Once again, a bill filed in Austin aims to give Texas voters a choice on whether the…
//
Texas State Capitol on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 in Austin.Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer
Once again, a bill filed in Austin aims to give Texas voters a choice on whether the state should secede from the federal government.
HB 3596, known as the “Texas Independence Referendum Act,” or TEXIT, was filed by state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, on Monday. If passed, Texans would be able to vote in the next general election on the possibility of Texas becoming an independent state. Then if there is a majority vote by the people, a committee will plan the next steps in the state seceding from the Union.
It’s a recurring theme in Texas to flirt with the idea of state independence, since it became its own country when it separated from Mexico in 1836 and didn’t join the U.S. until 1845. The bill was filed on the 187th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo.
“The Texas Constitution is clear that all political power resides in the people,” Slaton said in a press release. “After decades of continuous abuse of our rights and liberties by the federal government, it is time to let the people of Texas make their voices heard.”
Last legislative session, former state Rep. Kyle Biedermann filed a similar bill in which Texans could vote on a possible state secession, but ultimately the bill died before receiving a hearing. Even more recently, Slaton filed a resolution seeking an election to allow voters to decide on Texas’ independence in June 2022.
TEXIT is a popular thought, but even if the referendum made it to the ballot and it received a majority vote, state independence is still not feasible. An 1869 case, Texas v. White, decided individual states could not secede from the U.S., even if voted on by the people in that state.