Finally, State Ratifies 27th Amendment To The Constitution

Better late than never.

Washington’s House followed the Senate on Thursday in ratifying an amendment to the U.S Constitution that was penned by James Madison and sent to the voters by the first U.S. Congress.

The amendment reads: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the senators and representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.”

More than 200 years after the amendment had cleared Congress, Michigan became the 38th state to ratify the proposal, making it the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. An amendment is not added to the Constitution until it has been ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Michigan put the amendment over the top on March 7, 1992.

“You can tell your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, or you can tell anyone else that you have taken part in a historic occasion,” said Rep. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma, during brief debate on the proposal before it was approved by a unanimous vote.