After lack of control of the Congress for some time, the Texas Democrats finally got a grip of the Congress in 1873, and this was when they decided to draft a new constitution for Texas culminating to the 1875 Constitutional Convention in Austin (Keller, 53). One of the primary historical circumstances that prompted the drafters of the 1876 Constitution was the autocratic administration style of Republicans such as Governor Edmund J. Davis. The set of legislations came with a variety of changes including the transfer of power from the government to the people through the introduction of the plural executive structure. The other restriction that the new laws brought to the state was that the people were to elect the judges and vote for any significant constitutional amendments.
The limits introduced by the 1876 Constitution transformed the institutional stricture of the Texas Government significantly. First of all, it led to the plural government system in which their powers of the state administration were decentralized from, and the Governor has stripped off some authority such as the appointment of judges (Novick72). The power was instead divided among many elected officials including land commissioner attorney general, treasurer, comptroller, and lieutenant governor. Secondly, the salaries of the Governor and other public servants were reduced to cut down on the expenditure. I further provided a balanced budget and reduced the rate of taxation to improve the citizens’ welfare.
Furthermore, the judiciary was divided into two namely, the criminal and the civil courts. The idea to split the bench was aimed at reducing the power of this branch of government. Comparing the current constitution and the one in 1845, it is apparent that there were numerous changes which were focused on reducing the power of the government in Texas (Novick 72 72). The restrictions introduced in the 1876 laws significantly changed the composition of the government by creating new electoral positions that drew power away from the central government. The plural government structure ensured that the people contributed directly to the decision making process in the State.
The judiciary was made answerable to the people instead of the government thus improving the integrity and accountability of the court. However, the splitting of the justice department into two, the one dealing with civil cases and the other addressing criminal issues helped in distributing the burden and responsibility of the judges.
The legislative arm of the government was also not spared by the transformations introduced by the 1876 constitution. The most fundamental change was the reduction of the meeting days for legislation to 140 in the year (Keller, 53). Moreover, the new laws introduced a biannual session of the parliament from the annual one conducted in the old constitution. The lawmaking process was substantially affected by the promulgation of the 1876 Constitution reducing the power of the legislatures to amend the laws but instead transferring this mandate to the people who do this through voting. Finally, the cutting of funding to the parliament has also influenced the rate at which bills are passed in the house. The legislature was divided into two, the House of Representatives with 150 individuals and the Senate consisting of 31 members.
In summary, the 1876 constitution brought freedom and accountability to the citizens. Moreover, the distribution of power from the Governor helped in controlling impunity among leaders. The election of a judge by the people makes them more responsible. Thus, despite being blamed for its extra length and restrictions, it gave the people a chance to contribute to their leadership.
Works Cited
Keller, Scott A. "Texas versus Federal Law on Deference to Administrative Interpretations of Statutes." SSRN Electronic Journal (2011): n. P 53-153. Web.
Novick, Sheldon M. "Plessy V. Ferguson, Fisher V. University Of Texas, and the 'Color-Blind Constitution.'" SSRN Electronic Journal (2013): n. P 56-94. Web.
