Bill Text: AZ HCM2006 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging extension; ratification deadline; ERA

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-29 - Referred to House FFR Committee [HCM2006 Detail]

Download: Arizona-2014-HCM2006-Introduced.html

 

 

 

REFERENCE TITLE: urging extension; ratification deadline; ERA

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-first Legislature

Second Regular Session

2014

 

 

HCM 2006

 

Introduced by

Representatives Steele, Alston, Campbell, Cardenas, Gabaldón, Gallego, Hernández, Quezada, Senators Hobbs, Pancrazi: Representatives Fann, McCune Davis, Mendez, Meyer, Saldate, Townsend, Wheeler, Senators Begay, Tovar

 

 

A CONCURRENT MEMORIAL

 

urging the united states congress to remove the ratification deadline for the equal rights amendment to the united states constitution.

 

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


To the Congress of the United States of America:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, a concurrent or joint resolution is adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature and does not require the signature of the chief executive, and a concurrent resolution is sufficient for a state's ratification of an amendment to the United States Constitution; and

Whereas, the United States Congress adopted the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the so-called Madison Amendment, relating to compensation of members of Congress; and

Whereas, the Madison Amendment was proposed by our first Congress and was only recently ratified by three-fourths of the states, and the Archivist of the United States certified the 27th Amendment on May 18, 1992, or 203 years after it was first proposed; and

Whereas, the founders of our nation, James Madison included, did not favor further restrictions to Article V of the United States Constitution, the amending procedure; and

Whereas, the United States Constitution is harder to amend than any other constitution in history; and

Whereas, the restricting time limit for the Equal Rights Amendment ratification is in the resolving clause and is not a part of the amendment that was proposed by Congress and that has already been ratified by 35 states; and

Whereas, constitutional equality for women and men continues to be a timely issue in the United States and worldwide, and a number of other nations have achieved constitutional equality for their women and men; and

Whereas, since Congress passed a time extension for the Equal Rights Amendment on October 20, 1978, Congress has demonstrated that a time limit in a resolving clause can be disregarded if it is not a part of the proposed amendment; and

Whereas, Congress is in a unique position to judge the tenor of the nation, to be aware of the political, social and economic factors affecting the nation and to be aware of the importance to the nation of the proposed amendment; and

Whereas, if an amendment to the United States Constitution has been proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratified by three‑fourths of the state legislatures, it is for Congress to determine the validity of the state ratifications occurring after a time limit in the resolving clause, but not in the amendment itself.

Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:

1.  That the United States Congress remove the Equal Rights Amendment ratification deadline on the national level by enacting Senate Joint Resolution 15 and House Joint Resolution 43 as introduced in the 113th Congress.

2.  That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress of the State of Arizona.

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