| 1 | 1 | | 84R5150 RA-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Anderson of McLennan H.C.R. No. 37 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The current Texas Constitution is this state's fifth |
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| 7 | 7 | | charter document since statehood, having been formed on the basis |
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| 8 | 8 | | of previous documents dating back to the days when Texas was an |
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| 9 | 9 | | independent republic; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, The proud independence of Texas has carried forth |
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| 11 | 11 | | inimitably through each of its constitutions, granting the |
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| 12 | 12 | | government limited powers and giving broad control to voters, |
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| 13 | 13 | | thereby embodying the principle of "consent of the governed"; and |
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| 14 | 14 | | WHEREAS, First enacted in 1876, the Texas Constitution was |
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| 15 | 15 | | organized into 289 sections contained within 17 articles outlining |
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| 16 | 16 | | the scope, role, and limitations of governance in this state; |
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| 17 | 17 | | through proposed changes sent to Texas voters by the legislature, |
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| 18 | 18 | | sections within those same 17 articles have been added and deleted, |
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| 19 | 19 | | bringing our current document to 385 sections; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Constitution of 1876 has expanded through |
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| 21 | 21 | | the ratification of proposed amendments, with 484 amendments being |
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| 22 | 22 | | approved, while 179 have been defeated; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Today the Texas Constitution is the nation's |
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| 24 | 24 | | second-longest such document; sections have been placed in the |
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| 25 | 25 | | constitution with apparent disregard for the appropriate article |
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| 26 | 26 | | with which they belong; outdated bonding authority and other |
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| 27 | 27 | | archaic references remain in the document, despite previous |
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| 28 | 28 | | attempts to address nonsubstantive revisions to the Texas |
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| 29 | 29 | | Constitution, the most recent of which occurred in 1999; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Constitution of 1876 remains the supreme |
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| 31 | 31 | | law of the State of Texas, and a strong, independent statement |
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| 32 | 32 | | asserting the right of Texans to shape their government to their |
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| 33 | 33 | | view is of paramount importance to their capacity to support it; |
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| 34 | 34 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 35 | 35 | | RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 36 | 36 | | hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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| 37 | 37 | | of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study a |
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| 38 | 38 | | nonsubstantive reorganization of the Texas Constitution; and, be it |
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| 39 | 39 | | further |
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| 40 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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| 41 | 41 | | findings and recommendations, to the 85th Texas Legislature in |
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| 42 | 42 | | January 2017. |
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