Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.
Official codifications are compilations of all the laws currently in effect. They are arranged in a systematic way and approved by an act of the Texas Legislature.
Unofficial codifications are publications of the statutes by private publishers. They are not officially adopted by an act of the Texas Legislature.
The process that led to the first state-approved codification began in 1854. That year, the Texas Legislature passed a bill to create a commission tasked with codifying the civil and criminal laws of the state. See Chapter 55 of the General Laws of Texas from the 5th Texas Legislature.
This led to the creation and adoption of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code in 1856. These two codes were the first official codified statutes approved by the Texas Legislature. They are commonly called the "Old Codes," sometimes abbreviated as "O.C."
The 1856, 1879, 1895, 1911, and 1925 codifications are the only ones officially approved and adopted by the Texas Legislature.
Vernon Law Book Company was a legal publishing company founded in 1902. They published many compilations of Texas statutes starting in 1914. According to Quarles and Cordon’s Researching Texas Law (3d edition):
West (then West Publishing Company), which purchased Vernon Law Book Company in 1969, has become the quasi-official publisher of the state’s statutes and codes, though this publication scheme is not sanctioned by statute.
In 1925, Vernon published an annotated compilation. It and its supplemental volumes are commonly referred to as “Vernon’s black statutes” because of their black binding and original publisher.
Vernon's Texas Statutes and Codes Annotated continues to be updated in print today. It isn't available freely online, but you can access it in print or using Westlaw on a library computer when you visit the library.
Vernon published unannotated compilations starting in the early 1900s. Our library digitized many Vernon volumes from 1914 through 1970.
The 1936 printing and its supplements are known as the Centennial Edition. Together, these are sometimes called the “red statutes”— also derived from the color of the binding.
Only the 1936 and 1948 editions are full compilations reprinting all the laws in effect at the time.
After acquiring Vernon Law Book Company, West Publishing Company began printing unannotated compilations in 1970. They published full unannotated reprintings of the statutes in 1974 and 1984. West continues printing updates today, every two years.
Our library digitized West volumes from 1970 through 1984. Volumes published after 1984 are only available in print when you visit the library.
Because the legislature was slow to authorize an official codification of state law, various private publishers attempted to provide this service in the late 19th century.
Descriptions of each resource are paraphrased from A Reference Guide to Texas Law and Legal History by Marian Boner.
The current Texas statutes are online. Historical versions are available going back to 2004.
Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.