CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

The final draft for the fulfilment of project of Political Science

On

AMENDMENT PROCEDURE IN USA

Submitted to:-Dr.S.P.Singh Submitted by: Vibhuti Sharma

Faculty of Political Science Roll no: 1772

1st semester B.A.L.L.B. (Hons.)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................................. 2
Declaration .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Research Methodology ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Aims & Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 4
Hypothesis........................................................................................................................................... 5
Research Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 7
PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
FUNCTIONS OF ASSEMBLY AND CONGRESS.........................................................................................14

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................18

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................................20

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Writing a project is one of the most difficult academic challenges I have ever faced. Though
this project has been presented by me but there are many people who remained in veil, who
gave their support and helped me to complete this project.

First of all I am very grateful to my subject teacher Dr.S.P.Singh without the kind support of
whom and help the completion of the project would have been a herculean task for me. He
took out time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project and suggested me
from where and how to collect data.

I acknowledge my friends who gave their valuable and meticulous advice which was very
useful and could not be ignored in writing the project. I want to convey most sincere thanks
to my faculties for helping me throughout the project.

Vibhuti Sharma

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work reported in the BA LL.B (Hons.) Project Report entitled
“Amendment Procedure in USA” submitted at Chanakya National Law University,
Patna is an authentic record of my work carried out under the supervision of Dr. S.P. Singh.
I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

Vibhuti Sharma

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Aims & Objectives

1. To study Aricle V of US constitution.

2. To study about the process of amendment and function of assembly and congress
in the following.

Hypothesis

1. Article V is not the exclusive means of amending the Constitutuin, there are routes
to amendment, including some routes in which the Constitution could be
unconsciously or unwillingly amended in a period of sustained political activity on the
part of a mobilized national constituency.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher has primarily relied on the doctrinal method. The research is based on
comprehensive study of resources like Books, Journals, articles, web sources etc.

Review of Literature

Sources: Constitution, legislative provisions

Secondary Primary Sources: Articles, Journals, Websites and commentary on

constitution.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The researcher will seek answers to following questions:

1) What are amendments?

2) The Article in US Constitution which talks about Amendments?

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3) The Amendment procedure in The USA?

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or

other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change.
Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They are often
used when it is better to change the document than to write a new one. 1 Constitutions
are often amended when people change their minds about what the government should
do. A constitutional amendment refers to the modification of the constitution of a
nation or state. In many jurisdictions the text of the constitution itself is altered; in
others the text is not changed, but the amendments change its effect. The method of
modification is typically written into the constitution itself.

ost constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed 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.

1
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amendment, Retrieved October 7, 2017

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CHAPTER 2: ARTICLE V OF US CONSTITUTION

Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the
Constitution, the nation's frame of government, may be altered. Altering the
Constitution consists of proposing an amendment or amendments and subsequent
ratification. Amendments may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds
vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a convention of states
called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. 2 To become part of the Constitution,
an amendment must be ratified by either—as determined by Congress—the
legislatures of three-quarters of the states or state ratifying conventions in three-
quarters of the states. 3 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. Additionally, Article V temporarily shielded certain clauses in Article I
from being amended.

If Congress thinks it is necessary to change the Constitution, at least two thirds of both
the House of Representatives and the Senate have to propose an Amendment to the
Constitution. In order to do this, Congress has to call an Article 5 Convention or an
Amendments convention. During this process, the President of the United States
cannot do anything to help or stop the process. After an amendment is officially
proposed, it must then be ratified, or approved on, by the legislatures of at least 75%
of the states. Once enough of the states ratify the amendment, it becomes law in all of
the states. Sometimes, a state will ratify an amendment that has been already passed as
a symbol of how important the amendment is. For example, every state ratified the
13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery.

Even though Article 5 does not specifically say how long the state legislatures have to
ratify an amendment, Congress can give a deadline if they want to.

2
"The Constitutional Amendment Process". The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved
October 7, 2017
3
Wines, Michael (August 22, 2016). "Inside the Conservative Push for States to Amend the Constitution". NYT,
Retrieved October 7, 2017

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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.

The Constitution can be amended (that is, changed) through a formal process
established by the Framers in 1787. For an amendment to take effect, it first needs to
be officially proposed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress (or by two-
thirds of all state legislatures), then it needs to be ratified by three-fourths of the state
legislatures. This process is difficult but not impossible to complete; over the course
of American history, 27 different amendments to the Constitution have been ratified.
Article V includes two restrictions upon amendments, both rooted in the difficult
compromises hammered out at the Constitutional Convention to solve controversies
over slavery and representation. The first restriction, italicized here because it is no
longer operative, barred any amendments that would have outlawed the slave trade
before 1808. And the second restriction ensures that no amendment can end the
system of equal representation of all states, large and small, in the US Senate

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CHAPTER 3: PROCEDURE OF AMENDMENT

Proposing amendments

Article V provides two methods for amending the nation's frame of government. The
first method authorizes Congress, "whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary" (a two-thirds of those members present—assuming that a quorum exists at
the time that the vote is cast—and not necessarily a two-thirds vote of the entire
membership elected and serving in the two houses of Congress), to propose
Constitutional amendments. The second method requires Congress, "on the
application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states" (presently 34), to
"call a convention for proposing amendments".4

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, the amendments were designed to be interwoven into the relevant
sections of the original document. 5Instead, 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. 6

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

4
Neale, Thomas H. (April 11, 2014). "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments:
Contemporary Issues for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. pp. 1–2. Retrieved October 7, 2017

England, Trent & Spalding, Matthew. "Essays on Article V: Amendments". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved
October 7, 2017
6
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, Centennial Edition, Interim
Edition: Analysis of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 26, 2013" (PDF).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2013. pp. 987–1001. Retrieved October 8, 2017.

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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
the other. 7

Each time the amendment process has been initiated since 1789, the first method has
been used. All 33 amendments submitted to the states for ratification originated in the
Congress. The second method, the convention option, which Alexander Hamilton
(writing in The Federalist No. 85) believed would serve as a barrier "against the
encroachments of the national authority", has yet to be successfully invoked, although
not for lack of activity in the states.

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 popular election of U.S. Senators; (2) permit 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 the states in 1912, while the latter two
campaigns came very close to meeting the two-thirds threshold in the 1960s and
1980s, respectively.

Once approved by Congress, the joint resolution proposing a constitutional

amendment does not require Presidential approval before it goes out to 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 is not necessary

7
England, Trent & Spalding, Matthew. "Essays on Article V: Amendments". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved
October 8, 2017.

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to place constitutional amendments before the President for approval or veto.8

RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENTS

After being officially proposed, either by Congress or a national convention of the

states, a constitutional amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Congress is authorized to choose whether a proposed amendment is sent to the state
legislatures or to state ratifying conventions for ratification. Amendments ratified by
the states under either procedure are indistinguishable and have equal force 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,
which became part of the Constitution in 1933.9 This was also one of only four times
that Congress has placed the mode of ratification in the body of an amendment rather
than in accompanying legislation; the others being the Eighteenth, Twentieth, and
Twenty-second Amendments. In United States v. Sprague (1931), the Supreme Court
affirmed the authority of Congress to decide how each individual constitutional
amendment is ratified, in accordance with the options provided in Article V and the
equal validity of amendments properly ratified in either fashion. The Court had earlier,
in Hawke v. Smith (1920), ruled the ratification of the proposed Nineteenth
Amendment (which Congress had sent to the state legislatures for ratification) by the
Legislature of Ohio could not be referred to the electors (voters) of the state, and that
the Ohio Constitution, in requiring such a referendum, was inconsistent with the U.S.
Constitution.

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

8
"The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, Centennial Edition, Interim
Edition: Analysis of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 26, 2013" (PDF).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2013. pp. 987–1001. Retrieved 0 October, 2017.
9
. Huckabee, David C. (September 30, 1997). "Ratification of Amendments to the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
Congressional Research Service reports. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress.

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certified. No further action by Congress or anyone 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 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 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.10 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 the nation that the ratification process has been
successfully completed.11

10
Huckabee, David C. (September 30, 1997). "Ratification of Amendments to the U.S. Constitution" (PDF).
Congressional Research Service reports. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service, The Library of
Congress.
11
The Constitutional Amendment Process". The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved
October 8, 2017.

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CHAPTER 4 :FUNCTIONS OF ASSEMBLY AND CONGRESS

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of
the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of
Representatives.

The members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the
people of a single constituency, known as a "district". Congressional districts are
apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results, provided
that each state has at least one congressional representative. Each state, regardless of
population or size, has two senators. Currently, there are 100 senators representing the
50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms
staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election.

To be eligible for election, a candidate must be aged at least 25 (House) or 30

(Senate), have been a citizen of the United States for seven (House) or nine (Senate)
years, and be an inhabitant of the state of which they represent.

Article One of the United States Constitution states, "All legislative Powers herein
granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a
Senate and House of Representatives." The House and Senate are equal partners in the
legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both
chambers. However, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The
Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House
initiates revenue-raising bills. The House initiates impeachment cases, while the
Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before
an impeached person can be forcibly removed from office.12

12
John V. Sullivan (July 24, 2007). "How Our Laws Are Made". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved
October 8, 2017.

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Ideas for legislation can come from members, lobbyists, state legislatures,
constituents, legislative counsel, or executive agencies. Anyone can write a bill, but
only members of Congress may introduce bills. Most bills are not written by Congress
members, but originate from the Executive branch; interest groups often draft bills as
well.

Representatives introduce a bill while the House is in session by placing it in

the hopper on the Clerk's desk. It's assigned a number and referred to a committee
which studies each bill intensely at this stage. Drafting statutes requires "great skill,
knowledge, and experience" and sometimes take a year or
more. Sometimes lobbyists write legislation and submit it to a member for
introduction. Joint resolutions are the normal way to propose a constitutional
amendment or declare war. On the other hand, concurrent resolutions (passed by both
houses) and simple resolutions (passed by only one house) do not have the force of
law but express the opinion of Congress or regulate procedure. Bills may be
introduced by any member of either house. However, the Constitution states, "All
Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." While the
Senate cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, it has power to amend or
reject them. Congress has sought ways to establish appropriate spending levels.13

Each bill goes through several stages in each house including consideration by a
committee and advice from the Government Accountability Office. Most legislation is
considered by standing committees which have jurisdiction over a particular subject
such as Agriculture or Appropriations. The House has twenty standing committees;
the Senate has sixteen. Standing committees meet at least once each month. Almost all
standing committee meetings for transacting business must be open to the public
unless the committee votes, publicly, to close the meeting. A committee might call for
public hearings on important bills. Each committee is led by a chair who belongs to
the majority party and a ranking member of the minority party. Witnesses and experts

13
John V. Sullivan (July 24, 2007). "How Our Laws Are Made". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved
October 8, 2017.

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can present their case for or against a bill. Then, a bill may go to what's called a mark-
up session where committee members debate the bill's merits and may offer
amendments or revisions. Committees may also amend the bill, but the full house
holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments. After debate, the
committee votes whether it wishes to report the measure to the full house. If a bill is
tabled then it is rejected. If amendments are extensive, sometimes a new bill with
amendments built in will be submitted as a so-called clean bill with a new number.
Both houses have procedures under which committees can be bypassed or overruled
but they are rarely used. Generally, members who have been in Congress longer have
greater seniority and therefore greater power.

A bill which reaches the floor of the full house can be simple or complex and begins
with an enacting formula such as "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."
Consideration of a bill requires, itself, a rule which is a simple resolution specifying
the particulars of debate—time limits, possibility of further amendments, and such.
Each side has equal time and members can yield to other members who wish to speak.
Sometimes opponents seek to recommit a bill which means to change part of it.
Generally, discussion requires a quorum, usually half of the total number of
representatives, before discussion can begin, although there are exceptions. The house
may debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House and Senate
differ. A final vote on the bill follows.

Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other which may pass, reject, or
amend it. For the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of
the bill. If the second house amends the bill, then the differences between the two
versions must be reconciled in a conference committee, an ad hoc committee that
includes both senators and representatives Sometimes, by using a reconciliation

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 14
process to limit budget bills. Both houses use a budget enforcement mechanism
informally known as pay-as-you-go or paygo which discourages members from
considering acts which increase budget deficits. If both houses agree to the version
reported by the conference committee, the bill passes, otherwise it fails.

The Constitution specifies that a majority of members known as a quorum be present

before doing business in each house. However, the rules of each house assume that a
quorum is present unless a quorum call demonstrates the contrary. Since
representatives and senators who are present rarely demand quorum calls, debate often
continues despite the lack of a majority.

Voting within Congress can take many forms, including systems using lights and bells
and electronic voting. Both houses use voice voting to decide most matters in which
members shout "aye" or "no" and the presiding officer announces the result. The
Constitution, however, requires a recorded vote if demanded by one-fifth of the
members present. If the voice vote is unclear or if the matter is controversial, a
recorded vote usually happens. The Senate uses roll-call voting, in which a clerk calls
out the names of all the senators, each senator stating "aye" or "no" when their name is
announced. In the Senate, the vice president may cast the tie-breaking vote if present.

The House reserves roll-call votes for the most formal matters, as a roll call of all 435
representatives takes quite some time; normally, members vote by using an electronic
device. In the case of a tie, the motion in question fails. Most votes in the House are
done electronically, allowing members to vote yea or nay or present or open.
Members insert a voting ID card and can change their votes during the last five
minutes if they choose; in addition, paper ballots are used on some occasions—yea
14
12th Congress, 1st session (2011). "Tying It All Together: Learn about the Legislative Process". United States
House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2011-04-20. Retrieved October 8, 2017.

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indicated by green and nay by red. One member can not cast a proxy vote for another.
Congressional votes are recorded on an online database. 15

After passage by both houses, a bill is enrolled and sent to the president for approval.
The president may sign it making it law or veto it, perhaps returning it to Congress
with their objections. A vetoed bill can still become law if each house of Congress
votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority. Finally, the president may do
nothing—neither signing nor vetoing the bill—and then the bill becomes law
automatically after ten days (not counting Sundays) according to the Constitution. But
if Congress is adjourned during this period, presidents may veto legislation passed at
the end of a congressional session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a
pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress.

15
12th Congress, 1st session (2011). "Tying It All Together: Learn about the Legislative Process". United States
House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2011-04-20. Retrieved October 8, 2017.

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

The process of Amendment in USA constitution is so rigid. It is discussed in

Article V. The proposal of amendment may be by two third majority of
congress or by the two third majority of states. And it must ratify by the three
fourth majority of states. The Article V of constitution deals with the process of
Amendment.

Stage of Process

There are two stages of the Amendment one is proposal and second is
ratification.

(i) Proposal

When any one wants to amend something in constitution. He proposal it. There
are two way of proposal

(a) By Congress

The proposal of Amendment may be by any house of the congress. And if it

passed by two third majority than it send to other house. After its passed by two
third majority. Than the proposal is complete by the congress.

(b) By States

The proposal may be by the two third majority of the states for amendment.

(ii) Ratification

After proposal the bill ratify by the three fourth majority of the states. If it is
passed by three fourth majority than acceptable otherwise null and void.

The ratification may be two types:

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(a) By state legislature

(b) By specific convention held in state for this purpose

Time Limit for Ratification

In the constitution, there is no time limit for ratification. It is said that one bill is
ratified in eight years. After that, the time is fixed for three years.

Procedure for amending American constitution is really very rigid. Therefore,

this procedure has to face following criticism

(i) Slow Procedure

With the passage of time, need change, and it becomes necessary to amend law
or constitution so as to meet these ever changing needs. But procedure for
amending American constitution is very slow. Due to its slowness, it usually
fails to bring about amendments in time to meet ever changing needs.

(ii) Presence of Repealed Parts

Usually a part, which is repealed through amendment, is ousted from

constitution. Contrary to this, repealed parts are kept inside American
constitution and new amendments are described in the end of American
constitution. Such situation makes it difficult to understand what parts have
been repealed and what amendments have been made.

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(iii) Non-Participation of People

No political party discuss its proposals for amending American constitution

during election campaign. In this way, the American are kept away from this
procedure of amending American constitution.

(iv) Domination of States

American constitution is a federal constitution, as far as its amendment is

concerned, states have been given too much role as far as its amendment is
concerned. Such domination of states creates those complications, which always
prove inconvenience to amend American Constitution.

It is stated that a number of amendments have been made to American

constitution since its origin. However, such large number of amendments is not
a proof that procedure for amending American constitution is very simple and
easy. The reality is that most of these amendments have been made due to
social, economic and political changes.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites:

www.elections.in

www.gktoday.in

www.yourarticlelibrary.in

www.constitution.org

upgovernor.gov.in

Books:

1) America’s Constitution- Amit Kumar.

2) The Constitution of Rights: Human Dignity and American Values -Meyer, Michael
A

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