October 22, 1962

Hon. Louis Grump, Chairman Cost of Government Study Committee Austin, Texas Opinion No. W-1459

Dear Mr. Crump: Whether It would be necessary, if anewconstitution were drafted that afull wording of such draht be advertised andpublished verbatim, andrelated questions.
fice Your recent requestfor opinion addressed to this ofcontains the following questions:

“a. If anewState Constitution were drafted byaduly authorized constitutional convention would it be necessary for the full wording of this draft to be advertised and published verbatim in newspapers of general circulation in this State, as is currently the case with proposed constitutional amendments?

“b. If newspaper circulation of this draft constitution is not necessary, are any other methods of advertising, promotion, or publication authorized or required in the Statutes or the present Texas Constitution?”
that Aninspection of the Constitution and statutes reveals there Is nomethod provided for arevision of the present Constitution, and also that there Is no constitutional or statutory method prescribed for publication of the proposed revision. Re:

Section 1of Article XVII in providing for amending the Constitution states as follows:

Wettfon 1. TheLegislature, at any biennial session, by avote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, to be entered byyeas and nays onthe journals, maypropose amendments to the Constitution, to bevoted upon by the qualified electors for members of the Legislature which proposed amendments shall be duly published once aHon. Louis Grump, page 2 (WW-1459)

week for four weeks, commencing at least three months before an election, the time of which shall be specified by the Legislature, in one weekly newspaper of each county, in which such anewspaper maybe published; and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers of said election, to open a poll for, andmakereturns to the Secretary of State, of the number of legal votes cast at said. election for and against said amendments; and if more than one be proposed, then the number of votes cast for andagainst each of them; and if it shall appear from said return, that amajority of the votes cast, have been cast in favor of any amendment, the said amendment so receiving a majority of the votes cast, shall become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation shall be madeby the Governor thereof .I’ Indeciding whether or not the publication provided for above, for amendments, shall be applicable to the revision of the Constitution, wemust construe the word “amendment.” Corpus Juris Secundummakes the following distinction between anamendment and arevision:

“Every proposition which effects a change in a constitution, or adds or takes awayfrom it, is an amendment, and remains as such until the authority which voted it in shall vote it out, while a revision implies areexamination andrestatement of the constitution, or somepart of it, in a corrected or improved form.

. . .I’ 

### 16C.J.S. 

### 37, Constitutional Law, Sec. 

### 7. It is therefore our opinion, andyou are so advised, that Article XVII of our Constitution pertains to amendments only, and not to arevision, and that the method of publication therein described in its unamended form, does not govern the method of publication to be used to accomplish arevision. It follows that there is no procedure in the present Constitution for advertisement or publication of aproposed revision.

In response to your second question, wefind noprovisions for advertising, promotion or publication in either the statutes or the Constitution.

However, aduly authorized constitutional convention, as representatives of the people, has the authority to provide

### Hon. Louis Grump, page 3 (bhf-1459)

the modeof advertising and publishing aproposed constitutional revision in the absence of constitutional or statutory directives. &ee 16 C.J.S. 29-60 Constitutional Law, ?%4-5-6-7-8-g10.

If anewState Constitution were drafted, there is no provision in the present Constitution or statutes which provides for publication in newspapers of the proposed revision. Yours very truly, WILLWILSON Attorney General of Texas

&k/&4 Fred D. Ward Assistant FDW:wb APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE W.V. Geppert, Chairman L. P. Lollar SamStone TomPeterson REVlXWEDFORTREATTORNEYGENERAL By: Leonard Passmore