An Overview of the 27th Amendment

What is the 27th Amendment?

“No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”

The 27th Amendment Defined

Date Proposed

The 27th Amendment was first proposed on September 25th, 1789

Date Passed

The 27th Amendment was passed May 7th, 1992

President of the United States

Bill Clinton was the President of the United States during the ratification of the 27th Amendment

Stipulations of the 27th Amendment

The 27th Amendment is the most recent constitutional amendment passed; as of 2011, there have been 27 Constitutional Amendments passed with regard to the Constitution of the United States of America

The 27th Amendment addresses the salary rate of members of Congress, which is comprised of a bicameral legislature – the Senate and the House of Representatives

The 27th Amendment stipulates that members of the Congress are not permitted to adjust their respective wage earnings in the middle of a term; in the event of a proposed wage adjustment, members of Congress must address any or all concerns with regard to wage adjustment prior to the starting of a new Congressional term

27th Amendment Facts

The 27th Amendment has never been cited within a Supreme Court Hearing

The 27th Amendment addresses the adjustment of costs of living with regard to inflation

The 27th Amendment is considered to be the Constitutional Amendment with the longest duration of time between the initial proposal and subsequent ratification; the 22nd Amendment is considered to maintain the second-longest duration of 4 years between proposal and passing

States Ratifying the 27th Amendment

1. Alabama

2. Alaska

3. Arizona

4. Arkansas

5. California

6. Colorado

7. Connecticut

8. Delaware

9. Florida

10. Georgia

11. Hawaii

12. Idaho

13. Illinois

14. Indiana

15. Iowa

16. Kansas

17. Kentucky

18. Louisiana

19. Maine

20. Maryland

21. Michigan

22. Minnesota

23. Missouri

24. Montana

25. Nevada

26. New Hampshire

27. New Jersey

28. New Mexico

29. North Carolina

30. North Dakota

31. Ohio

32. Oklahoma

33. Oregon

34. Rhode Island

35. South Carolina

36. South Dakota

37. Tennessee

38. Texas

39. Utah

40. Vermont

41. Virginia

42. Washington

43. West Virginia

44. Wisconsin

45. Wyoming

States Not Participatory in the Ratification of the 27th Amendment

1. Massachusetts

2. Mississippi

3. Nebraska

4. New York

5. Pennsylvania

Court Cases Associated with the 27th Amendment

Coleman v. Miller (1939) – this court case addressed controversy surrounding the Amendment process with regard to the regulation of time elapsed between the initial passing of an amendment and its eventual ratification

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