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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 the citizens of Texas. The current document was adopted on February 15, 1876, and is the seventh constitution in Texas history (including the Mexican constitution).
The government of Texas operates under the Constitution of Texas and consists of a unitary democratic state government operating under a presidential system that uses the Dillon Rule, as well as governments at the county and municipal levels. Austin is the capital of Texas.
The citizens of Texas approved an annexation ordinance and a new constitution on October 13. [citation needed] On December 29, 1845, the United States admitted the State of Texas to the Union (Joint Resolution for the admission of the state of Texas into the Union, Joint Resolution 1, enacted December 29, 1845, 9 Stat. 108).
The Guarantee Clause of Article 4 of the Constitution states that "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." These two provisions indicate states did not surrender their wide latitude to adopt a constitution, the fundamental documents of state law , when the U.S. Constitution was adopted.
The Constitution of Texas is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the Texas Legislature, published in the General and Special Laws, and codified in the Texas Statutes. State agencies publish regulations (sometimes called administrative law) in the Texas Register, which are in turn codified in the Texas Administrative Code.
The governor of Texas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Texas. The incumbent, Greg Abbott, is the forty-eighth governor to serve in the office since Texas' statehood in 1845. When compared to those of other states, the governorship of Texas has been described as one of relative weakness.
The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm of the Texas government not only because of its power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government and the strong constitutional connections between it and the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, but also due to Texas's plural executive.
United States Army, First Battalion, First Infantry Regiment soldiers in Texas in 1861. The legal status of Texas is the standing of Texas as a political entity. While Texas has been part of various political entities throughout its history, including 10 years during 1836–1846 as the independent Republic of Texas, the current legal status is as a state of the United States of America.