perhaps you choose to examine proposed amendments from the following elections:
 November 5, 2019
 November 5, 2013
 November 8, 2005
 November 4, 1997
 November 5, 1991
 November 8, 1983
You do not have to choose these specific years; you can choose the ones you want.

Read the analyses of the proposed amendments for the years you choose. Once you have obtained some understanding of the specific issues that were submitted to voters in these elections, attempt to organize them according to the types of issues suggested above:
1. Amendments that deal with specific public policy issues.
2. Amendments that deal with governmental organization or powers of government at the state or
local level.
3. Amendments that permit state government to issue debt (bond issues).
Do most of the proposed amendments fall disproportionately into one of these three categories? Or do they fall fairly evenly into each of the three categories?

You may want to concentrate on the governmental structures or institutions it establishes. For instance, you might outline and discuss the powers of the president, arguing that the proposed constitution gives too much or too little authority to the chief executive

 Alternatively, you may want to focus on the powers delegated by the Constitution to the United States Congress or on the nature of judicial power under the document.
Other aspects of the proposed constitution that you may want to consider include, but are not limited to:

 What form of government does the Constitution establish? Is this the best or ideal form?

 Is one branch of government given primacy over the others? Is there a “proper” balance power among the branches? Should “balancing” power among the branches a concern?

 What should the “proper” relationship between the national and the state governments? Does the document give too much or too little power to the national government? How much power does it reserve for the states? Is that too much or too little power?

 How far does the new constitution go to protect the rights of individuals? Does the Constitution include any provisions promoting the value of equality? Does it go too far or not far enough in promoting these values?

 Does the document provide for “workable” democratic processes?

 What mechanisms does the document employ to limit the power of government? Will they be effective?
You should not limit your consideration of constitutional to only these questions. Nor should you feel obligated to answers all of these questions. You may, of course, ask (and answer) your own questions.