Bill Text: NJ SJR48 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the U.S. Senate to enact legislation eliminating deadline for ratification of Equal Rights Amendment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-10 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SJR48 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-SJR48-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Urges the U.S. Senate to enact legislation eliminating deadline for ratification of Equal Rights Amendment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution urging the United States Senate to enact legislation eliminating the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Whereas, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women; and
Whereas, The ERA states: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex - the ERA establishes within the United States Constitution the unambiguous and unassailable rights of women under the law"; and
Whereas, New Jersey suffragist leaders Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman authored the ERA in 1923. It was introduced for the first time in the United States Congress that same year; and
Whereas, In 1972, the ERA passed the United State Congress and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Congress set a ratification deadline of March 22, 1979, and through 1977, 35 of the required 38 states had ratified the amendment; and
Whereas, In 1978, a joint resolution of the United States Congress extended the deadline for ratification to June 30, 1982; and
Whereas, The ERA has gained new life in recent years. In 2017, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify and Illinois followed in 2018. In January, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA -- ostensibly reaching the required three-fourths threshold for the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, even though the 1982 deadline to ratify the ERA has long since passed; and
Whereas, Currently, members of the United States Congress are working to advance federal legislation to ratify the ERA; and
Whereas, Senate Joint Resolution 1 and House Joint Resolution 17, introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) and Representative Jackie Speier (D-California), respectively, would retroactively remove the 1982 deadline for ratification so the ERA could be added to the United States Constitution without the introduction of a new amendment; and
Whereas, Although state legislatures and members of United States Congress continue to push for women's equality, without the ratification of the ERA the advances made on equal pay for equal work, educational equity, reproductive rights, gender discrimination, and other crucial women's rights would be jeopardized; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature hereby urges the United States Senate to join with the United States House of Representatives to enact legislation that would retroactively eliminate the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in order to enshrine this country's commitment to equal rights for women in the United States and introduce the idea of sex equality as a fundamental principle in the United States Constitution.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to each member of the New Jersey Congressional delegation.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the United States Senate to join with the United States House of Representatives to enact legislation that would retroactively eliminate the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in order to enshrine this country's commitment to equal rights for women in the United States and introduce the idea of sex equality as a fundamental principle in the United States Constitution.
