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85-438: The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana . It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate . The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet in regular session for no longer than 90 days in each odd-numbered year. The primary work of the legislature is to pass a balanced biennial budget which must then be approved by

170-439: A parliamentary system , or any other system of government, if it so desired. In 27 states, the legislature is called the legislature or the state legislature , while in 19 states the legislature is called the general assembly . In Massachusetts and New Hampshire , the legislature is called the general court , while North Dakota and Oregon designate the legislature the legislative assembly . The responsibilities of

255-401: A bill from a committee", which led to subsequent reforms. Reports of Committee After a committee has completed work on a bill, it reports the bill to the appropriate house during the "reports of committees" in the daily order of business. Reported bills are immediately given a second reading. The houses do not vote on a bill at the time it is reported; however, reported bills are placed on

340-466: A clear and stable way of amending the document that is explicit, authentic, and the exclusive means of amendment; it promotes wisdom and justice through enhancing deliberation and prudence; and its process complements federalism and separation of powers that are key features of the Constitution. He argues that Article V remains the most clear and powerful way to register the sovereign desires of

425-562: A committee to "kill" a bill, sometimes without even a public vote; in Colorado, the power was notably repealed in a citizen initiative constitutional amendment in 1988 driven by various reform groups. When a committee refuses to vote a bill out of committee, a discharge petition can be passed by the broader membership. The specifics vary from state to state; for example, in 2004, a report found that New York State "places more restrictions than any other state legislature on motions to discharge

510-596: A deadline for ratification. Legal scholars generally agree that the amending process of Article Five can itself be amended by the procedures laid out in Article Five, but there is some disagreement over whether Article Five is the exclusive means of amending the Constitution. In addition to defining the procedures for altering the Constitution, Article Five also shields three clauses in Article One from ordinary amendment by attaching stipulations. Regarding two of

595-506: A majority party, this is known as the majority being "rolled". When there are bills which most of the majority oppose, roll rates are a measure of the majority party's avoidance of voting on those bills. Committee review Committees review bill, often holding hearings to gather information and opinions, and can propose amendments to bill similar to legislative bodies throughout the world. Most bills cannot be enacted into law until it has been referred to, acted upon by, and returned from,

680-622: A period of sustained political activity on the part of a mobilized national constituency. For example, Akhil Amar rejects the notion that Article V excludes other modes of constitutional change, arguing instead that the procedure provided for in Article V is simply the exclusive method the government may use to amend the Constitution. He asserts that Article V nowhere prevents the People themselves, acting apart from ordinary Government, from exercising their legal right to alter or abolish Government via

765-487: A provision in the Ohio Constitution reserving to the state's voters the right to challenge and overturn its legislature's ratification of federal constitutional amendments was unconstitutional. An amendment becomes an operative part of the Constitution when it is ratified by the necessary number of states, rather than on the later date when its ratification is certified. No further action by Congress or anyone

850-470: A standing committee in each house. Reference to committee usually follows the first reading of the bill. Each committee is set up to consider bills relating to a particular subject. Standing committees are charged with the important responsibility of examining bills and recommending action to the Senate or House. Often on days when a legislature is not in session, the committees of each house meet and consider

935-792: A state legislature vary from state to state, depending on state's constitution . The primary function of any legislature is to create laws. State legislatures also approve budget for state government. They may establish government agencies, set their policies, and approve their budgets. For instance, a state legislature could establish an agency to manage environmental conservation efforts within that state. In some states, state legislators elect other officials, such as governor. State legislatures often have power to regulate businesses operating within their jurisdiction. They also regulate courts within their jurisdiction. This includes determining types of cases that can be heard, setting court fees, and regulating attorney conduct. Other responsibilities Under

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1020-456: A time limit and the extending of it were powers committed exclusively to Congress under the political question doctrine and that in any event Congress had power to extend. It was argued that inasmuch as the fixing of a reasonable time was within Congress' power and that Congress could fix the time either in advance or at some later point, based upon its evaluation of the social and other bases of

1105-556: Is also silent on the issue of whether or not Congress, once it has sent an amendment that includes a ratification deadline to the states for their consideration, can extend that deadline. The practice of limiting the time available to the states to ratify proposed amendments began in 1917 with the Eighteenth Amendment . All amendments proposed since then, with the exception of the Nineteenth Amendment and

1190-451: Is available to ensure that legislation and accompanying discussion proceed as orderly as possible without bias. Bill drafting and submission The lawmaking process begins with the introduction of a bill in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Bills may be introduced in either house, sometimes with the exception of bills increasing or decreasing revenue, which must originate in

1275-540: Is called the Nebraska Legislature , but its members are called state senators. The first bicameral American legislature was formed in 1619 as the Virginia House of Burgesses . The legislatures of the initial Thirteen Colonies usually consisted of an elected lower house and an appointed upper house , the latter of which also functioned as an advisory council to the colonial governor. After

1360-575: Is controlled by a Republican "supermajority," meaning that Republicans control two-thirds of the seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, allowing them to override gubernatorial vetoes and potentially pass proposals for amendments to the Montana Constitution . Members are limited to serving no more than eight years in either chamber, but the term limit is consecutive, not lifetime. Legislative districts are redrawn every ten years, after each census. The new boundaries, after

1445-488: Is done by committees. The legislature as a whole relies on its committees to report out only those bills deserving the consideration of the entire house. Through standing committees, each bill is addressed by a group of members who have special knowledge of its subject. Some members of the legislature have expert knowledge of particular subjects of legislation, and these members are usually placed on committees to take full advantage of this specialized knowledge. For this reason,

1530-711: Is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and has a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. Additionally, privately funded organizations with ideological leanings have annual meetings attracting many legislators. These include the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization, and the State Innovation Exchange (SIX), its progressive counterpart. As of 2017, 24 of 99 chambers have limits on

1615-413: Is not considered by the full house, the bill is defeated. The house of origin, upon return of its amended bill, may take any one of several courses of action. It may concur in the amendment by the adoption of a motion to that effect; then the bill, having been passed by both houses in identical form, is ready for enrollment. Another possibility is that the house of origin may adopt a motion to non-concur in

1700-404: Is not necessary to place constitutional amendments before the president for approval or veto. Three times in the 20th century, concerted efforts were undertaken by proponents of particular amendments to secure the number of applications necessary to summon an Article V Convention. These included conventions to consider amendments to (1) provide for the popular election of U.S. Senators; (2) permit

1785-518: Is required. On three occasions, Congress has, after being informed that an amendment has reached the ratification threshold, adopted a resolution declaring the process successfully completed. Such actions, while perhaps important for political reasons, are, constitutionally speaking, unnecessary. Presently, the Archivist of the United States is charged with responsibility for administering

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1870-415: The 1787 Constitutional Convention between two groups, one maintaining that the national legislature should have no role in the constitutional amendment process, and another contending that proposals to amend the constitution should originate in the national legislature and their ratification should be decided by state legislatures or state conventions. Regarding the consensus amendment process crafted during

1955-523: The American Revolution and the establishment of the United States, most states wrote new constitutions which had direct elections for both chambers of the legislature. This model helped influence the U.S. Constitution and was then adopted by new states which later joined the union . Members of the smaller chamber represent more citizens and usually serve for longer terms than members of the larger chamber, generally four years. In 41 states,

2040-594: The Congress with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate ; or by a convention to propose amendments called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures . To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must then be ratified by either—as determined by Congress—the legislatures of three-quarters of the states or by ratifying conventions conducted in three-quarters of

2125-548: The Senate , as described in Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 , without that state's consent. Designed to seal two compromises reached between delegates to the Constitutional Convention after contentious debates, these are the only explicitly entrenched provisions of the Constitution. The guarantee of equal suffrage in the Senate is arguably subject to being amended through the procedures outlined within

2210-437: The U.S. Senate , because that chamber's makeup is prescribed by the U.S. Constitution .) During a legislative session , the legislature considers matters introduced by its members or submitted by the governor. Businesses and other special interest organizations often lobby the legislature to obtain beneficial legislation, defeat unfavorably perceived measures, or influence other legislative action. A legislature also approves

2295-404: The governor and to try articles of impeachment. (In a few states, a separate executive council, composed of members elected from large districts, performs the confirmation function.) Nebraska originally had a bicameral legislature like the other states, but the lower house was abolished following a referendum, effective with the 1936 elections. The remaining unicameral (one-chamber) legislature

2380-622: The governor . If the governor vetoes a bill, the legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote. Since the beginning of statehood for Montana, the Legislature has been split along party lines fairly consistently and evenly. Since adoption of the current state constitution in 1972, which mandated single-member legislative districts for the first time in the state's history, the Montana Senate has been controlled by Democrats in 9 sessions and Republicans in 16 sessions. During

2465-441: The "three fourths of the several states" plateau for becoming a part of the Constitution. It had been submitted to the states for ratification—without a ratification deadline—on September 25, 1789, an unprecedented time period of 202 years, 7 months and 12 days. Whether once it has prescribed a ratification period Congress may extend the period without necessitating action by already-ratified States embroiled Congress,

2550-441: The (still pending) Child Labor Amendment , have included a deadline, either in the body of the proposed amendment, or in the joint resolution transmitting it to the states. The ratification deadline "clock" begins running on the day final action is completed in Congress. An amendment may be ratified at any time after final congressional action, even if the states have not yet been officially notified. In Dillon v. Gloss (1921),

2635-517: The 2020 census, became effective starting with the 2024 elections. The Montana State Legislature meets in the state capitol in Helena . This Montana -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . State legislature (United States) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In the United States , the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of

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2720-480: The 50 U.S. states . A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at the national level. Generally, the same system of checks and balances that exists at the federal level also exists between the state legislature, the state executive officer (governor) and the state judiciary . A state is permitted to use

2805-861: The American public with regard to alterations of their fundamental law. In the end, Article V is an essential bulwark to maintaining a written Constitution that secures the rights of the people against both elites and themselves. The view that the Article ;V amendment process is the only legitimate vehicle for bringing about constitutional change is, as pointed out by constitutional law scholar Joel K. Goldstein, "challenged by numerous widely-accepted judicial decisions that have introduced new meaning into constitutional language by departing from original intentions, expectations, or meaning". He also points out how constitutional institutions have, independent of both judicial activity and alterations effected though

2890-610: The Article V process, evolved "to take forms inconsistent with what the Founders imagined or the language they wrote suggested". In his farewell address , President George Washington said: If in the opinion of the People the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be

2975-421: The Article. Law professor George Mader holds that the shielding provision can be amended because it is not "self-entrenched", meaning that it does not contain a provision preventing its own amendment. Thus, under Mader's argument, a two-step amendment process could repeal the provision that prevents the equal suffrage provision from being amended, and then repeal the equal suffrage provision itself. Mader contrasts

3060-507: The Constitution itself was adopted without following the procedures in the Articles of Confederation , while Constitutional attorney Michael Farris disagrees, saying the convention was a product of the States' residual power , and the amendment in adoption process was legal, having received the unanimous assent of the States' legislatures. Article V lays out the procedures for amending

3145-582: The Court of Appeals, but before they could hear the case, the extended period granted by Congress had been exhausted without the necessary number of states, thus rendering the case moot . Article V also contains two statements that shield the subject matter of certain constitutional clauses from being amended. The first of the two is obsolete due to an attached sunset provision . Absolutely not amendable until 1808 were Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 , which prevented Congress from passing any law that would restrict

3230-418: The House of Representatives. The order of business in each house provides a proper time for the introduction of bills. Bills are usually assigned consecutive numbers, given in the order of their introduction, to facilitate identification. Usually a bill cannot become enacted until it has been read on a certain number of days in each house. Upon introduction, a bill is usually read by its title only, constituting

3315-640: 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

3400-847: The National Conference of The Council of State Governments (CSG), headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, with offices in Washington, DC; New York City; Chicago; Atlanta; and Sacramento, and at the annual meetings of CSG's regions, The Southern Legislative Conference, The Midwestern Legislative Conference, the Eastern Regional Conference and CSG West, and at the Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures , which

3485-534: The Senate. Thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution have been approved by the Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Twenty-seven of these amendments have been ratified and are now part of the Constitution. The first ten amendments were adopted and ratified simultaneously and are known collectively as the Bill of Rights . Six amendments adopted by Congress and sent to

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3570-716: The Supreme Court upheld Congress's power to prescribe time limitations for state ratifications and intimated that clearly out of date proposals were no longer open for ratification. Granting that it found nothing express in Article V relating to time constraints, the Court yet allowed that it found intimated in the amending process a "strongly suggest[ive]" argument that proposed amendments are not open to ratification for all time or by States acting at widely separate times. The court subsequently, in Coleman v. Miller (1939), modified its opinion considerably. In that case, related to

3655-415: The amending process again. Opponents argued that Congress, having by a two-thirds vote sent the amendment and its authorizing resolution to the states, had put the matter beyond changing by passage of a simple resolution, that states had either acted upon the entire package or at least that they had or could have acted affirmatively upon the promise of Congress that if the amendment had not been ratified within

3740-511: The amendment, at which point the bill dies. Finally, the house of origin may refuse to accept the amendment but request that a conference committee be appointed. The other house usually agrees to the request, and the presiding officer of each house appoints members to the conference committee. Conference committees Article Five of the United States Constitution Amendments may be proposed either by

3825-440: The amendments were designed to be interwoven into the relevant sections of the original document. Instead, they were approved by Congress and sent to the states for ratification as supplemental additions ( codicils ) appended to it. Both these precedents have been followed ever since. Once approved by Congress, the joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment does not require presidential approval before it goes out to

3910-540: The authority of Congress to decide which mode of ratification will be used for each individual constitutional amendment. The Court had earlier, in Hawke v. Smith (1920), upheld the Ohio General Assembly 's ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment —which Congress had sent to the state legislatures for ratification—after Ohio voters successfully vetoed that approval through a popular referendum , ruling that

3995-431: The basis of representation in most state legislatures was modeled on that of the U.S. Congress : the state senators represented geographical units, while members of the larger chamber represented population. In Reynolds v. Sims the Supreme Court decided upon the one man, one vote standard for state legislatures and invalidated representation based on geographical units regardless of population. (The ruling does not affect

4080-428: The bill, the entire legislature gives consideration to its passage. At this time, the bill may be studied in detail, debated, amended, and read at length before final passage. If the majority vote in favor of the bill, it is recorded as passed. Transmission to second house A bill that is passed in one house is transmitted, along with a formal message, to the other house. If the bill is not reported from committee or

4165-413: The bills that have been referred to them to decide if the assigned bills should be reported for further action. For most bills, the recommendations of the committee are followed, although either house is free to accept or reject the action of the committee. Bills reported favorably by a committee may be placed on a regular calendar (the agenda of the deliberative body). Most of the work of the legislature

4250-421: The calendar for the next legislative day. This second reading is made by title only. The regular calendar is a list of bills that have been favorably reported from committee and are ready for consideration by the membership of the entire house. Third reading Regardless of where a bill is placed on the calendar, once the bill is considered and adopted, this is called the third reading. At this third reading of

4335-410: The clauses—one concerning importation of slaves and the other apportionment of direct taxes —the prohibition on amendment was absolute but of limited duration , expiring in 1808; the third was without an expiration date but less absolute: "no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." Scholars disagree as to whether this shielding clause can itself be amended by

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4420-613: The convention, James Madison (writing in The Federalist No. 43 ) declared: It guards equally against that extreme facility which would render the Constitution too mutable; and that extreme difficulty which might perpetuate its discovered faults. It moreover equally enables the General and the State Governments to originate the amendment of errors, as they may be pointed out by the experience on one side, or on

4505-507: The encroachments of the national authority", has yet to be invoked. When the 1st Congress considered a series of constitutional amendments , it was suggested that the two houses first adopt a resolution indicating that they deemed amendments necessary. This procedure was not used. Instead, both the House and the Senate proceeded directly to consideration of a joint resolution , thereby implying that both bodies deemed amendments to be necessary. Also, when initially proposed by James Madison ,

4590-448: The equal suffrage provision could be amended through a two-step process, but describes that process as a "sly scheme". According to constitutional theorist and scholar Lawrence G. Sager , there is debate among commentators about whether Article V is the exclusive means of amending the Constitution, or whether there are routes to amendment, including some routes in which the Constitution could be unconsciously or unwittingly amended in

4675-424: The first reading of the bill. Because a bill is usually read by title only, it is important that the title give the members notice of the subject matter contained in the bill. A 2013 study of state legislatures found that of the 99 studied, about half, 53, had roll rates below 5% . And most, 83, had roll rates below 10% . When a bill passes where most votes are from the minority party and "moderate" members of

4760-401: The importation of slaves prior to 1808, and Article I, Section 9, Clause 4 , a declaration that direct taxes must be apportioned according to state populations, as described in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 . The second prohibition was not given an expiration date and remains in effect. It expressly provides that no amendment shall deprive a state of its equal suffrage (representation) in

4845-454: The instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. This statement by Washington has become controversial, and scholars disagree about whether it still describes the proper constitutional order in the United States. Scholars who dismiss Washington's position often argue that

4930-567: The larger chamber is called the House of Representatives. Five states designate the larger chamber the assembly, three states call it the House of Delegates, and one has just one chamber. Members of the larger chamber usually serve for terms of two years. The larger chamber customarily has the exclusive power to initiate taxing legislation and articles of impeachment . Prior to the United States Supreme Court decisions Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964),

5015-608: The legislature is considered full-time, the session may last all year, with periodic breaks for district work. Some states have varying lengths for odd-numbered and even-numbered years, or allow for a fixed number of either legislative or calendar days. Georgia for example, allows only 40 legislative days per year, and Wyoming allows 60 legislative days per term and no more than 40 per one calendar year. Whereas in Michigan , New Jersey , New York (in odd-numbered years), Ohio , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (in odd-numbered years),

5100-452: The legislature often accepts the final recommendations of its standing committees. As has been noted, however, the legislature does not completely abdicate its responsibility for the consideration of pending bills. If the need arises, the members of either house can force a committee to take action on a bill, or they can ignore the committee's recommendations. Pocket veto and discharge petitions Pocket veto powers are common, which allows

5185-399: The manner of appointing the state's presidential electors . Formerly, state legislatures appointed the U.S. Senators from their respective states until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913 required the direct election of senators by the state's voters. Sometimes what the legislature wishes to accomplish cannot be done simply by the passage of a bill, but rather requires amending

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5270-410: The nation that the ratification process has been successfully completed. This process, argues Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt , means the U.S. Constitution is the most difficult in the world to amend "by a lot". The Constitution is silent on the issue of whether or not Congress may limit the length of time that the states have to ratify constitutional amendments sent for their consideration. It

5355-426: The nation's frame of government. The first method authorizes Congress, "whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary", to propose constitutional amendments. The second method requires Congress, "on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states" (34 as of 1959 ), to "call a convention for proposing amendments". This duality in Article V is the result of compromises made during

5440-438: The necessities of the amendment, Congress did not violate the Constitution when, once having fixed the time, it subsequently extended the time. Proponents recognized that if the time limit was fixed in the text of the amendment Congress could not alter it because the time limit as well as the substantive provisions of the proposal had been subject to ratification by a number of States, making it unalterable by Congress except through

5525-401: The number of bills that a legislator can introduce per year according to NCSL . Most limits are set by internal legislative rules, while Louisiana's legislature is limited by constitutional amendment. Generally, the legislative bodies and their committees use either Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure or an amended form thereof. During official meetings, a professional parliamentarian

5610-417: The other. Each time the Article V process has been initiated since 1789, the first method for crafting and proposing amendments has been used. All 33 amendments submitted to the states for ratification originated in Congress. The second method, the convention option, a political tool which Alexander Hamilton (writing in The Federalist No. 85 ) argued would enable state legislatures to "erect barriers against

5695-549: The prescribed period it would expire and their assent would not be compelled for longer than they had intended. In 1981, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho , however, found that Congress did not have the authority to extend the deadline, even when only contained within the proposing joint resolution's resolving clause. The Supreme Court had decided to take up the case, bypassing

5780-467: The procedures laid out in Article Five. 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

5865-484: The proper legal procedures. Other scholars disagree. Some argue that the Constitution itself provides no mechanism for the American people to adopt constitutional amendments independently of Article V. Darren Patrick Guerra has argued that Article V is a vital part of the American constitutional tradition and he defends it against modern critiques that Article V is either too difficult, too undemocratic, or too formal. Instead he argues that Article V provides

5950-602: The proposed Child Labor Amendment, it held that the question of timeliness of ratification is a political and non-justiciable one, leaving the issue to Congress's discretion. It would appear that the length of time elapsing between proposal and ratification is irrelevant to the validity of the amendment. Based upon this precedent, the Archivist of the United States, on May 7, 1992, proclaimed the Twenty-seventh Amendment as having been ratified when it surpassed

6035-565: The provision preventing the modification of the equal suffrage clause with the unratified Corwin Amendment , which contains a self-entrenching, unamendable provision. Law professor Richard Albert also holds that the equal suffrage provision could be amended through a "double amendment" process, contrasting the U.S. Constitution with other constitutions in which the provision that protects certain provisions from ever being amended also protects itself. Another legal scholar, Akhil Amar , argues that

6120-420: The ratification process under the provisions of 1 U.S. Code § 106b . The Archivist officially notifies the states, by a registered letter to each state's Governor , that an amendment has been proposed. Each Governor then formally submits the amendment to their state's legislature (or ratifying convention). When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of

6205-593: The same period, the Montana House has been controlled by Democrats in 8 sessions and Republicans in 15 sessions, with two ties. According to state law, in the instance of a tie, control goes to the party of the sitting governor. The 67th Legislature (2021–2022) was controlled by the Republican Party with the House having 67 Republican members and 33 Democratic members; the Senate has 31 Republican and 19 Democratic members. The 68th Legislature (2023-2024)

6290-400: The sessions usually last all year. Four state legislatures – Montana , Nevada , North Dakota and Texas – meet only biennially. In the early 1960s, only 19 legislatures met annually, but by the mid-1970s, it had increased to 41. The latest legislature to switch to annual sessions was Oregon in 2011, following a voter-approved ballot measure. Many state legislators meet every year at

6375-414: The state constitution. Each state has specified steps intended to make it difficult to alter the constitution without the sufficient support of either the legislature, or the people, or both. All states except Nebraska have a bicameral legislature. The smaller chamber is called the senate, usually referred to as the upper house. This chamber usually has the exclusive power to confirm appointments made by

6460-499: The state legislatures or to state ratifying conventions for ratification. Amendments ratified by the states under either procedure are indistinguishable and have equal validity as part of the Constitution. Of the 33 amendments submitted to the states for ratification, the state convention method has been used for only one, the Twenty-first Amendment . In United States v. Sprague (1931), the Supreme Court affirmed

6545-469: The state's action. Upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, it is the duty of the Archivist to issue a certificate proclaiming a particular amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution. The amendment and its certificate of ratification are then published in the Federal Register and United States Statutes at Large . This serves as official notice to Congress and to

6630-488: The state's operating and capital budgets, which may begin as a legislative proposal or a submission by the governor. In most states, a new state legislature convenes in January of the odd-numbered year after the election of members to the larger chamber. The period during which the legislature remains in session varies by state. In states where the legislature is considered part-time, a session may last several months; where

6715-438: The states have not been ratified by the required number of states and are not part of the Constitution. Four of these amendments are still technically open and pending, one is closed and has failed by its own terms, and one is closed and has failed by the terms of the resolution proposing it. All totaled, more than 10,000 measures to amend the Constitution have been proposed in Congress. Article V provides two methods for amending

6800-405: The states in 1912, while the latter two campaigns came very close to meeting the two-thirds threshold in the 1960s and 1980s, respectively. After being officially proposed, either by Congress or a national convention of the states, a constitutional amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths (38 out of 50) of the states. Congress is authorized to choose whether a proposed amendment is sent to

6885-475: The states to include factors other than equality of population in drawing state legislative district boundaries; and (3) to propose an amendment requiring the U.S. budget to be balanced under most circumstances. The campaign for a popularly elected Senate is frequently credited with "prodding" the Senate to join the House of Representatives in proposing what became the Seventeenth Amendment to

6970-562: The states, a process utilized only once thus far in American history with the 1933 ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment . The vote of each state (to either ratify or reject a proposed amendment) carries equal weight , regardless of a state's population or length of time in the Union. Article Five is silent regarding deadlines for the ratification of proposed amendments, but most amendments proposed since 1917 have included

7055-400: The states, and the courts in argument with respect to the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (Sent to the states on March 22, 1972, with a seven-year ratification time limit attached). In 1978 Congress, by simple majority vote in both houses, extended the original deadline by 3 years, 3 months and 8 days (through June 30, 1982). The amendment's proponents argued that the fixing of

7140-495: The states. While Article I Section 7 provides that all federal legislation must, before becoming Law, be presented to the president for his or her signature or veto , Article V provides no such requirement for constitutional amendments approved by Congress, or by a federal convention. Thus the president has no official function in the process. In Hollingsworth v. Virginia (1798), the Supreme Court affirmed that it

7225-450: The terms of Article V of the U.S. Constitution , state lawmakers retain the power to ratify Constitutional amendments which have been proposed by both houses of Congress and they also retain the ability to call for a national convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. After the convention has concluded its business 75% of the states will ratify what the convention has proposed. Under Article II , state legislatures choose

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