Note l — AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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The 20th Amendment was proposed by Congress on March 2, 1932, when it passed the Senate [Cong. Rec. (72d Cong., 1st sess.) 5086], having previously passed the House on March 1 [Id., 5027]. It appears officially in 47 Stat. 745. Ratification was completed on January 23, 1933, when the thirty-sixth State approved the amendment, there being then 48 States in the Union. On February 6, 1933, Secretary of State Stimson certified that it had become a part of the Constitution [47 Stat. 2569].
The several State legislatures ratified the 20th Amendment on the following dates: Virginia, March 4, 1932; New York, March 11, 1932; Mississippi, March 16, 1932; Arkansas, March 17, 1932; Kentucky, March 17, 1932; New Jersey, March 21, 1932; South Carolina, March 25, 1932; Michigan, March 31, 1932; Maine, April 1, 1932; Rhode Island, April 14, 1932; Illinois, April 21, 1932; Louisiana, June 22, 1932; West Virginia, July 30, 1932; Pennsylvania, August 11, 1932; Indiana, August 15, 1932; Texas, September 7, 1932; Alabama, September 13, 1932; California, January 4, 1933; North Carolina, January 5, 1933; North Dakota, January 9, 1933; Minnesota, January 12, 1933; Arizona, January 13, 1933; Montana, January 13, 1933; Nebraska, January 13, 1933; Oklahoma, January 13, 1933; Kansas, January 16, 1933; Oregon, January 16, 1933; Delaware, January 19, 1933; Washington, January 19, 1933; Wyoming, January 19, 1933; Iowa, January 20, 1933; South Dakota, January 20, 1933; Tennessee, January 20, 1933; Idaho, January 21, 1933; New Mexico, January 21, 1933; Georgia, January 23, 1933; Missouri, January 23, 1933; Ohio, January 23, 1933; Utah, January 23, 1933; Colorado, January 24, 1933; Massachusetts, January 24, 1933; Wisconsin, January 24, 1933; Nevada, January 26, 1933; Connecticut, January 27, 1933; New Hampshire, January 31, 1933; Vermont, February 2, 1933; Maryland, March 24, 1933; Florida, April 26, 1933.
A proposed amendment which would authorize Congress to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under 18 years of age was passed by Congress on June 2, 1924. This proposal at the time it was submitted to the States was referred to as "the proposed 20th Amendment." It appears officially in 43 Stat. 670.
The status of this proposed amendment is a matter of conflicting opinion. The Kentucky Court of Appeals in Wise v. Chandler (270 Ky. 1 [1937]) has held that it is no longer open to ratification because: (1) Rejected by more than one-fourth of the States; (2) a State may not reject and then subsequently ratify, at least when more than one-fourth of the States are on record as rejecting; and (3) more than a reasonable time has elapsed since it was submitted to the States in 1924. The Kansas Supreme Court in Coleman v. Miller (146 Kan. 390 [1937]) came to the opposite conclusion.
On October 1, 1937, 27 States had ratified the proposed amendment. Of these States 10 had previously rejected the amendment on one or more occasions. At least 26 different States have at one time rejected the amendment.