The Legislature is the constitutional successor of the Congress of the Republic of Texas since Texas’s 1845 entrance into the Union. The Legislature held its first regular session from February 16 to May 13, 1846.Under the newly adopted State Constitution, the original memberships in the House was 66 members and the Senate 19 to 33 members. Neither the regular biennial session nor the special sessions of the legislature had limits in duration. In the House, leadership consisted of a Speaker of the House who was elected by and from the membership. In the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor served as President of the Senate. On occasions when the Lieutenant Governor was absent, the senators elected from their members a „president for the time being” (president pro tempore).Like many other southern states at the time, Texas explicitly barred clergy from membership in the legislature.Quorum was defined as 2/3rds of the membership, and it is only one of four states (the others being Indiana, Oregon, and Tennessee) to require a supermajority.

 

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845.

On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution. The declaration of independence was written by George Childress and modeled after the United States Constitution. Lorenzo de Zavala helped in the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas by personally designing its flag and serving as vice president.

A copy of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas was included with the declaration of independence. The constitution borrowed language from the US Constitution and the constitutions of several southern states. It formed a unitary republic, rather than the federal republic as defined in the US Constitution. The President of the Republic of Texas had a three-year term and could not serve another consecutive term, which was based on provisions in the Mexican Constitution. The Texas Constitution also protected the right to own slaves and prohibited „Indians” and „Africans” from living freely in the country or from becoming Texan citizens.

On March 1, 1845, the United States enacted a congressional joint resolution to propose the annexation of Texas to the United States (Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States, Joint Resolution 8, enacted March 1, 1845, 5 Stat. 797). On June 23, 1845, the Texan Congress accepted the US Congress joint resolution and consented to President Anson Jones’s call for a convention to be held on July 4, 1845. A Texas convention debated the annexation offer and almost unanimously passed an ordinance assenting to it on July 4, 1845.The convention debated until August 28 and adopted the Constitution of the State of Texas on August 27. The citizens of Texas approved an annexation ordinance and a new constitution on October 13.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).

https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/9/STATUTE-9-Pg106a.pdf

 

 

R E S O L U T I O N  H.R. A No. A1230
WHEREAS, Each October, Americans of Polish ancestry
celebrate Polish American Heritage Month, and that observance
provides a fitting opportunity to take note of the many
contributions the Polish people have made to the history and
culture of the Lone Star State;

and
WHEREAS, In 1818, Polish veterans of the Napoleonic Wars were
among the settlers who founded an early colony near Galveston, the
Champ d’Asile military camp; after the failure of the Polish
uprising against the Russian empire in 1830, other Polish veterans
came to America and took part in the Texas Revolution, including
Michael Debicki, Francis and Adolph Petrussewicz, John Kornicky,
and Joseph Schrusnecki, all of whom died at Goliad, and Felix
Wardzinski, who fought at San Jacinto;

and
WHEREAS, In the 1850s, a Polish Franciscan priest named
Father Leopold Moczygemba, who was at that time serving parishes in
New Braunfels and Castroville, sent letters home that inspired some
100 Polish families to sail to Galveston aboard the
Weser and settle in Karnes County; here, the town of Panna Maria („Virgin Mary”)
became the first permanent Polish colony in the United States and
home to the nation’s first Polish Catholic church and Polish school;

and
WHEREAS, During the Civil War, a Polish engineer, Valerian
Salkowski, designed the Confederate fortifications at Galveston,
and Joseph Cotulla, for whom the county seat of La Salle County is

named, served in the First Texas Cavalry of the Union Army; a new
wave of immigrants in the 1870s settled in Anderson, Brenham,
Bremond, and other towns, and a century later, as Poland
’s
Communist regime was failing, more Poles settled in major urban
areas of the state;

and
WHEREAS, Poles have had a strong influence on the state’s
arts and culture; the German-Polish artist Carl von Iwonski painted
Texas pioneers from the 1850s until the 1870s; Polish musicians
helped introduce the polka beat and the accordion that are an
integral part of Tex-Mex music, and the Fryderyk Chopin Society of
Texas and the Chopin Society of Houston have supported the
performance of Polish classical music in the state; moreover, such
distinctive Polish cuisine as kielbasa and pierogis are popular
items in many parts of the state and particularly at festivals held
in Brenham, Bremond, and other communities;

and
WHEREAS, Thousands of Poles and people of Polish descent have
made Texas their home over the past two centuries, and the Lone Star
State has benefited immensely from their drive, passion, and
ingenuity;

now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize October 2017 as Polish American
Heritage Month in Texas and honor the contributions of Poles and
people of Polish descent to our state.

Sources:

https://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/HR01230I.pdf#navpanes=0

https://www.legis.state.tx.us/

https://senate.texas.gov/members.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Capitol#/media/File:TexasStateCapitol-2010-01.JPG

https://texashistory.unt.edu/