Texas Association of Business v. Texas Air Control Board

In Texas Association of Business v. Texas Air Control Board, 852 S.W.2d 440, 36 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 607 (Tex. 1993), the Court overruled an important constitutional precedent. With regard to the applicability of stare decisis in the constitutional context, the Court stated that "although our concern for the rule of stare decisis makes us hesitant to overrule any case, when constitutional principles are at issue this court as a practical matter is the only government institution with the power and duty to correct such errors." Id. at 446. It is clear that the stare decisis doctrine does not prevent the Court from reconsidering its "meaningful discretion" test.