The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas and enumerates the basic rights of its citizens. The current document was adopted on February 15, 1876, and is the seventh constitution in Texas history (including the Mexican constitution of 1872). The previous six were adopted in 1827 (while Texas was still part of Mexico and half of the state of Coahuila y Tejas), 1836 (the Constitution of the Republic of Texas), 1845 (upon admission to the United States), 1861 (at the beginning of the American Civil War), 1866 (at the end of the American Civil War), and 1869. Texas constitutional conventions took place in 1861, 1866, 1868–69, and 1875.
The constitution is the second-longest state constitution in the United States (exceeded only by the Constitution of Alabama) and is also the third-most amended state constitution (only the Alabama and California constitutions have been amended more often). From 1876 to 2024 (following the 88th Legislature), the Texas Legislature proposed 714 constitutional amendments. Of that total, 530 were approved by the electorate, 181 were defeated, and 3 never made it on the ballot. Most of the amendments are due to the document's highly restrictive nature: the constitution stipulates that the state of Texas has only those powers explicitly granted to it; there is no counterpart of the federal Necessary and Proper Clause.
