[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 83 Reported in House (RH)]
House Calendar No. 181
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 83
[Report No. 108-503]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
regarding the appointment of individuals to fill vacancies in the House
of Representatives.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 8, 2003
Mr. Baird introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
May 19, 2004
Additional sponsors: Mr. Nadler and Mr. Frost
May 19, 2004
Reported adversely from the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
regarding the appointment of individuals to fill vacancies in the House
of Representatives.
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 the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years after the date of its submission for
ratification:
``Article --
``Section 1. Prior to taking the oath of office, an individual who
is elected to serve as a Member of the House of Representatives for a
Congress shall present to the chief executive of the State from which
the individual is elected a list of nominees to take the individual's
place in the event the individual dies or becomes incapacitated prior
to the expiration of the individual's term of office. The individual
shall ensure that the list contains the names of not fewer than two
nominees, each of whom shall meet the qualifications for service as a
Member of the House of Representatives from the State involved. After
the individual takes the oath of office, the individual may present
revised versions of the list at any time during the Congress.
``Section 2. If at any time a majority of the whole membership of
the House of Representatives are unable to carry out their duties
because of death or incapacity, or if at any time the House adopts a
resolution declaring that extraordinary circumstances exist which
threaten the ability of the House to represent the interests of the
people of the United States, the chief executive of any State
represented by any Member who is dead or incapacitated at that time
shall appoint, from the most recent list of nominees presented by the
Member under section 1, an individual to take the place of the Member.
The chief executive shall make such an appointment as soon as
practicable (but in no event later than seven days) after the date on
which Member's death or incapacity has been certified. An individual
appointed to take the place of a Member of the House of Representatives
under this section shall serve until the Member regains capacity or
until another Member is elected to fill the vacancy resulting from the
death or incapacity. The State shall provide for an election to fill
the vacancy at such time and in accordance with such procedures as may
be provided under State law, and an individual appointed under this
section may be a candidate in such an election. This section shall not
apply with respect to any Member of the House who dies or becomes
incapacitated prior to the seven-day period which ends on the date on
which the event requiring appointments to be made under this section
occurs.
``Section 3. During the period of an individual's appointment under
section 2, the individual shall be treated as a Member of the House of
Representatives for purposes of all laws, rules, and regulations, but
not for purposes of section 1. If an individual appointed under section
2 is unable to carry out the duties of a Member during such period
because of death or incapacity, the chief executive of the State
involved shall appoint another individual from the same list of
nominees presented under section 1 from which the individual was
appointed under section 2. Any individual so appointed shall be
considered to have been appointed under section 2.
``Section 4. Congress may by law establish the criteria for
determining whether a Member of the House of Representatives or Senate
is dead or incapacitated, and shall have the power to enforce this
article through appropriate legislation.''.
House Calendar No. 181
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 83
[Report No. 108-503]
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
regarding the appointment of individuals to fill vacancies in the House
of Representatives.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 19, 2004
Reported adversely from the Committee on the Judiciary