    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 119th Congress]
    [119th Congress]
    [House Document 118-187]
    [The United States Constitution]
    [Pages 127-128]
    [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.

    -----------------
    \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.
      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 ratifica-

    [[Page 128]]

    tion 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 (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).
      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; Nebraska, April 1, 2016.

      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).