Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 CHAPTER 113 Relative to the Equal Rights Amendment. [ Filed with Secretary of State August 19, 2022. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSJR 12, Skinner. Equal Rights Amendment.This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first passed by Congress in 1972 and was sent to the states for ratification; andWHEREAS, The ERA guarantees [e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.; andWHEREAS, The adoption of the ERA will help to advance gender justice for women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals; and WHEREAS, The ERA authorizes Congress to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions the ERA; andWHEREAS, The ERA states that the amendment will take effect two years after the last constitutionally necessary state ratification occurs; andWHEREAS, On January 27, 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to ratify the ERA, which has been ratified by the necessary three-fourths of states; and WHEREAS, The Archivist of the United States performs a statutory and ministerial role with respect to certifying the ratification of amendments to the United States Constitution; and WHEREAS, As of this date, the Archivist has not certified the amendment; andWHEREAS, No time limit exists within the text of the proposed amendment that was ratified by more than three-fourths of the states; andWHEREAS, Women, girls, and gender-expansive people across the country are experiencing declining access to health, wealth, and opportunity, and increasing incidences of poverty and violence; and WHEREAS, The ERA was first written by Alice Paul, the head of the National Womans Party, in order to guarantee that the rights affirmed by the United States Constitution are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex; and WHEREAS, The ERA would provide a fundamental legal remedy against sex discrimination; and WHEREAS, The ERA would clarify the legal status of sex discrimination for the courts, where decisions still deal inconsistently with such claims; and WHEREAS, California was among the first states to ratify the ERA in 1972; and WHEREAS, The first, and still the only, right that the United States Constitution specifically affirms to be equal for women and men is the right to vote under the 19th Amendment, that was ratified by the states in 1920; and WHEREAS, The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States has never been interpreted to protect against sex discrimination in the same way that the ERA would; and WHEREAS, In September 2010, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said he did not believe that the United States Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, protects against sex discrimination; and WHEREAS, The ERA has not been ratified in 12 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah; and WHEREAS, In 1868, the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution despite two states purporting to rescind their ratification; andWHEREAS, The state constitutions of 26 states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming, provide either inclusive or partial guarantees of equal rights on the basis of sex; and WHEREAS, Without the addition of the ERA to the United States Constitution, legislation and case law that has resulted in extraordinary progress for women has the potential to be ignored, weakened, or reversed. Congress can amend or repeal legislation advancing equality with a simple majority vote, the presidential administration can weakly enforce these laws, and the United States Supreme Court can continue to use intermediate scrutiny when reviewing cases concerning gender; and WHEREAS, It is vital that the Constitutional gender equality rights be upheld now that the ERA has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and WHEREAS, The Archivist of the United States has a statutory and ministerial duty to certify that a proposed amendment to the Constitution is valid and has become part of the Constitution once it is ratified by more than three-fourths of the states; andWHEREAS, Section 3 of the Equal Rights Amendment states that the amendment shall take effect two years after the last constitutionally necessary state ratification occurs, which was January 27, 2020; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature requests the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the ERA and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution; and be it furtherResolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, and to the Members of the United States Congress.
Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 CHAPTER 113 Relative to the Equal Rights Amendment. [ Filed with Secretary of State August 19, 2022. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSJR 12, Skinner. Equal Rights Amendment.This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO
Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 CHAPTER 113
Senate Joint Resolution No. 12
CHAPTER 113
Relative to the Equal Rights Amendment.
[ Filed with Secretary of State August 19, 2022. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SJR 12, Skinner. Equal Rights Amendment.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first passed by Congress in 1972 and was sent to the states for ratification; and
WHEREAS, The ERA guarantees [e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.; and
WHEREAS, The adoption of the ERA will help to advance gender justice for women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals; and
WHEREAS, The ERA authorizes Congress to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions the ERA; and
WHEREAS, The ERA states that the amendment will take effect two years after the last constitutionally necessary state ratification occurs; and
WHEREAS, On January 27, 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to ratify the ERA, which has been ratified by the necessary three-fourths of states; and
WHEREAS, The Archivist of the United States performs a statutory and ministerial role with respect to certifying the ratification of amendments to the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, As of this date, the Archivist has not certified the amendment; and
WHEREAS, No time limit exists within the text of the proposed amendment that was ratified by more than three-fourths of the states; and
WHEREAS, Women, girls, and gender-expansive people across the country are experiencing declining access to health, wealth, and opportunity, and increasing incidences of poverty and violence; and
WHEREAS, The ERA was first written by Alice Paul, the head of the National Womans Party, in order to guarantee that the rights affirmed by the United States Constitution are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex; and
WHEREAS, The ERA would provide a fundamental legal remedy against sex discrimination; and
WHEREAS, The ERA would clarify the legal status of sex discrimination for the courts, where decisions still deal inconsistently with such claims; and
WHEREAS, California was among the first states to ratify the ERA in 1972; and
WHEREAS, The first, and still the only, right that the United States Constitution specifically affirms to be equal for women and men is the right to vote under the 19th Amendment, that was ratified by the states in 1920; and
WHEREAS, The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States has never been interpreted to protect against sex discrimination in the same way that the ERA would; and
WHEREAS, In September 2010, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said he did not believe that the United States Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, protects against sex discrimination; and
WHEREAS, The ERA has not been ratified in 12 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah; and
WHEREAS, In 1868, the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution despite two states purporting to rescind their ratification; and
WHEREAS, The state constitutions of 26 states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming, provide either inclusive or partial guarantees of equal rights on the basis of sex; and
WHEREAS, Without the addition of the ERA to the United States Constitution, legislation and case law that has resulted in extraordinary progress for women has the potential to be ignored, weakened, or reversed. Congress can amend or repeal legislation advancing equality with a simple majority vote, the presidential administration can weakly enforce these laws, and the United States Supreme Court can continue to use intermediate scrutiny when reviewing cases concerning gender; and
WHEREAS, It is vital that the Constitutional gender equality rights be upheld now that the ERA has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, The Archivist of the United States has a statutory and ministerial duty to certify that a proposed amendment to the Constitution is valid and has become part of the Constitution once it is ratified by more than three-fourths of the states; and
WHEREAS, Section 3 of the Equal Rights Amendment states that the amendment shall take effect two years after the last constitutionally necessary state ratification occurs, which was January 27, 2020; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature requests the Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 891, resolving that the requirements have been met to ratify the ERA and that it shall now be known as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, and to the Members of the United States Congress.