85R26850 KSM-D
By: Klick H.C.R. No. 137
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, May 5, 2017, marks the 25th anniversary of the
unconventional ratification of the 27th Amendment to the United
States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, One of the original 12 amendments submitted,
pursuant to Article V, to the state legislatures for ratification
by the First U.S. Congress, in 1789, the 27th Amendment was crafted
by James Madison of Virginia while he served as a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives; by the end of 1791, 10 of the 12
amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, had been
approved by the requisite three-fourths of the states; the other
two amendments, one of which pertained to congressional
compensation, fell by the wayside; and
WHEREAS, The congressional compensation measure stipulated
that "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 amendment would thus
prevent federal lawmakers from immediately benefiting from any pay
raise they might give themselves, as every representative--and a
third of the senators--would have to win reelection before they
could realize a gain; and
WHEREAS, In 1982, a student at The University of Texas at
Austin, Gregory Watson, learned about this unratified
still-pending amendment and concluded that it was eminently
relevant, Congress having granted itself a substantial pay raise in
1978 and a special tax break in 1981; he determined that the
amendment remained viable, and he committed himself to the
laborious mission of securing its approval; the amendment gradually
garnered wide public support, and with his dedicated efforts, it
worked its way through a succession of state legislatures for a
decade; on May 5, 1992, Alabama became the 38th state to ratify the
centuries-old measure, thus securing its incorporation as the 27th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution some 202 years after it was
proposed by a Congress that was conducting its business in New York
City; and
WHEREAS, A quarter century after its ratification, the 27th
Amendment remains the most recent amendment to our nation's
constitution, and it is indeed fitting that its unusual history and
its significance be recognized; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ratification of the
27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.