Civic · 6 pages · 12 min
Why amendment is supposed to be harder
Amendment is built to be slower than an ordinary bill so the ground rules outlast one majority.
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From the opening
An amendment rule makes constitutional change pass through extra stages, larger majorities, or both. The difficulty is intentional, so a temporary coalition cannot rewrite the frame of government as easily as it can pass a statute. The opening covers ordinary bills need less agreement, amendment adds stages and margins, and the old text stays until then.
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Inside
- Ordinary bills need less agreement
- Amendment adds stages and margins
- The old text stays until then
- The brake is content-blind
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Constitutional amendment rule
- Article V proposal and ratification