Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 347
656 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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CONSTITUTION 347
Article III - (Cont'd.)
rately, the vote shall be given viva voce, except in the elec-
tion of their officers.
[Note - Sec. 42 of Art. III, relating to passage of laws, was
deleted by constitutional amendment in election Aug. 5,
1969.1
Requirements and Limitations
Sec. 43. Revision and Publication of Laws - (a) The
Legislature shall provide for revising, digesting and pub-
lishing the laws, civil and criminal; provided, that in the
adoption of and giving effect to any such digest or revision
the Legislature shall not be limited by Secs. 35 and 36 of this
article.
(b) In this section, "revision" includes a revision of the
statutes on a particular subject and any enactment having
the purpose, declared in the enactment, of codifying without
substantive change statutes that individually relate to differ-
ent subjects.
[Note - The foregoing Sec. 43 of Art. III was amended to
provide for the continuing revision of state laws. Submitted
by the Sixty-ninth Legislature (1985) and adopted in an elec-
tion Nov. 4, 1986.1
Sec. 44. Compensation of Officers: Payment of Claims -
The Legislature shall provide by law for the compensation of
all officers, servants, agents and public contractors, not pro-
vided for in this Constitution, but shall not grant extra com-
pensation to any officer, agent, servant or public
contractors, after such public service shall have been per-
formed or contract entered into for the performance of the
same; nor grant, by appropriation or otherwise, any amount
of money out of the Treasury 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 anyone in
the name of the State, unless authorized by pre-existing law.
Sec. 45. Change of Venue - The power to change the ve-
nue 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.
[Note - Sec. 46 of Art. III, relating to vagrant laws, was
deleted by constitutional amendment in election Aug. 5,
1969.1
Sec. 47. Lotteries Shall Be Prohibited - (a) The Legis-
lature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries and gift enter-
prises in this State other than those authorized by
Subsections (b) and (d) of this section.
(b) The Legislature by law may authorize and regulate
bingo games conducted by a church, synagogue, religious
society, volunteer fire department, nonprofit veterans
organization, fraternal organization, or nonprofit organi-
zation supporting medical research or treatment programs.
A law enacted under this subsection must permit the qual-
ified voters of any county, justice precinct, or incorporated
city or town to determine from time to time by a majority
vote of the qualified voters voting on the question at an elec-
tion whether bingo games may be held in the county, justice
precinct, or city or town. The law must also require that:
(1) all proceeds from the games are spent in Texas for
charitable purposes of the organizations;
(2) the games are limited to one location as defined by
law on property owned or leased by the church, synagogue,
religious society, volunteer fire department, nonprofit veter-
ans organization, fraternal organization, or nonprofit orga-
nization supporting medical research or treatment
programs; and
(3) the games are conducted, promoted, and adminis-
tered by members of the church, synagogue, religious socie-
ty, volunteer fire department, nonprofit veterans
organization, fraternal organization, or nonprofit organi-
zation supporting medical research or treatment programs.
(c) The law enacted by the Legislature authorizing bingo
games must include:
(1) a requirement that the entities conducting the games
report quarterly to the Comptroller of Public Accounts about
the amount of proceeds that the entities collect from the
games and the purposes for which the proceeds are spent;
and
(2) criminal or civil penalties to enforce the reporting re-
quirement.
(d) The Legislature by general law may permit charita-
ble raffles conducted by a qualified religious society, qual-
ified volunteer fire department, qualified volunteer
emergency medical service, or qualified nonprofit organi-
zations under the terms and conditions imposed by general
law.
The law must also require that:
(1) all proceeds from the sale of tickets for the raffle
must be spent for the charitable purposes of the organi-
zations; and
(2) the charitable raffle is conducted, promoted, and ad-
ministered exclusively by members of the qualified religioussociety, qualified volunteer fire department, qualified volun-
teer emergency medical service, or qualified nonprofit orga-
nization.
INote - The foregoing Sec. 47 of Art. III was amended to
authorize bingo games on local option basis if games are
conducted by religious society or other charitable society
and proceeds are to be spent in Texas for charitable pur-
poses of the organization. Submitted by the Sixty-sixth Legis-
lature (1979) and adopted in election Nov. 4, 1980. It was
further amended by the addition of subsection (d) authoriz-
ing the Legislature to permit and regulate raffles conducted
for charitable purposes by certain non-profit organizations.
Submitted by the Seventy-first Legislature (1989) and
adopted in an election Nov. 7, 1989.1
[Note - Sec. 48 of Art. III, relating to power to levy taxes,
was deleted by constitutional amendment in election Aug. 5,
1969.
INote - Sec. 48a and Sec. 48b, relating to the Teachers'
Retirement Fund and Teachers' Retirement System, respec-
tively, were deleted by constitutional amendment in an elec-
tion April 22, 1975. See also note under Art. IIl, Sec. 51e and
Sec. 51f; Art. XVI, Sec. 62 and Sec. 63. See also Art. XVI, Sec.
67, which replaces the foregoing Sections.]
Sec. 48-d. Rural Fire Prevention Districts - The Legis-
lature shall have the power to provide for the establishment
and creation of rural fire-prevention districts and to autho-
rize a tax on the ad valorem property situated in said dis-
tricts not to exceed three (3c) cents on the one hundred
(5100) dollars valuation for the support thereof; provided
that no tax shall be levied in support of said districts until
approved by vote of the people residing therein.
[Note - The foregoing Sec. 48-d of Art. III was submitted
as an amendment by the Fifty-first Legislature (1949) and ra-
tified in an election Nov. 8, 1949. The absence of Section 48-c
is explained by the fact that such section was proposed as an
amendment but failed to carry.]
Sec. 48-e. Jail Districts - The legislature, by law, may
provide for the creation, operation, and financing of jail dis-
tricts and may authorize each district to issue bonds and
other obligations and to levy an ad valorem tax on property
located in the district to pay principal of and interest on the
bonds and to pay for operation of the district. An ad valorem
tax may not be levied and bonds secured by a property tax
may not be issued until approved by the qualified electors of
the district voting at an election called and held for that pur-
pose.
[Note - The foregoing Sec. 48-e of Art. III, an amend-
ment, was added to provide for the creation, operation and
financing of jail districts. Submitted by the Seventieth Legis-
lature (1987) and adopted in an election Nov. 3, 1987.]
Sec. 48-e. Emergency Services Districts - Laws may be
enacted to provide for the establishment and creation of spe-
cial districts to provide emergency services and to authorize
the commissioners courts of participating counties to levy a
tax on the ad valorem property situated in said districts not
to exceed Ten Cents (10c) on the One Hundred Dollars
($100.00) valuation for the support thereof; provided that no
tax shall be levied in support of said districts until approved
by a vote of the qualified electors residing therein. Such a
district may provide emergency medical services, emergen-
cy ambulance services, rural fire prevention and control ser-
vices, or other emergency services authorized by the
Legislature.
[Note - The foregoing Sec. 48-e of Art. III, an amend-
ment, was added to provide for the creation of emergency
medical services districts. Submitted by the Seventieth Leg-
islature (1987) and adopted in an election Nov. 3, 1987.]
INote - The foregoing two sections of Art. III were both
numbered 48-e by the Seventieth Legislature (1987), and they
shall remain so designated unless changed by a future Legis-
lature.l
Sec. 49. Purpose for Which Debts May Be Created - No
debt shall be created by or on behalf of the State, except to
supply casual deficiencies of revenue, repel invasion, sup-
press insurrection, defend the State in war or pay existing
debt; and the debt created to supply deficiencies in the reve-
nue shall never exceed in the aggregate at any one time
$200,000.
Sec. 49-a. Limiting Appropriations to Anticipated Reve-
nue; Comptroller's Certification Required; Issuance of Cer-
tain General Revenue Bonds Authorized - It shall be the
duty of the Comptroller of Public Accounts in advance of
each regular session of the Legislature to prepare and sub-
mit to the Governor and to the Legislature upon its conven-
ing a statement under oath showing fully the financial
condition of the State Treasury at the close of the last fiscal
period and an estimate of the probable receipts and disburs-
ements for the then current fiscal year. There shall also be347
CONSTITUTION
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/351/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.