Impeachments in Texas

Impeachment is the process by which the legislative branch has the authority to remove a sitting public official. The actual trial on those charges, and subsequent removal of an official on conviction on those charges, is separate from the act of impeachment itself.

In Texas, impeachment begins in the state House of Representatives which must cast a majority vote in favor of impeachment. Article 15, Section 1 of the state constitution says, "The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of Representatives." The state Senate then sits as a "Court of Impeachment to determine whether the official should be removed from office or prevented from holding office in the future. Article 15, Section 3 of the state constitution says, "When the Senate is sitting as a Court of Impeachment, the Senators shall be on oath, or affirmation impartially to try the party impeached, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators present."

Impeachments have historically been reserved for cases in which a public official committed a criminal act. The United States Constitution provides that the President of the United States shall only be removed from office upon "Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." In general, impeachments are a rare occurrence. As of May 2023, 21 federal officials had been impeached and the U.S. Senate found eight of those guilty and removed them from office.

In Texas, three officials have been impeached and two were removed from office after impeachment—Governor James Ferguson (D) in 1917 and State District Judge O.P. Carillo in 1975. Ferguson was indicted on charges including embezzlement while Carillo spent three years in jail following his impeachment. The Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on May 27, 2023. On September 16, 2023, Paxton was acquitted on all impeachment articles.

In 2013 and 2014, the legislature conducted an investigation into the actions of Regent Wallace Hall. The House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations considered "whether he failed to disclose key information on his application to be a regent; whether he improperly handled sensitive student information; and whether he exceeded his authority in his private investigations of UT-Austin. On August 11, 2014, that committee voted 6-1 to censure, rather than impeach, Hall.

Laws governing

Laws governing impeachment in Texas are governed by Article 15 of the Texas Constitution. Both elected and non-elected officials can be impeached in Texas.

Constitutional provisions

The following sections are outlined in Article 15 of the Texas Constitution.

• Section 1: The power of impeachment is vested in the Texas House of Representatives.
• Section 2: Impeachment of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Land Commissioner, Comptroller and Judges shall be tried by the State Senate.
• Section 3: No person shall be convicted without 2/3 senators present. Senators shall be on oath during impeachment processes.
• Section 4: Judgment in cases of impeachment shall extend only to removal from office, and disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust or profit in Texas. A party convicted on impeachment shall also be subject to indictment, trial and punishment according to law.
• Section 5: All officers against whom articles of impeachment may be preferred shall be suspended from the exercise of the duties of their office, during period of such impeachment. The Governor may make a provisional appointment to fill the vacancy occasioned by the suspension of an officer until the decision on the impeachment.
• Section 6: This section outlines the ways a District Court judge may be removed from office by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction to hear and determine the causes aforesaid when presented in writing upon the oaths taken before some judge of a court of record of not less than 10 lawyers, practicing in the courts held by such judge, and licensed to practice in the Supreme Court; said presentment to be founded either upon the knowledge of the persons making it or upon the written oaths as to the facts of creditable witnesses. The Supreme Court may issue all needful process and prescribe all needful rules to give effect to this section. Causes of this kind shall have precedence and be tried as soon as practicable.
• Section 7: The Legislature shall provide by law for the trial and removal from office of all officers of this State, the modes for which have not been provided in this Constitution.
• Section 8: The Governor can remove judges for wilful neglect of duty, incompetency, habitual drunkenness, oppression in office, or other reasonable cause which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment. The Governor will require 2/3 consent from each chamber of the Texas State Legislature. Additionally, the cause or causes for which such removal shall be required, shall be stated at length in such address and entered on the journals of each House; and provided further, that the cause or causes shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defense before any vote for such address shall pass, and in all such cases, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journals of each House respectively.
• Section 9: In addition to the other procedures provided by law for removal of public officers, the governor who appoints an officer may remove the officer with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the members of the senate present. If the legislature is not in session when the governor desires to remove an officer, the governor shall call a special session of the senate for consideration of the proposed removal. The session may not exceed two days in duration.

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Legislative code for impeachment

Title 6, Chapter 665 of the Texas Government Code addresses the impeachment and removal of public officers by the state house. In order for an official to be impeached, articles of impeachment must be brought by the Texas House of Representatives. If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate must then sit as the court of impeachment.

Special sessions

If the state legislature is not in regular session during the time of impeachment, a special session can be called specifically to handle impeachments. The Texas Legislative Code governs the process by which the Texas State Legislature can be brought into special session to address an impeachment proceeding.

House

When the House is not in session, there are three ways that the House may be convened for purposes of impeachment.

• Proclamation of Governor
• Proclamation of the speaker following the submission of a written petition signed by at least 50 members of the House.
• Proclamation signed by a majority of the members of the House. There are 150 members of the Texas State House.

Senate

If the House adopts articles of impeachment, the Texas State Senate is required to sit as a court of impeachment. If the Senate is not in session, there are four ways by which it may be convened.

• Proclamation of Governor
• After 10 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor has not acted, then by proclamation of Lieutenant Governor if the Governor has not issued a proclamation
• After 15 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor and Lt. Governor have not acted, then by proclamation of the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate
• After 20 days have elapsed from article adoption, if the Governor, Lt. Governor and President Pro Tempore have not acted, then by proclamation of a signed majority of the members of the Senate. There are 31 members of the Texas State Senate.

Historical impeachments

Only two Texas public officials have been removed from office in the state's history.

Governor James Ferguson

Gov. James Ferguson (D) was the state's only governor to be impeached and removed from office. He was impeached in 1917 and removed from office. Ferguson had vetoed the entire appropriations for the University of Texas in 1916, and was indicted on nine charges which included misapplication of public funds, embezzlement and the diversion of a special fund.

District Judge O.P. Carillo

State District Judge O.P. Carillo was impeached and removed in 1976 for "schem[ing] to take Duval County taxpayers’ money through phony equipment rentals." Carillo spent three years in prison after being convicted of tax fraud.

Attorney general Ken Paxton

See also: Impeachment of Ken Paxton, 2023

The Texas House of Representatives voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton on May 27, 2023. The Texas Tribune's Zach Despart and James Barragán wrote that "Many of the articles of impeachment focused on allegations that Paxton had repeatedly abused his powers of office to help a political donor and friend, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul."

The Texas House of Representatives General Investigating Committee unanimously recommended Paxton's impeachment on May 25, 2023, after beginning an investigation in March 2023. The Texas Tribune reported that four investigators for the House committee said during a public forum that they believed Paxton "broke numerous state laws, misspent office funds and misused his power to benefit a friend and political donor."

According to the Texas Constitution, Paxton was suspended from office during the impeachment process. Following the House vote that impeached him, Paxton said, "The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just. It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning. … What we witnessed today is not just about me. It is about the corrupt establishment's eagerness to overpower the millions of Texas voters who already made their voices heard when they overwhelmingly re-elected me." A senior lawyer in Paxton's office, Chris Hilton, stated that what the investigators said was "false," "misleading," and "full of errors big and small."

On September 16, 2023, the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment, and he resumed serving as attorney general on September 18, 2023. After the vote, Paxton issued a statement: "The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House. The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt." The Senate also voted to dismiss the four other articles of impeachment that had been held in abeyance at the start of the trial.

Other impeachment proceedings

Wallace Hall

See also: Wallace Hall

The House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations conducted an investigation into appointed University of Texas Regent member Wallace Hall in 2013. The Texas Tribune's Reeve Hamilton wrote that State Rep. Dan Flynn (R) "said the committee was considering three allegations against Hall: whether he failed to disclose key information on his application to be a regent; whether he improperly handled sensitive student information; and whether he exceeded his authority in his private investigations of UT-Austin, which have been marked by demands for large volumes of documents." On August 11, 2014, the committee voted 6-1 to censure Hall. The Dallas Morning News wrote that the "panel approved a 27-page censure statement that said “numerous willful actions by Mr. Hall constitute either misconduct, incompetency in the performance of official duties, or behavior unbefitting a nominee for and holder of a state office.”

External links

• Texas Constitution, "Article 15: Impeachment"
• Texas Government Code, "Impeachment Proceedings and Removal by House"
• Texas Politics, "Removal of Executive Branch Official"
• 1987 Memorandum within the Texas Legislative Council regarding removal of state officers by the state legislature
• Analysis of Constitutional Impeachment Procedures in Texas

See also

• Wallace Hall impeachment trial
• Impeachment of Ken Paxton, 2023