HISTORY

Texas became a state in 1845, after nine years as the independent Republic of Texas. Although lawmakers in the area originally relied on Spanish and Mexican legal texts, the first successful publication of "Texas" law was Paschal’s A Digest of the Laws of Texas.

In 1856, the Texas legislature adopted its first "official" codes, the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. Commonly known as the "Codes of 1856" or the "Old Code," they were the only official compiled laws of the state for many years.

For the modern researcher, Gammel’s The Laws of Texas provides a good source for researching the law of the Republic of Texas, as well as the law during the first 50 years of Texas statehood.

Subsequent to Gammel‘s effort, Henry Sayles and his son began publishing Texas statutory law. The Sayles’ copyright was purchased by the Vernon Law Book Company in 1911. The next edition was published as Vernon’s Sayles, but the Sayles name was dropped in 1925; Thus, Vernon’s Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas was born. The Vernon’s set commonly is referred to as "the black statutes," in reference to the black binding of the set. Vernon’s is owned now by the West Group.

The Vernon’s set is annotated. In addition to the text of statutes, West Group includes research aids such as "Historical and Statutory Notes," "Administrative Code References," and "Notes of Decisions," which are case summaries that relate to the West Digest key number system.

The Texas Legislative Council began work on a non-substantive revision of the Texas statutes in 1963. This large-scale project continues today. Material is being moved from the Revised Civil Statutes and is being incorporated into individual annotated codes arranged by subject (for example, the Family Code). Eventually, 26 individual subject codes will contain all the Texas statutes.

ARRANGEMENT

Because Vernon’s is undergoing a process of conversion to codes, the structure of the set may be confusing. Spend a few moments perusing the bindings and the contents of the various parts to become familiar with the eccentricities of the set. The bindings have varied titles and typesetting depending on the publication year of the volume. The Texas Constitution appears in Volumes 1-5. Remember that the set contains the Vernon’s Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, as well as the new subject codes.

Prior to 1963, three "old" codes already existed within the Civil Statutes: the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Insurance Code, and the Probate Code. These "old" codes appear in the Civil Statutes in alphabetical order. For example, Volume 13 of the set contains articles whose subjects begin with "H" (Articles 4478 to 4641 inclusive). Next, Volumes 14, 14b, and 14c (labeled Texas Civil Statutes) contain the Insurance Code, which of course begins with the letter "I." The other two "old" codes similarly are interwoven into the alphabetical article arrangement. After the last volume of the Civil Statutes, the "new" codes passed since 1963 begin in alphabetical order.

The Vernon’s set ends with the "General Indexes" and the civil rules, which are labeled as "District and County Courts."

TEXAS CODES

New Codes. Although portions of Texas law still appear in the Civil Statutes, the following codes have been created since 1963:

Agriculture Code
Alcoholic Beverage Code
Business and Commerce Code
Civil Practice and Remedies Code
Education Code
Election Code
Family Code
Finance Code
Government Code
Health and Safety Code
Human Resources Code
Labor Code
Local Government Code
Natural Resources Code
Occupations Code
Parks and Wildlife Code
Penal Code
Property Code
Tax Code
Transportation Code
Utilities Code
Water Code

Old Codes. Prior to 1963, three Texas codes already existed
within the Civil Statutes:

DISPOSITION & DERIVATION TABLES

The disposition tables in Vernon’s show the location of former civil statutes in the new individual codes. In reverse, the derivation tables show where the provisions of the code were located formerly in the Revised Civil Statutes. Derivation tables may be used to locate old annotations that were attached to each of the former civil statutes. A disposition table and a derivation table are located in the front of the first volume of a code. Disposition table revisions are located in pocket parts of individual codes. In addition, the Master Disposition Table combines the disposition tables from each individual code into a single combined table for the convenience of researchers.

POCKET PARTS & SUPPLEMENTS

Pocket parts are paper pamphlets designed to be inserted into pockets located in the back of each Vernon’s volume. Pocket parts update volumes annually by listing changes to current statutes and by providing annotations to relevant cases that have occurred since the hardbound volume was printed. If a pocket part becomes too bulky to fit easily into the back of a hardbound volume, the pocket part will be issued as a paperbound supplementary pamphlet, which will be filed next to the hardbound volume. When an extensive number of changes and annotations accrue, a new hardbound volume will be published and will incorporate the new material.

INDEXES

A two-volume cumulative index allows the researcher to access both parts of Vernon’s, the Civil Statutes and the newly created codes. The cumulative index is arranged by subject and by a popular name table. In addition to the cumulative index, smaller indexes are located at the end of each code.

TEXAS SESSION LAWS

The Texas legislature meets for regular sessions biennially, in odd-numbered years (for example, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003). The Governor, however, may call special sessions to complete a legislative agenda. After bills are passed by the Texas legislature, the new or amended laws will not be immediately available in the hardbound Vernon’s set. Instead, this information may be found in Vernon’s Texas Session Law Service. These colorful paperback volumes are issued during and immediately after each legislative session. The session laws are filed in the library near the Vernon’s set for convenience. Alternatively, access the session laws on the Internet at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/.

New legislation in Vernon’s Texas Session Law Service is printed in chronological order, but within each year legislation is arranged by chapter number. New statutory material is indicated by italics. Deleted statutory material has a line printed through the text.

The "Cumulative Tables" of the session laws reveal whether a civil statute or a code has been amended or repealed. The tables also list new provisions and recent court orders which have affected the Texas Rules of Court.

Eventually, the paperback session law publications are replaced by hardbound volumes. In hardback, the session laws are called the General and Special Laws of the State of Texas. Like the paperback session laws, the hardbound version is filed near the Vernon’s set.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brandt, Lydia M.V. Texas Legal Research: An Essential Lawyering Skill. Dallas, TX: Texas Lawyers Press, 1995. (KFT 1275 .B72 1995)

Gammel, H.P.N. The Laws of Texas 1822-1897. Austin, TX: The Gammel Book Co., 1898-1943. (KFT 1225 .T4)

General and Special Laws of the State of Texas. Austin, TX: Secretary of State, 1934-. (KFT 1225 .T45)

Gruben, Karl T. and James E. Hambleton, eds. A Reference Guide to Texas Law and Legal History: Sources and Documentation, 2d ed. Austin, TX: Butterworth Legal Publishers, 1987. (KFT 1275 .R44 1987)

Paschal, George W. A Digest of the Laws of Texas. Galveston, TX: S.S. Nichols, 1866. (KFT 1238 .P4 1866)

Vernon’s Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas. Kansas City, MO: Vernon Law Book Co., 1926-69; St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co., 1969-. (KFT 1230.5 .V4 A25)

Vernon’s Sayles’ Annotated Civil Statutes of the State of Texas. Kansas City, MO: Vernon Law Book Co., 1914. (KFT 1230 1913 .T4)

Vernon’s Texas Session Law Service. Kansas City, MO: Vernon Law Book Co., 1926-69; St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co., 1969-. (KFT 1230.5 .V4 A25)

INTERNET SITES

Texas Constitution and Statutes, the official versions
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/statutes.html

Texas Session Laws, on the website of the Texas Legislature
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

Texas Administrative Code, the official version
http://lamb.sos.state.tx.us/tac/index.html

Texas Register, on the website of the Texas Secretary of State
http://lamb.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/

Questions about Texas statutes?
Please ask a reference librarian for assistance.