J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                       1607

JOINT RESOLUTIONS

No. 1
(Senate Joint Resolution 1)

Senate Joint Resolution applying to the Congress to call a Convention
for the purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States.

Whereas, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that
membership in both houses of a bicameral state legislature must be
apportioned according to population and has thus asserted federal
judicial authority over the basic structure of government in the
various states; and

Whereas, this rule denies to the people of the respective states the
right to establish their legislatures upon the same pattern of represen-
tation deemed advantageous for the Congress of the United States
and provided by the Federal Constitution; and

Whereas, this action of the Supreme Court goes so far as to restrict
the ability of the citizens of the respective States to designate the
manner in which they shall be represented in their respective legis-
latures thereby depriving the people of their right to determine how
they shall be governed; and

Whereas, the implications of this action by the Supreme Court
raise serious doubts as to the legality of the present form of the
governing bodies of many subordinate units of government within the
States; now therefore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That this Legis-
lature respectfully applies to the Congress of the United States to call
a Convention for the purpose of proposing the following article as an
amendment to the Constitution of the United States:

ARTICLE—

Section 1. Nothing in this Constitution shall prohibit any state
which shall have a bicameral legislature from apportioning the mem-
bership of one house of such legislature on factors other than popula-
tion, provided that the plan of such apportionment shall have been
submitted to and approved by a vote of the electorate of that state.

Section 2. Nothing in this Constitution shall restrict or limit a state
in its determination of how membership of governing bodies of its
subordinate units shall be apportioned.

Section 3. 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 to the States by the Congress.