[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5306 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5306
To require the Archivist of the United States to compile all
applications, and rescissions of applications, made to the Congress to
call a convention, pursuant to article V of the Constitution, and
certain related materials, and to transmit them to Congress, and for
other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 23, 2016
Mr. Messer (for himself, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Stivers, Mr. Franks of Arizona,
Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Polis, Mr. Lipinski, and Mr. Ratcliffe)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and
Government Reform and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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A BILL
To require the Archivist of the United States to compile all
applications, and rescissions of applications, made to the Congress to
call a convention, pursuant to article V of the Constitution, and
certain related materials, and to transmit them to Congress, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Article V Records Transparency Act
of 2016''.
SEC. 2. COMPILATION AND TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS OF APPLICATIONS AND
RESCISSIONS OF APPLICATIONS TO CALL A CONVENTION FOR
PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND RESCISSIONS
OF THOSE APPLICATIONS.
(a) Compilation and Transmission.--The Archivist of the United
States (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Archivist'')
shall, in accordance with this Act--
(1) make an organized compilation, to the extent feasible,
of all applications and rescissions of applications, ever made
by States under article V of the Constitution, to call a
convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution; and
(2) transmit to Congress that compilation, together with
both physical and electronic copies of each such application
and rescission.
(b) Sources for Compilation.--In complying with subsection (a) the
Archivist shall use the records contained in the National Archive and
Records Administration and make all efforts feasible to obtain an
official copy of any application or rescission that may not be in such
records.
(c) Timing of Transmittal.--
(1) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Archivist shall transmit the first part of the
compilation, containing all the known applications or
rescissions made after 1950.
(2) Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Archivist shall transmit the second
part of the compilation, containing all the known applications
and rescissions made in 1950 or earlier.
(d) Report on Extent of Missing Applications or Rescissions.--Not
later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Archivist shall submit to Congress a report detailing the extent of
suspected missing applications or rescissions not included in the
compilation under subsection (a).
(e) Cataloging Applications.--The Archivist shall, in compiling the
applications and rescissions, catalog them by year of submission and
State, and include that information in the material transmitted to
Congress.
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEES ON THE JUDICIARY.
(a) Applications Included in Compilation.--Upon receipt by Congress
of the compilation described in section 2(a), the respective committees
on the judiciary in each House of Congress shall make the applications
and rescissions contained in such compilation available on a publicly
accessible website.
(b) Applications and Rescissions Not Included in Compilation.--The
respective committees on the judiciary in each House of Congress shall
update the compilation in the public websites maintained by them under
subsection (a) to reflect the receipt of any application or rescission
submitted under article V of the Constitution to call a convention for
proposing amendments to the Constitution that--
(1) was not included in the initial compilation as
transmitted under section 2; and
(2) is a new application or rescission or otherwise comes
to the attention of the committee.
SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS AND RESCISSIONS ARRIVING AFTER THE TRANSMISSION
UNDER SECTION 2.
The Congress recommends the following procedures to make uniform
and simplify the process by which State legislatures make an
application, or a rescission of an application, under article V of the
Constitution to call a convention for proposing amendments to the
Constitution:
(1) Officers to transmit and receive applications.--After
the adoption by the legislature of a State of an application or
rescission, the secretary of state of the State, or if there be
no such officer, the person who is charged by the State law
with such function, should submit to Congress at least two
copies of the resolution or other measure containing the
application or rescission, one copy addressed to the President
of the Senate, and one copy to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Contents of resolution or measure.--Each copy of the
resolution or measure should contain--
(A) its exact text, with the authenticating
signature of the relevant officer of the legislature;
and
(B) the date on which the legislature adopted the
resolution or measure.
(3) Incomplete application or rescission.--If a State
submits an application or rescission in a manner that is
inconsistent with this section, the Clerk of the House or the
Secretary of the Senate shall so notify the appropriate State
official. That State official may then resubmit the
application.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the terms ``transmit to Congress'' and ``submit to
Congress'' mean transmission or submission, as the case may be,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President
of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the
Secretary of the Senate, and the Chairmen and Ranking Minority
Members of the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Senate;
(2) the term ``application'' means any resolution or other
measure, agreed upon by a State legislature, that contains a
request to Congress to call a convention pursuant to article V
of the Constitution; and
(3) the term ``rescission'' means any resolution or other
measure, agreed upon by a State legislature, that has the
purpose of making null and void an application previously
submitted by the State legislature.
SEC. 6. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of
this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts
otherwise authorized.
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