AMENDMENT:
Treat District of Columbia as a State for various purposes; repeal twenty-third amendment
Amendment Details:
Date:
July 25, 1977
Type:
Congressional Bills
State of Origin:
California (CA)
Congress:
95th Congress (1977-1979)
Summary:
Treat District of Columbia as a State for various purposes; repeal twenty-third amendment
Text:
Text as Introduced (July 25, 1977):
"ARTICLE —
"SECTION 1. Eor purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting 'the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.
"SEC. 2. The exercise of the rights and powers conferred. under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.
"SEC. 3. The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.".
Text as Reported from Committee (February 16, 1978), Passed by the House (March 2, 1978), and Passed by the Senate (August 22, 1978):
"ARTICLE —
"SECTION 1. For purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting 'the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.
"SEC. 2. The exercise of the rights and powers conferred. under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.
"SEC. 3. The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
"SEC. 4. This article shall be inoperative, unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.".
Ratification Status:
Ratification failed
Chamber:
House
Sponsor:
EDWARDS, William Donlon (Don) (CA-D)
Committee of referral:
Judiciary
Topics:
apportn - Apportionment of seats in legislature capdist - Special district for the national capitol legpow - Powers of the national legislature repeal - Repeal of previous amendment(s)
Record Source:
Davis, Richard. Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Introduced in Congress from the 91st Congress, 1st Session through the 98th Congress, 2d Session, January 1969-December 1984, (CRS Report No. 85-36 GOV), Washington: Congressional Research Service, 1985.
Cite As:
The Amendments Project, edited by Jill Lepore and Tobias Resch, 2023, https://amendmentsproject.org [Record Number b095-h00554, accessed 2026-09-29]. Record Source: [Davis, Richard. Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Introduced in Congress from the 91st Congress, 1st Session through the 98th Congress, 2d Session, January 1969-December 1984, (CRS Report No. 85-36 GOV), Washington: Congressional Research Service, 1985.]
