Towards an even more perfect Union.raft is below. I'll add notes at a later time.
Joint Resolution
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to the number of Representatives, qualifications of members of Congress and the Vice President, and powers of Congress and the States.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:
“Article —
“Section 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of a number of members equal to at least five but not more than ten for every State which may be included within this Union.
“After the census or enumeration next following the ratification of this article, each State shall be entitled to choose one Representative for every number of persons, excluding Indians not taxed, equal to the whole number of those counted in the least populous State; and if the number of Representatives would not amount to at least five for every State, the proportion shall be a smaller number fixed by law so that the number of Representatives would amount to five for every State. But if the number of Representatives would amount to more than ten for every State, each State shall be entitled to choose one Representative and, in addition, one for every number of such persons equal to a larger proportion fixed by law so that the number of Representatives would amount to ten for every State.
“No new State admitted into this Union shall, until the census or enumeration next thereafter, affect the representation from any of the other States, nor be entitled to choose more than one Representative.
“When the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Senators and Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the inhabitants of such State, being eighteen years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such citizens shall bear to the whole number of citizens eighteen years of age in such State.
“Sec. 2. No person shall be capable of being a Representative for more than six years in any term of twelve years, or a Senator for more than eighteen years in any term of thirty-six years. But this article shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Representative or Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
“No person shall be capable of being a Vice President who shall not be capable of being elected to the office of the President, or for more than twelve years in any term of twenty-four years.
“Sec. 3. The Congress shall not have power to lay and collect taxes on any incomes, from whatever source derived, except less than one-tenth of the total thereof. But no law for laying and collecting such taxes shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
“Congress shall make no law respecting education or labor, or abolishing, interfering with, or impairing the power of each of the several States to promote and regulate that of its citizens.
“Full faith and credit shall not be given in each State to any public acts, records, or judicial proceedings of another State which would violate any thing in the constitutions or laws of a majority of all the States, not contrary to the Constitution of the United States, respecting their domestic institutions.”
Notes
added Sunday, April 06, 2008, 10:44 PM
See this link for application of these provisions to 2000 Census and random data.
Section 1, Clause 3
Admission of any new state does not alter the number of other states' representatives until a new census is taken. In the meantime, that new state has one representative. This may cause the total of all states' representatives to temporarily exceed the maximum set forth in Clause 1.
Section 1, Clause 4
This updates the provisions of Amendment XIV, Section 2, so they include all citizens eighteen years of age or older. In the event those provisions are ever applied against a state, the total number of all states' representatives may fall below the minimum set forth in Clause 1, until that state ceases to unconstitutionally deny or abridge the right of its citizens to vote.
Section 2, Clause 1
Term-limits language taken from Articles of Confederation, Article V. The terms of delegates in Congress was for one year, but "no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years." Similarly, representatives and senators may serve no more three times their normal term during any period of six times their normal term.
The amount of time served by those in Congress before the amendment's ratification is not counted.
Section 2, Clause 2
Anyone prevented by Amendment XXII from being elected president may not be a vice president.
Like representatives and senators, a vice president may serve no more three times his normal term during any period of six times his normal term.
Section 3, Clause 1
Income-tax rates may not equal or exceed ten percent. Also, no new income-tax law may take effect until the next congressional elections.
If any existing income-tax rates are not less than ten percent when this amendment is ratified, all those rates for the period between ratification and new congressional elections would drop to ten percent minus one dollar.
Meanwhile, Congress would do well to enact an alternative system of taxation.
Section 3, Clause 2
Separation of education and state at the federal level is achieved by this provision. Same with labor. Both are matters best left entirely to the states. Then the national government would be forced to concentrate more on those things that the states originally agreed it could do better than they: that is, primarily, defend the country, print the money, and deliver the mail.
Moreover, the word "citizens" means states may not use their labor or education laws to undermine or circumvent federal immigration policy. The latter alone decides which non-citizens are allowed here; the former alone, in accordance with Amendment X, decide how those non-citizens may be treated at work and school while they are here.
Section 3, Clause 3
Slavery was abolished by Amendment XIII, so no state may restore it under this clause.
Other domestic institutions, including marriage, remain completely under the respective jurisdictions of the states. Nevertheless, if a state's proceedings related to any such institution offend the constitutions or laws of a majority of the states, those proceedings may not be given full faith and credit in any state except that one in which they occurred.
Labels: a Republic if we can keep it
