Amendments XXVII
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No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Ratified: May 7, 1992
The 27th Amendment, which restricts raises in congressional pay, was proposed on September 25, 1789.
| # | State | Date | * |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | Dec 19, 1789 | |
| 2 | North Carolina | Dec 22, 1789 | |
| 3 | South Carolina | Jan 19, 1790 | |
| 4 | Delaware | Jan 28, 1790 | |
| 5 | Vermont | Nov 3, 1791 | |
| 6 | Virginia | Dec 15, 1791 | |
| 7 | Ohio | May 6, 1873 | |
| 8 | Wyoming | Mar 6, 1978 | |
| 9 | Maine | Apr 27, 1983 | |
| 10 | Colorado | Apr 22, 1984 | |
| 11 | South Dakota | Feb 21, 1985 | |
| 12 | New Hampshire | Mar 7, 1985 | |
| 13 | Arizona | Apr 3, 1985 | |
| 14 | Tennessee | May 23, 1985 | |
| 15 | Oklahoma | Jul 10, 1985 | |
| 16 | New Mexico | Feb 14, 1986 | |
| 17 | Indiana | Feb 24, 1986 | |
| 18 | Utah | Feb 25, 1986 | |
| 19 | Arkansas | Mar 6, 1987 | |
| 20 | Montana | Mar 17, 1987 | |
| 21 | Connecticut | May 13, 1987 | |
| 22 | Wisconsin | Jul 15, 1987 | |
| 23 | Georgia | Feb 2, 1988 | |
| 24 | West Virginia | Mar 10, 1988 | |
| 25 | Louisiana | Jul 7, 1988 | |
| 26 | Iowa | Feb 9, 1989 | |
| 27 | Idaho | Mar 23, 1989 | |
| 28 | Nevada | Apr 26, 1989 | |
| 29 | Alaska | May 6, 1989 | |
| 30 | Oregon | May 19, 1989 | |
| 31 | Minnesota | May 22, 1989 | |
| 32 | Texas | May 25, 1989 | |
| 33 | Kansas | Apr 5, 1990 | |
| 34 | Florida | May 31, 1990 | |
| 35 | North Dakota | Mar 25, 1991 | |
| 36 | Alabama | May 5, 1992 | |
| 37 | Missouri | May 5, 1992 | |
| 38 | Michigan | May 7, 1992 | |
| 39 | New Jersey | May 7, 1992 | * |
| 40 | Illinois | May 12, 1992 | |
| 41 | California | June 26, 1992 | |
| Ratified in 74003 days | |||
History: The 27th Amendment was originally proposed on September 25, 1789, as an article in the original Bill of Rights. It did not pass the required number of states with the articles we now know as the first ten amendments. It sat, unratified and with no expiration date, in constitutional limbo, for more than 80 years when Ohio ratified it to protest a congressional pay hike; no other states followed Ohio's lead, however. Again it languished, for more than 100 years.
In 1978, Wyoming ratified the amendment, but there was again, no follow-up by the remaining states. Then, in the early 1980's, Gregory Watson, an aide to a Texas legislator, took up the proposed amendment's cause. From 1983 to 1992, the requisite number of states ratified the amendment, and it was declared ratified on May 7, 1992 (74,003 days).
