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62-492: The Constitution may only be amended if a proposed modification receives a majority vote of two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly and then is approved by the electorate . Emergency amendments are permitted by a vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly and an affirmative vote by the electorate within one month. In such emergency situations, commonwealth election officials are required to publish notice of

124-704: A bill amending the Constitution must be passed by both houses of the Parliament of Australia by an absolute majority (at least 76 of the 151 members of the House of Representatives and at least 39 of the 76 members of the Senate ). If one house passes the bill while the other refuses, it may attempt to pass the bill again. If the second house again refuses to pass it, the Governor-General (presumably on

186-487: A desired amendment. For example, the movement to amend the Constitution to provide for the direct election of senators began to see such proposals regularly pass the House of Representatives only to die in the Senate from the early 1890s onward. As time went by, more and more state legislatures adopted resolutions demanding that a convention be called, thus pressuring the Senate to finally relent and approve what later became

248-447: A majority of voters. With the legislative method, a proposed amendment must be approved by an absolute supermajority of two-thirds of the membership of each house. With the convention method, the legislature may, by a two-thirds absolute supermajority, submit to the voters at a general election the question whether to call a convention to revise the Constitution. If the majority of the voters vote yes on that question, within six months

310-401: A number of stages before it can become law. In theory, this allows the bill's provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber. Broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to

372-532: A period of several decades. In contrast, the former constitution of the U.S. state of Alabama was amended 977 times between its adoption in 1901 and its replacement by the current constitution in 2022. There are a number of formal differences, from one jurisdiction to another, in the manner in which constitutional amendments are both originally drafted and written down once they become law. In some jurisdictions, such as Ireland, Estonia , and Australia, constitutional amendments originate as bills and become laws in

434-466: A private member's bill). In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at the committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, if the Government holds a majority, almost all

496-601: A special joint resolution of Congress that does not require the President to sign and that the President can not veto . The manner in which constitutional amendments are finally recorded takes two main forms. In most jurisdictions, amendments to a constitution take the form of revisions to the previous text. Thus, once an amendment has become law, portions of the original text may be deleted or new articles may be inserted among existing ones. The second, less common method,

558-514: A special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation. Examples of such special procedures include supermajorities in the legislature, or direct approval by the electorate in a referendum , or even a combination of two or more different special procedures. A referendum to amend the constitution may also be triggered in some jurisdictions by popular initiative . Australia and Ireland provide examples of constitutions requiring that all amendments are first passed by

620-539: A specific chamber. For example, bills imposing a tax , or involving public expenditure , are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canada's House of Commons , Lok Sabha of India and Ireland's Dáil as a matter of law. Conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords . Once introduced, a bill must go through

682-484: A supermajority of at least six of the nine provinces. If an amendment affects a specific province, it must also be approved by the legislature of the province concerned. Section 1, which defines South Africa as "one, sovereign, democratic state" and lists its founding values, is a specially entrenched clause and can only be amended by an absolute three-quarters supermajority in the National Assembly and six of

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744-482: Is a modification of the constitution of a polity , organization or other type of entity . Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions ( codicils ), thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document. Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed

806-482: Is for amendments to be appended to the end of the main text in the form of special articles of amendment , leaving the body of the original text intact. Although the wording of the original text is not altered, the doctrine of implied repeal applies. In other words, in the event of conflict, an article of amendment will usually take precedence over the provisions of the original text, or of an earlier amendment. Nonetheless, there may still be ambiguity whether an amendment

868-494: Is intended to supersede or to supplement an existing article in the text. An article of amendment may, however, explicitly express itself as having the effect of repealing a specific existing article. The use of appended articles of amendment is most famous as a feature of the United States Constitution , but it is also the method of amendment in a number of other jurisdictions, such as Venezuela . Under

930-609: Is presented to the Governor General , who gives it royal assent . Although the Governor General can refuse to assent a bill, this power has never been exercised. Bills being reviewed by Parliament are assigned numbers: 2 to 200 for government bills, 201 to 1000 for private member's bills , and 1001 up for private bills . They are preceded by C- if they originate in the House of Commons, or S- if they originate in

992-465: Is through the legislature, either in regular or special session. The governor may call a special session, and specify the agenda for the session. To become part of the constitution, proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. Texas has had six different constitutions and the current constitution, adopted in 1876, has been amended 474 times. A proposed amendment must be approved by an absolute supermajority of two-thirds of

1054-708: The Archivist of the United States , with the Archivist currently being responsible for certification under 1 U.S.C.   § 106b . The certification document usually contains a list of the States that ratified the Amendment. This certification is just used by the federal government to keep an official record and archive of the Amendment for its own purposes, and does not actually have any legal effect on

1116-527: The Gazette . The Constitution of Brazil states various terms on how it can be amended. Article 60 lies within "Section VIII: The Legislative Process, Subsection 2: Amendments to the Constitution". The following is detailed therein: Constitutional amendments may be proposed by: §1°. The Constitution cannot be amended during a federal intervention, state of defence or stage of siege. §2°. A proposed amendment shall be debated and voted on in each Chamber of

1178-530: The Seventeenth Amendment for fear that such a convention—if permitted to assemble—might stray to include issues above and beyond just the direct election of senators. To become an operative part of the Constitution, an amendment, whether proposed by Congress or a national constitutional convention, must be ratified by either: Congress has specified the state legislature ratification method for all but one amendment. The ratifying convention method

1240-597: The Tennessee State Constitution : through the legislature and by constitutional convention. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. With the legislative method, the Tennessee General Assembly passes a resolution calling for an amendment and stating its wording. This must pass in three separate readings on three separate days, with an absolute majority on all readings. It does not require

1302-562: The Washington State Constitution is through the legislature and can originate in either branch. The proposal must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the legislature. The proposed amendment is placed on the ballot at the next general election and must be approved by a majority of the voters. The procedure for amending the Constitution of Australia is detailed in section 128 of the Constitution . Firstly,

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1364-523: The advice of the Prime Minister ) may still submit the proposed change for referendum. Following this, Australians then vote on the proposal. For a referendum to succeed both of the following must be achieved The double majority is a major factor in why since 1906 out of 44 referendums only 8 have been successful. In the Communist -ruled People's Republic of China , the Constitution of

1426-500: The governor 's approval. It must then be published at least six months before the next legislative election in newspapers of wide and general circulation. (This is done by precedent but is not required by law.) After the election, the proposed amendment must go through the same procedure (absolute majority on three separate readings). Then it is put on the ballot as a referendum in the next gubernatorial election. To be ratified it must again achieve an absolute majority of those voting in

1488-518: The provincial legislatures , and, if it does not have to be passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), submit it to the NCOP for debate. When the bill is introduced, the comments received must be tabled in the National Assembly, and in the NCOP when appropriate. All amendments must be passed by an absolute two-thirds supermajority in the National Assembly (the lower house ); as

1550-465: The referendum on a proposed amendment in a minimum of two newspapers in every county. In an event that more than one emergency amendment is proposed, each additional amendment is to be voted on separately. The current Constitution of Pennsylvania comprises the following concise Preamble, and Articles and Schedules: WE, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for

1612-470: The 1919 German Weimar Constitution , the prevailing legal theory was that any law reaching the necessary supermajorities in both chambers of parliament was free to deviate from the terms of the constitution, without itself becoming part of the constitution. This very wide conception of "amendment" eased the rise of Adolf Hitler to power; it was consequently explicitly ruled out in the postwar 1949 constitution, which allows amendments only by explicitly changing

1674-443: The Amendment. State constitutions in the U.S. are amended on a regular basis. In 19 states, the state constitutions have been amended at least 100 times. Amendments are often necessary because of the length of state constitutions, which are, on average, three times longer than the federal constitution, and because state constitutions typically contain extensive detail. In addition, state constitutions are often easier to amend than

1736-517: The Assembly has 400 members this requires 267 members to vote for the amendment. Most amendments do not have to be considered by the NCOP (the upper house ). Amendments of the Bill of Rights , and amendments affecting the role of the NCOP, the "boundaries, powers, functions or institutions" of the provinces or provisions "dealing specifically with provincial matters" must also be passed by the NCOP with

1798-465: The Congress. The Indian constitution can be amended in 3 ways: Act of Parliament An act of parliament , as a form of primary legislation , is a text of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council ). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament begin as a bill , which the legislature votes on. Depending on

1860-622: The Constitution immediately once it is ratified by three-fourths of the States. The Article usually goes into force at this time too, though it may self-impose a delay before that happens, as was the case of the Eighteenth Amendment . Every ratified Amendment has been certified or proclaimed by an official of the federal government, starting with the Secretary of State , then the Administrator of General Services , and now

1922-416: The Constitution. Amendment proposals may be adopted and sent to the states for ratification by either: All 33 amendment proposals that have been sent to the states for ratification since the establishment of the Constitution have come into being via the Congress. State legislatures have however, at various times, used their power to apply for a national convention in order to pressure Congress into proposing

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1984-670: The Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas , bills pass through the following stages. Bills may be initiated in either the Dáil or the Seanad, and must pass both houses. In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: A draft piece of legislation is called a bill ; when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an act and part of statute law. There are two types of bill and act, public and private . Public acts apply to

2046-494: The Legislature shall provide for the convention. Delegates to a constitutional convention shall be voters elected from districts as nearly equal in population as may be practicable. The constitution does not provide any rules for the operation of the constitutional convention. With the initiative method, an amendment is proposed by a petition signed by voters equal in number to 8% of the votes for all candidates for governor at

2108-604: The National Congress, in two rounds, and shall be considered approved if it obtains three-fifths of the votes of the respective members in both rounds. §3°. A Constitutional amendment shall be promulgated by the Executive Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate, taking the next sequential number. §4°. No proposed constitutional amendment shall be considered that is aimed at abolishing

2170-714: The People's Republic of China states how to be amended under Article 64 of "Chapter III: The Structure of the State". It says the following: Amendments to the Constitution are to be proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress or by more than one-fifth of the deputies to the National People's Congress and adopted by a majority vote of more than two-thirds of all the deputies to

2232-536: The Senate. For example, Bill C-250 was a private member's bill introduced in the House. Bills C-1 and S-1 are pro forma bills, and are introduced at the beginning of each session in order to assert the right of each Chamber to manage its own affairs. They are introduced and read a first time, and then are dropped from the Order Paper . In the Parliament of India , every bill passes through following stages before it becomes an Act of Parliament of India : In

2294-412: The amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second reading,

2356-511: The blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution. Pennsylvania has had five constitutions during its statehood: 1776 , 1790 , 1838 , 1874 , and 1968 . Prior to that, the colonial Province of Pennsylvania was governed for a century by a book titled Frame of Government , written by William Penn , of which there were four versions: 1682, 1683, 1696, and 1701. Constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment

2418-423: The calendar year, with the first act passed being chapter 1, and so on. In the United Kingdom, legislation has referenced by year and chapter number since 1963 ( Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962 ). Each act is numbered consecutively based on the date it received royal assent, for example the 43rd act passed in 1980 would be 1980 chapter 43. The full reference includes the (short) title and would be

2480-438: The constitution's Articles 104 and 105 are almost unamendable since they require the total consensus of the federal regional states and two-thirds of each house of Parliament. In Ethiopia's federal experience, each regional state is equal and has the right to veto amendments to the aforementioned articles. The Constitution of South Africa can be amended by an Act of Parliament , but special procedures and requirements apply to

2542-627: The constitution's text. (referendum if on status of the Church) (referendum if demanded by 10% of either house of legislature) (referendum if demanded by 1/3 of legislature) The Constitution of Ethiopia can only be modified by a two-thirds majority of the country's regions , and a two-thirds majority of a joint session of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly in accordance with Article 105. The constitution's Chapter Three (describing both Human and democratic rights) and

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2604-500: The elected membership of each house of the legislature. It is submitted to the voters in an election specified by the legislature. The wording of an explanatory statement that will appear on the ballot must be approved by the Texas Attorney General and printed in newspapers. The full text of the amendment must be posted by all county clerks for 30 days before the election. The only method for proposing an amendment to

2666-522: The federal constitution. Individual states differ in the difficulty of constitutional amendments. Some states allow for initiating the amendment process through the action of the state legislature or by popular initiative. There are three methods for proposing an amendment to the California State Constitution : by the legislature , by constitutional convention, or by voter initiative. A proposed amendment must be approved by

2728-475: The following stages: There are special procedures for emergency bills, member's bills (similar to private member's bills in the UK Parliament), committee bills, and private bills. In Singapore, the bill passes through these certain stages before becoming into an Act of Parliament. Acts passed by the Parliament of England did not originally have titles, and could only be formally cited by reference to

2790-622: The following: §5°. The subject of a defeated or prejudiced proposed Constitutional amendment may not be made the subject of another proposed amendment in the same legislative session. Article 60 is the only article prescribed under Subsection 2 of Section 8 in the Brazilian constitution. Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the federal Constitution may be altered. Twenty-seven amendments have been added (appended as codicils ) to

2852-454: The form of acts of parliament. This may be the case notwithstanding the fact that a special procedure is required to bring an amendment into force. Thus, for example, in Ireland and Australia although amendments are drafted in the form of Acts of Parliament they cannot become law until they have been approved in a referendum. By contrast, in the United States a proposed amendment originates as

2914-534: The government. This will usually happen following the publication of a " white paper ", setting out the issues and the way in which the proposed new law is intended to deal with them. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing; this is known as a private member's bill . In territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by constitutional convention or by law, to be introduced into

2976-439: The gubernatorial election. With the convention method, the legislature can put on any ballot the question of whether to call a constitutional convention . It must be stated whether the convention is limited or unlimited—that is, whether it can only amend the current constitution or totally abolish it and write a new one. If limited, the call must state which provisions of the current constitution are to be subject to amendment, and

3038-487: The last gubernatorial election. The proposed amendment is then submitted to the voters at a general or special election. There are two methods of proposing amendments to the New York Constitution . All proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum. With the legislative method, an amendment proposal must be published for three months, then approved by an absolute majority of

3100-739: The legislature before being submitted to the people; in the case of Ireland, a simple majority of those voting at the electorate is all that is required, whereas a more complex set of criteria must be met in Australia (a majority of voters in a majority of states is also necessary). Switzerland has procedure similar to that of Australia. The special procedures for the amendment of some constitutions have proven to be so exacting, that of proposed amendments either few (eight Amendments out of 44 proposed in Australia), or none (as in Japan) have been passed over

3162-456: The members of each of the two houses, and approved again in a succeeding term of the houses, with an election intervening. Finally, the amendment proposal must be submitted to the people, and for ratification must be approved by a simple majority. With the convention method, a constitutional convention must be convened by a majority vote of voters in a general election (referendum) on the question. There are two methods for proposing amendments to

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3224-559: The motion is "That this bill be now read a second time and be referred to [name of committee]" and for third reading "That this bill be now read a third time and pass." In the Committee stage, each clause is called and motions for amendments to these clauses, or that the clause stand part of the bill are made. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. Once a bill has passed both Houses in an identical form, it

3286-426: The parliamentary session in which they were passed, with each individual act being identified by year and chapter number. Descriptive titles began to be added to the enrolled acts by the official clerks, as a reference aid; over time, titles came to be included within the text of each bill. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has also become common practice for acts to have a short title , as a convenient alternative to

3348-489: The passage of constitutional amendments. A bill amending the Constitution must be introduced in the National Assembly , and cannot contain any provisions other than constitutional amendments and directly related matters. At least 30 days before a constitutional amendment bill is introduced in the National Assembly, the person or committee introducing the amendment must publish it for public comment, submit it to

3410-485: The provinces in the NCOP. Once an Act is passed by the National Assembly, and by the NCOP if necessary, it must be signed and assented to by the President . As with any other Act of Parliament, by default an amendment comes into effect when it is published in the Government Gazette , but the text of the amendment may specify some other date of commencement, or allow the President to specify one by notice in

3472-477: The same version of the bill. Finally, the approved bill receives assent; in most territories this is merely a formality and is often a function exercised by the head of state . In some countries, such as in France, Belgium, Luxembourg , Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government (when it is known as a "draft"), or by the parliament (a "proposition", i.e.,

3534-477: The sometimes lengthy main titles. The Short Titles Act 1892 , and its replacement the Short Titles Act 1896 , gave short titles to many acts which previously lacked them. The numerical citation of acts has also changed over time. The original method was based on the regnal year (or years) in which the relevant parliamentary session met. This has been replaced in most territories by simple reference to

3596-512: The state legislatures' or state ratifying conventions' consideration of proposed amendments. In Dillon v. Gloss (1921), the Supreme Court affirmed that Congress—if it so desires—could provide a deadline for ratification. An amendment with an attached deadline that is not ratified by the required number of states within the set time period is considered inoperative and rendered moot . A proposed amendment becomes an official Article of

3658-407: The structure of government, this text may then be subject to assent or approval from the executive branch . A draft act of parliament is known as a bill . In other words, a bill is a proposed law that needs to be discussed in the parliament before it can become a law. In territories with a Westminster system , most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by

3720-487: The subsequent convention, if approved, is limited to considering only amendments to the provisions specified in the call. The proposed amendments must then be submitted to the electorate and approved by a majority of those voting in the election. A constitutional convention cannot be held more frequently than once every six years. The only method for proposing an amendment to the Texas State Constitution

3782-621: The whole of the UK or a number of its constituent countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Private acts are local and personal in their effect, giving special powers to bodies such as local authorities or making exceptions to the law in particular geographic areas. In the United Kingdom Parliament, each bill passes through the following stages: In the Scottish Parliament, bills pass through

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3844-481: Was used for the Twenty-first Amendment , which became part of the Constitution in 1933. Since the turn of the 20th century, amendment proposals sent to the states for ratification have generally contained a seven-year ratification deadline, either in the body of the amendment or in the resolving clause of the joint resolution proposing it. The Constitution does not expressly provide for a deadline on

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