    [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 87-89]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                   ARTICLE V.

    Sec. 190. Amendments to the Constitution.

      The  Congress,
    whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall
    propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the
    Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a
    Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be
    valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when
    ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
    by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
    Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment
    which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight
    shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth
    Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent,
    shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

    [[Page 88]]

    tional conventions or to rescind such calls be made publicly available
    (see Sec. 818, infra).-

    Sec. 191. Form of and action on amendments to the
    Constitution.

      Amendments  to the Constitution are proposed in the form of joint
    resolutions, which have their several readings and are enrolled and
    signed by the presiding officers of the two Houses (V, 7029, footnote),
    but are not presented to the President for his approval (V, 7040; see
    discussion under Sec. 115, supra; Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. (3
    Dall.) 378 (1798)). They are filed with the Archivist who, under the law
    (1 U.S.C. 106b; 1 U.S.C. 112), has the responsibility for the
    certification and publication of such amendments, once they are ratified
    by the States. Under the earlier procedure, the two Houses sometimes
    requested the President to transmit to the States certain proposed
    amendments (V, 7041, 7043), but a concurrent resolution to that end was
    without privilege (VIII, 3508). The President notified Congress by
    message of the promulgation of the ratification of a constitutional
    amendment (V, 7044). The House in the 119th Congress codified an order
    in place during the 114th through 118th Congresses requiring that
    petitions from state legislatures purporting to call for constitu

    Sec. 192. The twothirds vote on proposed
    amendments.

      The  vote required on a joint resolution proposing an amendment
    to the Constitution is two-thirds of those voting, a quorum being
    present, and not two-thirds of the entire membership (V, 7027, 7028;
    VIII, 3503). The majority required to pass a constitutional amendment,
    like the majority required to pass a bill over the President's veto
    (VII, 1111) and the majority required to adopt a motion to suspend the
    rules (Dec. 16, 1981, pp. 31850, 31851, 31855, 31856), is two-thirds of
    those Members voting either in the affirmative or negative, a quorum
    being present, and Members who only indicate that they are ``present''
    are not counted in this computation (Nov. 15, 1983, p. 32685). The
    requirement of the two-thirds vote applies to the vote on final passage
    and not to amendments (V, 7031, 7032; VIII, 3504), or prior stages (V,
    7029, 7030), but is required if the House votes on agreeing to Senate
    amendments (V, 7033, 7034; VIII, 3505), or on agreeing to a conference
    report (V, 7036). One House having, by a two-thirds vote, passed in
    amended form a proposed constitutional amendment from the other House,
    and then having by a majority vote receded from its amendment, the
    constitutional amendment was held not to be passed (V, 7035).

      In the 95th Congress, both the House and Senate passed by a majority
    vote House Joint Resolution 638, extending the time period for
    ratification by the States of the Equal Rights Amendment, where House
    Joint Resolution 208 of the 92d Congress, proposing the amendment, had
    provided for a seven-year ratification period. The House determined, by
    laying on the table by a record vote a privileged resolution asserting
    that a vote of two-thirds of the Members present and voting was required
    to pass a joint resolution extending the ratification period for a
    constitutional amendment already submitted to the States, that only a
    majority vote was required on such a measure (H.J. Res. 638; Speaker
    O'Neill, Aug. 15, 1978, p. 26203).

      The joint resolution extending the ratification period for the Equal
    Rights Amendment was delivered to the President, who signed it although
    expressing doubt as to the necessity for his doing so (Presidential
    Documents, Oct. 19, 1978). When sent to the Archivist, the joint
    resolution was not assigned a public law number, but the Archivist
    notified the States of the action of the Congress in extending the
    ratification period. For a judicial decision voiding this extension, see
    Idaho v. Freeman, 529 F.Supp. 1107 (D.C.D. Idaho, 1981), judgment stayed
    sub nom. National Organization of Women v. Idaho, 455 U.S. 918 (1982),
    vacated and remanded to dismiss, 459 U.S. 809 (1982).

    [[Page 89]]

    Feb. 11, 2020, p. _). In response to a point of order regarding the
    proper vote threshold prior to the question on final passage of the
    joint resolution, the Chair ruled that a majority vote threshold was
    required pursuant to the terms of House Resolution 842 and declined to
    entertain an appeal from such ruling because the terms of that
    resolution were unambiguous (Feb. 13, 2020, p. _). The House adopted a
    similar resolution (by special order of business) setting a majority
    threshold for the vote on final passage of House Joint Resolution 17 in
    the 117th Congress (H. Res. 232, Mar. 16, 2021, p. _)
      In the 116th Congress, the House passed by a majority vote House Joint
    Resolution 79, eliminating the deadline for ratification by the States
    of the Equal Rights Amendment (Feb. 13, 2020, p. _), following adoption
    of a resolution (by special order of business) affirming that the proper
    threshold to adopt such joint resolution was a majority vote (H. Res.
    842,

      The yeas and nays are not required to pass a joint resolution
    proposing to amend the Constitution (V, 7038-7039; VIII, 3506).

      Question has arisen as to the power of a State to recall, or rescind,
    its assent to a constitutional amendment (V, 7042; footnotes to
    Sec. Sec. 225, 234, infra) but has not been the subject of a final
    judicial determination (see Idaho v. Freeman, 529 F.Supp. 1107 (D.
    Idaho, 1981), judgment stayed sub nom. National Organization of Women v.
    Idaho, 455 U.S. 918 (1982), vacated and remanded to dismiss, 459 U.S.
    809 (1982)).

    Sec. 193. Decisions of the Court.

      Decisions  of the Supreme
    Court of the United States: National Prohibition Cases, 253 U.S. 350
    (1920); Hawke v. Smith, 253 U.S. 221 (1920); Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S.
    368 (1921); Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130 (1922); Coleman v. Miller,
    307 U.S. 433 (1939); Chandler v. Wise, 307 U.S. 474 (1939).