§ 1.003.Internal References

A drafting convention, and it saves the code thousands of words.

A reference to a title, chapter, or section without further identification is a reference to a title, chapter, or section of this code.

That is why a provision can say "Section 34.001" and mean this code, while a reference to another code always names it — "Section 311.005, Government Code".

The convention is worth knowing when reading quickly. An unadorned section number is always internal; if another statute is meant, the code says so.

The second rule governs the smaller units: a reference to a subtitle, subchapter, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, or other numbered or lettered unit without further identification is a reference to a unit of the next larger unit of this code in which the reference appears.

So "Subsection (b)" means subsection (b) of the section you are reading, and "Subchapter C" means Subchapter C of the chapter you are in.

"The next larger unit in which the reference appears" is the precise formulation, and it makes the meaning depend on where the words sit rather than on the reader’s assumption.

The rule also explains why some cross-references look verbose. A provision referring to a subsection of a different section must say so in full, because the shorthand would point somewhere else.

A misplaced reference is a real drafting risk this rule creates, since moving a provision between sections silently changes what its internal references mean.