USA > Texas > A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879. Embracing the periods of missions, colonization, the revolution the republic, and the state; also, a topographical description of the country together with its Indian tribes and their wars, and biographical sketches of hundreds of its leading historical characters. Also, a list of the countries, with historical and topical notes, and descriptions of the public institutions of the state > Part 60
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SEC. 15. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, during its sessions, any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly conduct in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings ; provided, such impris- onment shall not at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours.
SEC. 16. The sessions of each House shall be open, except the Senate when in executive session.
SEC. 17. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that where the Legis- lature may be sitting.
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SEC. 18. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which he may be elected, be eligible to any civil office of profit under this State which shall have been created or the emoluments of which may have been increased during such term; no member of either House shall, during the term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appointment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either branch of the Legis- lature; and no member of either House shall vote for any other member for any office whatever, which may be filled by a vote of the Legislature, except in such cases as are in this Constitution provided. Nor shall any member of the Legislature be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract with the State, or any county thereof, authorized by any law passed during the term for which he shall have been elected.
SEC. 19. No judge of any court, Secretary of State, Attorney-General, clerk o any court of record, or any person holding a lucrative office under the United States, or this State, or any foreign government, shall, during the term for which he is elected or appointed, be eligible to the Legislature.
SEC. 20. No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be eligible to the Legislature, or to any office of profit or trust under the State government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collections, or for all public moneys with which he may have been en- trusted.
SEC. 21. No member shall be questioned in any other place for words spoken in debate in either House.
SEC. 22. A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.
SEC. 23. If any Senator or Representative remove his residence from the district or county for which he was elected, his office shall thereby become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in section 13 of this arti- cle.
SEC. 24. The members of the Legislature shall receive from the public Treasury such compensation for their services as may, from time to time, be provided by law, not exceeding five dollars per day for the first sixty days of each session; and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for the remainder of the session; except the first session held under this Con- stitution, when they may receive not exceeding four dollars per day for the first ninety days, and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for the remainder of the session. In addition to the per diem the members of each House shall be entitled to mileage in going to and returning from the seat of government, which mileage shall not exceed five dollars for every twenty- five miles, the distance to be computed by the nearest and most direct route of travel by land, regardless of railways and water routes; and the Comp- troller of the State shall prepare and preserve a table of distances to each county seat now or hereafter to be estalished, and by such table the mileage of each member shall be paid; but no member shall be entitled to mileage
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for any extra session that may be called within one day after the adjourn- ment of a regular or called session.
SEC. 25. The State shall be divided into senatorial districts of contiguous territory, according to the number of qualified electors, as nearly as may be, and each district shall be entitled to elect one Senator, and no single county shall be entitled to more than one Senator.
SEC. 26. The members of the House of Representatives shall be appor- tioned among the several counties, according to the number of population of the State, as ascertained by the most recent United States census, by the number of members of which the House is composed : Provided, that when- ever a single county has sufficient population to be entitled to a Representa- tive, such county shall be formed into a separate representative district, and when two or more counties are required to make up the ratio of represen- tation, such counties shall be contiguous to each other; and when any one county has more than sufficient population to be entitled to one or more Representatives, such Representative or Representatives shall be appor- tioned to such county, and for any surplus of population it may be joined in a representative district with any other contiguous county or counties.
SEC. 27. Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be general throughout the State, and shall be regulated by law.
SEC. 28. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the publication of each United States decennial census, apportion the State into senatorial and representative districts, agreeably to the provisions of section 25 and 26 of this article; and until the next decennial census, when the first apportion- ment shall be made by the Legislature, the State shall be, and it is hereby, divided into senatorial and representative districts, as provided by an ordin- ance of the Convention on that subject.
PROCEEDINGS.
SEC. 29. The enacting clause of all laws shall be, "Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas."
SEC. 30. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so amended in its passage through either House as to change its original pur- pose.
SEC. 31. Bills may originate in either House, and when passed by such House, may be amended, altered, or rejected by the other.
SEC. 32. No bill shall have the force of law until it has been read on three several days in each House, and free discussion allowed thereon; but in cases of imperative public necessity (which necessity shall be stated in a preamble, or in the body of the bill), four-fifths of the House in which the bill may be pending may suspend this rule, the yeas and nays being taken on the question of suspension, and entered upon the journals.
SEC. 33. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Rep- resentatives, but the Senate may amend or reject them as other bills.
SEC. 34. After a bill has been considered and defeated by cither House of
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the Legislature, no bill containing the same substance shall be passed into a law during the same session. After a resolution has been acted on and defeated, no resolution containing the same substance shall be considered at the same session.
SEC. 35. No bill (except general appropriation bills, which may embrace the various subjects and accounts for and on account of which moneys are appropriated) shall contain more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only. as to so much thereof as shall not be expressed.
SEC. 36. No law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title; but in such case the act revived or the section or sections amended shall be re- enacted and published at length.
SEC. 37. No bill shall be considered, unless it has been first referred to a committee and reported thereon ; and no bill shall be passed which has not been presented and referred to and reported from a committee at least three days before the final adjournment of the Legislature.
SEC. 38. The presiding officer of each House shall, in the presence of the House over which he presides, sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by the Legislature, after their titles have been publicly read before signing; and the fact of signing shall be entered on the journals.
SEC. 39. No law passed by the Legislature, except the general appropria- tion act, shall take effect or go into force until ninety days after the adjourn- ment of the session at which it was enacted, unless in case of an emergency, which emergency must be expressed in a preamble or in the body of the act, the Legislature shall, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each IIouse, otherwise direct; said vote to be taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon the journals.
SEC. 40. When the Legislature shall be convened in special session, there shall be no legislation upon subjects other than those designated in the pro- clamation of the Governor calling such session, or presented to them by the Governor; and no such session shall be of longer duration than thirty days.
SEC. 41. In all elections by the Senate and House of Representatives, jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce, except in the election of their officers.
REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.
SEC. 42. The Legislature shall pass such laws as may be necessary to carry into effect provisions of this Constitution.
SEC. 43. The first session of the Legislature under this Constitution shall provide for revising, digesting, and publishing the laws, civil and criminal; and a like revision, digest, and publication may be made every ten years thereafter; provided, that in the adoption of and giving effect to any such digest or revision, the Legislature shall not be limited by Sections 35 and 36 of this article.
TODAY MANI'M UNAS
VIEW OF CORN FIELD IN BRAZOS EOTTOM, ROBERTSON COUNTY. Taken May 18th, 1878, on I. & G. N. R. R.
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SEC. 44. The Legislature shall provide by law for the compensation of all officers, servants, agents, and public contractors, not provided for in this Constitution, but shall not grant extra compensation to any officer, agent, servant, or public contractor, after such public service shall have been performed or contract entered into for the performance of the same; nor grant by appropriation or otherwise, any amount of money out of the treas- ury of the State, to any individual, on a claim, real or pretended, when the same shall not have been provided for by pre-existing law ; nor employ any one in the name of the State unless authorized by pre-existing law.
SEC. 45. The power to change the venue in civil and criminal cases shall be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such manner as shall be provided by law ; and the Legislature shall pass laws for that purpose.
SEC. 46. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, enact effective vagrant laws.
SEC. 47. The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting the establishment of lotteries and gift enterprises, in this State, as well as the sale of tickets in lotteries, gift enterprises, or other evasions involving the lottery princi- ple, established or existing in other States.
SEC. 48. The Legislature shall not have the right to levy taxes or impose burdens upon the people, except to raise revenue sufficient for the econom- ir al administration of the government, in which may be included the follow- ing purposes :
The payment of all interest upon the bonded debt of the State;
The erection and repairs of public buildings ;
The benefit of the sinking fund, which shall not be more than two per centum of the public debt; and for the payment of the present floating debt of the State, including matured bonds for the payment of which the sinking fund is inadequate ;
The support of public schools, in which shall be included colleges and universities established by the State; and the maintenance and support of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas ;
The payment of the cost of assessing and collecting the revenue; and the payment of all officers, agents, and employees of the State government, and all incidental expenses connected therewith ;
The support of the Blind Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and the Insane Asylum, the State Cemetery, and the public grounds of the State;
The enforcement of quarantine regulations on the coast of Texas; The protection of the frontier.
SEC. 49. No debt shall be created by or on behalf of the State, except to supply casual deficiencies of the revenue, repel invasion, suppress insurrec- tion, defend the State in war, or pay existing debt; and the debt created to supply deficiencies in the revenue shall never exceed in the aggregate at any one time two hundred thousand dollars.
SEC. 50. The Legislature shall have no power to give or to lend, or to authorize the giving or lending, of the credit of the State in aid of, or to any person, association, or corporation, whether municipal or other: or to
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pledge the credit of the State in any manner whatsoever, for the payment of the liabilities, present or prospective, of any individual, association of individuals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever.
SEC. 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make any grant, or au- thorize the making of any grant, of public money to any individual, asso- ciation of individuals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever ; provided, that this shall not be so construed as to prevent the grant of aid in case of public calamity.
SEC. 52. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize any county, city, towu, or other political corporation, or subdivision of the State, to lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value, in aid of or to any individual, association, or corporation whatsoever; or to become a stock- holder in such corporation, association, or company.
SEC. 53. The Legislature shall have no power to grant, or to authorize any county or municipal authority to grant, any extra compensation, fee, or allowance to a public officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after service has been rendered, or a contract has been entered into, and performed in whole or in part ; nor pay, nor authorize the payment of, any claim created against any county or municipality of the State, under any agreement or contract, made without authority of law.
SEC. 54. The Legislature shall have no power to release or alienate any lien held by the State upon any railroad, or in anywise change the tenor or meaning, or pass any act explanatory thereof; but the same shall be enforced in accordance with the original terms upon which it was acquired.
SEC. 55. The Legislature shall have no power to release or extinguish, or to authorize the releasing or extinguishing, in whole or in part, the indebt- edness, liability, or obligation of any incorporation or individual to this State, or to any county, or other municipal corporation therein.
SEC. 56. The Legislature shall not, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, pass any local or special law, authorizing :
The creation, extension, or impairing of liens;
Regulating the affairs of counties, cities, towns, wards, or school districts ; Changing the name of persons or places; changing the venue in civil or criminal cases ;
Authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, or maintaining of roads, higliways, streets, or alleys;
Relating to ferries and bridges, or incorporating ferry or bridge companies, except for the erection of bridges crossing streams which form boundaries between this and any other State ;
Vacating roads, town plats, streets, or alleys ;
Relating to cemeteries, graveyards, or public grounds not of the State;
Authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children;
Locating or changing county seats ;
Incorporating cities, towns, or villages, or changing their charters;
For the opening and conducting of elections, or fixing or changing the places of voting ;
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Granting divorces ;
Creating offices, or prescribing the powers and duties of officers, in counties, cities, towns, election or school districts ;
Changing the law of descent or succession ;
Regulating the practice or jurisdiction of, or changing the rules of evidence in any judicial proceeding or enquiry before courts, justices of the peace, sheriffs, commissioners, arbitrators, or other tribunals, or providing or changing methods for the collection of debts, or the enforcing of judgments, or prescribing the effect of judicial sales of real estate;
Regulating the fees, or extending the powers and duties of aldermen, justices of the peace, magistrates, or constables ;
Regulating the management of public schools, the building or repairing of school-houses, and the raising of money for such purposes;
Fixing the rate of interest;
Affecting the estates of minors, or persons under disability ;
Remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures, and refunding moneys legally paid into the treasury ;
Exempting property from taxation ;
Regulating labor, trade, mining, and manufacturing ;
Declaring any named person of age;
Extending the time for the assessment or collection of taxes, or otherwise relieving any assessor or collector of taxes from the due performance of his official duties, or his securities from liability ;
Giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds;
Summoning or impanelling grand or petit juries ;
For limitation of civil or criminal actions;
For incorporating railroads or other work of internal improvements;
And in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, no local or special law shall be enacted; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit the Legislature from passing special laws for the preservation of the game and fish of this State in certain localities.
SEC. 57. No local or special law shall be passed, unless notice of the inten- tion to apply therefor shall have been published in the locality where the matter or thing to be affected may be situated, which notice shall state the substance of the contemplated law, and shall be published at least thirty days prior to the introduction into the Legislature of such bill, and in the manner to be provided by law. The evidence of such notice having been published shall be exhibited in the Legislature before such act shall be passed.
SEC. 58. The Legislature shall hold its sessions at the city of Austin, which is hereby declared to be the Seat of Government.
ARTICLE IV.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
SECTION 1. The Executive Department of the State shall consist of a Governor, who shall be the chief Executive Officer of the State, a Lieutenant-
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Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Attorney-General.
SEC. 2. All the above officers of the Executive Department (except Sec- retary of State) shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at the time and places of election for members of the Legislature.
SEC. 3. The returns of every election for said Executive Officers, until otherwise provided by law, shall be made out, sealed up, and transmitted by the returning officers prescribed by law, to the scat of government, directed to the Secretary of State, who shall deliver the same to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as soon as the Speaker shall be chosen ; and the said Speaker shall, during the first week of the session of the Legisla- ture, open and publish them in the presence of both Houses of the Legisla- ture. The person, voted for at said election, having the highest number of votes for each of said offices respectively, and being constitutionally eligible, shall be declared by the Speaker, under sanction of the Legislature, to be elected to said office. But if two or more persons shall have the highest and an equal number of votes for cither of said offices, one of them shall be immediately chosen to such office by joint vote of both Houses of the Leg- islature. Contested elections for either of said offices shall be determined by both Houses of the Legislature in joint session.
SEC. 4. The Governor shall be installed on the first Tuesday after the or- ganization of the Legislature, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and shall hold his office for the term of two years, or until his successor shall be duly installed. He shall be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this State at least five years immediately preceding his election.
SEC. 5. He shall, at stated times, receive as compensation for his services an annual salary of four thousand dollars, and no more, and shall have the use and occupation of the Governor's mansion, fixtures, and furniture.
SEC. 6. During the time he holds the office of Governor he shall not hold any other office, civil, military, or corporate; nor shall he practice any pro_ fession, and receive compensation, reward, fec, or the promise thereof, for the same; nor receive any salary, reward, or compensation, or the promise thereof, from any person or corporation, for any service rendered or per- formed during the time he is Governor, or to be thereafter rendered or per- formed.
SEC. 7. IIe shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, except when they are called into actual service of the United States. He shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, repel invasions, and protect the frontier from hostile incursions by Indians or other predatory bands.
SEC. 8. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the Legislature at the seat of government, or at a different place in case that should be in possession of the public enemy, or in case of the prevalence of disease thereat. His proclamation therefor shall state specifically the pur- pose for which the Legislature is convened.
CEPELTYIN
HAT
APS
ANTHO
TREMONT STREET, GALVESTON.
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SEC. 9. The Governor shall, at the commencement of each session of the Legislature, and at the close of his term of office, give to the Legislature information, by message, of the condition of the State; and he shall recom- mend to the Legislature such measures as he may deem expedient. He shall account to the Legislature for all public moneys received and paid out by him from any fund subject to his order, with vouchers; and shall accom- pany his message with a statement of the same. And at the commencement of each regular session he shall present estimates of the amount of money required to be raised by taxation for all purposes.
SEC. 10. IIe shall cause the laws to be faithfully executed; and shall con- duct, in person, or in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, all inter- course and business of the State with other States and with the United States.
SEC. 11. In all criminal cases, except treason and impeachment, he shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations of punish- ment, and pardons ; and, under such rules as the Legislature may prescribe, he shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures. With the advice and consent of the Senate, he may grant pardons in case of treason, and to this end he may respite a sentence therefor, until the close of the succeeding session of the Legislature : provided, that in all cases of remissions of fines and forfeitures, or grants of reprieve, commutation of punishment, or par- don, he shall file in the office of the Secretary of State his reasons therefor.
SEC. 12. All vacancies in State or district offices, except members of the Legislature, shall be filled, unless otherwise provided by law, by appoint- ment of the Governor, which appointment, if made during its session, shall be with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate present. If made during the recess of the Senate, the said appointee, or some other per- son to fill such vacancy, shall be nominated to the Senate during the first ten days of its session. If rejected, said office shall immediately become vacant, and the Governor shall, without delay, make further nominations, until a further confirmation takes place. But should there be no confirma- tion during the session of the Senate, the Governor shall not thereafter appoint any person to fill such vacancy who has been rejected by the Senate; but may appoint some other person to fill the vacancy until the next session of the Senate, or until the regular election to said office, should it sooner occur. Appointments to vacancies in offices elective by the people shall only continue until the first general election thereafter.
SEC. 13. During the session of the Legislature the Governor shall reside where its sessions are held, and at all other times at the seat of government, except when, by act of the Legislature, he may be required or authorized to reside elsewhere.
SEC. 14. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of the Legisla- ture shall be presented to the Governor for his approval. If he approve, he shall sign it; but if he disapprove it, he shall return it, with his objections, to the IIouse in which it originated, which House shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon-
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