[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 113th Congress]
[113rd Congress]
[House Document 112-161]
[The United States Constitution]
[Pages 122-123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 

                     AMENDMENT XXVII.\18\



Sec. 258. Timing of law varying 
congressional compensation.

  No law, varying the  compensation for the services of the 
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of 
Representatives shall have intervened.
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  \18\ The 27th amendment to the Constitution was proposed on 
September 25, 1789. It was declared to have been ratified by the 
legislatures of 39 of the 50 States in a certificate of the Archivist 
dated May 18, 1992. The dates of ratification were: Maryland, December 
19, 1789; North Carolina, December 22, 1789; South Carolina, January 19, 
1790; Delaware, January 28, 1790; Vermont, November 3, 1791; Virginia, 
December 15, 1791; Ohio, May 6, 1873; Wyoming, March 6, 1978; Maine, 
April 27, 1983; Colorado, April 22, 1984; South Dakota, February 21, 
1985; New Hampshire, March 7, 1985; Arizona, April 3, 1985; Tennessee, 
May 23, 1985; Oklahoma, July 10, 1985; New Mexico, February 14, 1986; 
Indiana, February 24, 1986; Utah, February 25, 1986; Arkansas, March 6, 
1987; Montana, March 17, 1987; Connecticut, May 13, 1987; Wisconsin, 
July 15, 1987; Georgia, February 2, 1988; West Virginia, March 10, 1988; 
Louisiana, July 7, 1988; Iowa, February 9, 1989; Idaho, March 23, 1989; 
Nevada, April 26, 1989; Alaska, May 6, 1989; Oregon, May 19, 1989; 
Minnesota, May 22, 1989; Texas, May 25, 1989; Kansas, April 5, 1990; 
Florida, May 31, 1990; North Dakota, March 25, 1991; Alabama, May 5, 
1992; Missouri, May 5, 1992; Michigan, May 7, 1992; New Jersey, May 7, 
1992.


  Ratification was completed on May 7, 1992. The amendment was 
subsequently ratified by Illinois, May 12, 1992; California, June 26, 
1992; Rhode Island, June 10, 1993; Hawaii, April 26, 1994; Washington, 
August 12, 1995; Kentucky, March 21, 1996.


[[Page 123]]

(1) a concurrent resolution on the budget was adopted in their 
respective body or (2) in order to ensure compliance with the 27th 
amendment, the final day of the 113th Congress (P.L. 113-3).
  To quell speculation over the efficacy of a ratification process 
spanning two centuries, the House adopted a concurrent resolution 
declaring the ratification of the amendment (H. Con. Res. 320, May 19, 
1992, p. 11779 (adopted May 20, 1992, p. 12051)). The Senate adopted 
both a separate concurrent resolution and a simple resolution making 
similar declarations (S. Con. Res. 120 and S. Res. 298, May 20, 1992, p. 
11869). Neither House considered the concurrent resolution of the other. 
For a concurrent resolution declaring the ratification of the 14th 
amendment, see July 21, 1868. For opinions of the Supreme Court 
concerning the duration of the ratification process and the 
contemporaneity of State ratifications, see Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 
368 (1921) and Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939). A law enacted in 
the 113th Congress directed the payroll administrators of each House to 
withhold the pay of Members or Senators until either



  For Federal court opinions upholding congressional cost-of-living 
adjustments for Members under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (103 Stat. 
1716), see Boehner v. Anderson, 809 F. Supp. 138 (D.D.C. 1992), aff'd, 
30 F.3d 156 (D.C. Cir 1994); Schaffer v. Clinton, 54 F. Supp.2d 1014 
(D.Colo. 1999).