An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.
The amendment process is very difficult and time consuming: A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. The ERA Amendment did not pass the necessary majority of state legislatures in the 1980s.
An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament. The Bill must then be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.
Either branch of the General Assembly may propose amendments to the Ohio Constitution. Customarily, constitutional amendments are proposed by joint resolution. A three-fifths vote in favor of the joint resolution is required for its passage.
A Constitution Amendment Bill which aims to affect changes to the basic values of the Constitution requires a supporting vote of at least 75% of the members of the National Assembly and of at least six provinces in the NCOP in order to be passed.
The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures.
Congress may submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the states, if the proposed amendment language is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (i.e., 34 of 50 states).
It would be a rare person indeed who would accurately respond that the guarantee to each state of equal suffrage in the Senate is the only constitutional provision that is now expressly unamendable under the Constitution's own terms.
There are two ways to repeal an amendment. One way is for the proposed amendment to be passed by the House and the Senate with two-thirds majority votes. Then, the proposed amendment would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states. The second way to repeal an amendment is to have a Constitutional Convention.
The veto power does not give the President the power to amend or alter the content of legislation—the President only has the ability to accept or reject an entire act passed by Congress.