Proposed amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states to take effect. Congress can set a time limit for state action. While an Article V convention based on a single topic, such as the amendment to the balanced budget, has been called for, it is not clear if a convention convened in this way would be legally required to limit the debate to a single topic; law professor Michael Stokes Paulsen has suggested that such a convention would have the power to propose what he saw fit, while law professor Michael Rappaport and attorney Robert Kelly believe that a limited convention is possible. It protects equally against that extreme ease that would make the Constitution too changeable; and against that extreme difficulty that could perpetuate its discovered defects. In addition, it also allows the General Government and the Government of the States to cause the modification of errors, as experience can demonstrate on the one hand or the other.
Similarly, at the 1787 Convention, problems arose when two of the New York delegates withdrew in protest, as the New York state legislature had created a rule requiring two delegates to agree to vote on behalf of the state. As the legislature decided not to send new delegates, Alexander Hamilton accepted state authority and was unable to vote for the rest of the convention. This is the fundamental difference between a delegate to a convention, to carry out the orders of their constituents, and a representative before a legislature, to replace their constituents and make decisions based on their own deliberations. Because of the doctrine of the political issue and the Court's ruling in the Coleman v.
First case of 1939, a representative is sponsoring a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If published by the committee, the bill is included in a schedule to be voted on, debated or amended. If the bill is passed by a simple majority (218 out of 43), the bill goes to the Senate.
In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if published, is debated and voted on. Once again, a simple majority (51 out of 100) approves the bill. Finally, a conference committee comprised of members from the House of Representatives and the Senate resolves any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House of Representatives and the Senate for final approval. The Government Publications Office prints the revised bill in a process called registration.
The president has 10 days to sign or veto the registered bill. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must resolve any differences between the two versions. Then, both houses vote on the same version of the bill. If approved, they submit it to the president. The president then considers the bill.
The president can pass the bill and sign it into law. Or the president may refuse to pass a bill. If the president decides to veto a bill, in most cases Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes law. Federalists considered this to be a major flaw in the articles, as it created an almost insurmountable obstacle to constitutional reform. Learn how a bill becomes law and how the process is different in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
Recently, an amendment to ban flag burning may be gaining strength and President Clinton has backed the idea of an amendment to the rights of crime victims. Bills can also be introduced by individuals or groups of citizens who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress who represents them. The final count is somewhat uncertain, but when only one or two more states were needed, the Senate finally agreed and approved its version of an amendment in May 1911, which was then approved by the House of Representatives in 1912 and submitted to the states. The ORR also prepares an information package for States that includes official copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in interim law format, and the legal procedure for ratification under the first U.
