H-848                _______________________________________________

                                         HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4213

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Padden, Tate, Wolfe, D. Sommers, May, Fuhrman, Bowman, Baugher, Hargrove, Brumsickle, Miller, Horn, Doty, Nealey and Ferguson

Read first time 2/6/89 and referred to Committee on State Government.

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:

SECTION 1.  That the Legislature of the State of Washington, pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution, hereby ratifies an amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed by resolution of the First Congress of the United States in New York, New York, on September 25, 1789, which reads as follows:

          "RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following [Article] be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States,...which [Article], when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, viz.:

          "[An ARTICLE] in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

          "Article the second...No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened."SECTION 2.     That the Legislature of the State of Washington acknowledges that the above-quoted article of amendment to the United States Constitution has already been ratified by the legislatures of the following states on the dates indicated:  Maryland on December 19, 1789; North Carolina on December 22, 1789; South Carolina on January 19, 1790; Delaware on January 28, 1790; Vermont on November 3, 1791; Virginia on December 15, 1791; Ohio on May 6, 1873 [70 OHIO LAWS 409-10]; Wyoming on March 3, 1978 [124 CONG. REC. 7910; 133 CONG. REC. S12949]; Maine on April 27, 1983 [130 CONG. REC. H9097, S11017]; Colorado on April 18, 1984 [131 CONG. REC. S17687; 132 CONG. REC. H6446]; South Dakota on February 21, 1985 [131 CONG. REC. H971, S3306]; New Hampshire on March 7, 1985 [131 CONG. REC. H1378, S3597]; Arizona on April 3, 1985 [131 CONG. REC. H2060, S4750]; Tennessee on May 23, 1985 [131 CONG. REC. H6672, S10797, S13504]; Oklahoma on July 10, 1985 [131 CONG. REC. H7263, S13504]; New  Mexico on February 13, 1986 [132 CONG. REC. H827, S2207-8, S2300]; Indiana on February 19, 1986 [132 CONG. REC. H1634, S4663]; Utah on February 25, 1986 [132 CONG. REC. S6750, 7578; 133 CONG. REC. H9866]; Arkansas on March 5, 1987 [134 CONG. REC. H3721, S7518]; Montana on March 11, 1987 [133 CONG. REC. H1715, S6155]; Connecticut on May 13, 1987 [133 CONG. REC. H7406, S11891]; Wisconsin on June 30, 1987 [133 CONG. REC. H7406, S12948, S13359]; Georgia on February 2, 1988 [134 CONG. REC. H2638, S5239]; West Virginia on March 10, 1988 [134 CONG. REC. H2492, S4784]; and Louisiana on July 6, 1988 [134 CONG. REC. H5783, S9939]; as well as by the Senate of the State of Idaho on March 2, 1987; the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois on June 22, 1988; the House of Representatives of the State of North Dakota on January 26, 1987; and the House of Representatives of the State of Texas on April 23, 1987.SECTION 3.        That the Legislature of the State of Washington acknowledges that the above-quoted article of amendment to the United States Constitution may still be ratified by states' legislatures as a result of the ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case of COLEMAN V. MILLER, [307 U.S. 433 (1939)] in which it was opined that Congress is the final arbiter on the question of whether too much time has elapsed between Congress' submission of an amendment and the most recent state legislature's ratification of same if Congress did not specify a deadline on the amendment's consideration.SECTION 4.  That the Secretary of State shall notify the Archivist of the United States (pursuant to 1 U.S.C. 106b and 112; as amended by PL 98-497 [98 Stat. 2291]) of the action of the 51st Legislature of the State of Washington by sending to him a copy of this resolution.SECTION 5.  That the Secretary of State shall also send copies of this resolution to both United States Senators from Washington, all United States Representatives from Washington, the Vice-President of the United States, and to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives with the request that it be printed in full in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.