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Reformation and Oversight of Congress Amendment
-- The Reformation and Oversight of Congress Amendment (ROC amendment) is a proposed amendment to the US constitution.

Table of Contents

•Section 1. The seniority of members of Congress is limited to twelve years.

•Section 2. Former members of Congress may receive only certain payments with respect to their service.

•Section 3. Taxes apply to members of Congress as they apply to the people.

•Section 4. A convention will be held every four years.

•Section 5. The delegates are independent.

•Section 6. The conventions are open to the public.

•Section 7. The delegates have limited duties and powers.

•Section 8. The state legislatures are responsible for setting the pay of members of Congress.

•Section 9. The state legislatures may regulate the ethics of Congress.

•Section 10. The state legislatures may nullify certain regulations.

•Section 11. The state legislatures may nullify certain statutes.

•Section 12. The delegates may propose amendments to the Constitution.

•Section 13. Each convention continues until certain conditions are met.

•Section 14. This amendment does not affect Article V.

Text of the Reformation of Congress Amendment
'''Section 1. The seniority of members of Congress is limited to twelve years.'''

The seniority of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall be limited to twelve years. Where remuneration, benefits, privileges, status, rank, or position with respect to a member’s office are based wholly or partly on length of service, service in excess of twelve years in the respective chamber shall not be considered. Service in one chamber shall not be tacked to service in the other to achieve seniority of more than twelve years.

'''Section 2. Former members of Congress may receive only certain payments with respect to their service.''' In a month where a person is a former member of Congress and is not serving as an elected or appointed federal official and such person is at least sixty years of age or is completely disabled, and where the person so elects, the person shall be paid from the United States Treasury a sum equal to the base salary of the currently serving members of Congress divided by twelve multiplied by thirty percent multiplied by eight hundred and thirty-three ten thousandths (unless the actual number of years of service as a member of Congress is less than seven years in which case four hundred and seventeen ten thousandths shall be the multiplicand) multiplied by twelve (unless the actual number of years of service as a member of Congress is less than twelve years in which case the actual number of years of service shall be the multiplicand).

In a month where a person would be eligible to receive a payment under the first paragraph of this section but for the fact that the person has died, if when the person died the person was married and had been continuously married for at least ten years before the date of death, and if the person’s surviving spouse is at least sixty years of age or is completely disabled, then seventy percent of such payment shall be paid to the surviving spouse if the surviving spouse so elects, except that this provision shall not apply if the surviving spouse remarries or while the surviving spouse is an elected or appointed federal official or if the surviving spouse is also a former member of Congress and elects to receive a payment with respect to such capacity under the first paragraph of this section.

Persons who are former members of Congress and their surviving spouses shall receive no payments from any source based upon the prior service of the persons as members of Congress except as expressly provided in this section and in the first paragraph of Section 3.

If a current or former member of Congress who as of the date of the ratification of this amendment has served in Congress more than twelve years participates in a federal pension plan that is based on such service, then the member shall have the option to within one hundred and eighty days of the ratification of this amendment irrevocably elect to continue with the member’s federal pension plan, and the plan shall not be modified from the date of the ratification of this amendment with respect to such member. Where a member so elects, the member and the member’s surviving spouse (if one) are ineligible for payments under the first two paragraphs of this section.

'''Section 3. Taxes apply to members of Congress as they apply to the people.''' Members of Congress shall pay taxes as such taxes apply to the people and shall do so without special consideration of their status as members of Congress or as federal employees. Members of Congress may receive from a social program any benefits secured by such payments to the extent that the payments and benefits are identical to the payments by and benefits to the people. No tax shall be paid by any government or person on behalf of a member of Congress. Where a tax based on wages or employment applies to the people in such a way that an employer must pay a portion of the tax or a complementary amount of the tax or where a self-employed person must pay a greater rate of tax than a person not self-employed, then for calculating such a tax due from a member of Congress as the tax applies to the member, the member shall be considered both the employer and the employee unless a greater amount of tax would result if the member were considered self-employed in which case the member shall be considered self-employed.

'''Section 4. A convention will be held every four years.''' A convention shall open every four years on the second Tuesday in September beginning on that second Tuesday in September which first occurs after the ratification of this amendment and within the first calendar year after a Presidential election. The legislature of each state shall send two of its elected members to serve as delegates at each convention. Each delegate shall have one vote. Each convention shall be hosted by a state legislature. Each convention shall be held in the capitol of the host legislature, and if deemed necessary by the host legislature, in nearby meeting areas within the locality of the capitol. The hosting of the conventions shall rotate among the legislatures according to the order of the admittance of the respective states to the Union, beginning with the state first admitted. For purposes of this section, a state which is one of the thirteen states first admitted to the Union shall be considered to have been admitted to the Union on the date the state ratified the Constitution.

For each convention that a legislature hosts, the legislature shall designate one of its delegates as President of the Convention and the other delegate as Vice-President of the Convention, and these delegates shall serve as the chief officers of the convention.

For each convention that a legislature hosts, the respective state shall fund the cost of the convention, and the funds shall come directly from the treasury of the state. The other states shall equally reimburse the state of the host legislature for eighty-five percent of the cost of the convention within ninety days of the closing of the convention. The reimbursement funds shall come directly from the treasuries of such other states.

'''Section 5. The delegates are independent.''' No delegate shall be an official or agent of the United States. Delegates shall be disqualified for election to federal office and for appointment to federal office for two years from the closing of a convention in which they serve. This paragraph shall not apply with respect to National Guard positions to delegates who serve in the National Guard of their respective state.

The legislature of each state shall have sole authority for remuneration of its delegates. Such remuneration shall be paid to the delegates only from the treasury of their respective state. No federal funds shall be used to fund the conventions.

Congress shall make no law and the President and other officials of the executive branch shall make no order or regulation and no treaty shall be made with respect to the conventions or to the delegates or to any proposals produced or amendments proposed by the delegates.

The delegates shall not receive or knowingly communicate with officials or agents of the United States, professional lobbyists, or representatives of any group or organization during the conventions, except that delegates may coordinate for and receive recorded testimony from any person. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, officials and agents of the United States shall not be admitted to the capitol of the host legislature or grounds thereof or to any designated nearby meeting areas within the locality of the capitol or grounds thereof during the conventions.

'''Section 6. The conventions are open to the public.''' All proceedings of the conventions shall be open to the public. The delegates shall make available to the public a live video broadcast of the principal proceedings of the conventions. A written transcript of each proceeding of the conventions shall be produced and made available to the public within three days of its occurrence.

'''Section 7. The delegates have limited duties and powers.''' The delegates shall consider only proposals and amendments as directed or authorized by this amendment and shall not undertake additional matters except those which are necessary for the administration of the conventions. The delegates shall not have the power to subpoena.

'''Section 8. The state legislatures are responsible for setting the pay of members of Congress.''' Members of Congress shall receive while in office a base salary, reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses related to their office, and other remuneration according to proposals of remuneration proposed and ratified pursuant to this section. Members of Congress shall not receive any remuneration for their services while in office other than as provided for by a proposal of remuneration ratified or constructively ratified pursuant to this amendment. The delegates shall not produce a proposal of remuneration other than as expressly authorized by this section. A proposal of remuneration or provision thereof not expressly authorized by this section shall be nonratifiable. Remuneration for members of Congress shall be paid directly from the United States Treasury.

The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, shall produce a single proposal of remuneration providing for a base salary for members of Congress for current service. Beginning with the second convention, a proposal of no changes to the current base salary shall be considered. The base salary shall be equal for all members of Congress. The base salary shall be a fixed amount to continue indefinitely.

The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, shall produce a single proposal of remuneration providing for a plan of reimbursement of members of Congress for reasonable travel expenses related to their office. Beginning with the second convention, a proposal of no changes to the current plan of reimbursement shall be considered. The plan shall list reimbursable expenses. Only listed expenses shall qualify for reimbursement. The plan of reimbursement shall be of fixed percentages or fixed amounts or both and shall be scheduled to continue indefinitely. No such amount or percentage shall be greater than the actual expense.

The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, may produce a single proposal of remuneration providing for a premium of up to ten percent of the base salary for members who serve as certain officers of Congress. If such a proposal is produced, it shall provide for fixed amounts to continue indefinitely.

The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, may produce a single proposal of remuneration providing for a plan of reimbursement of members of Congress for reasonable non-travel expenses related to their office. If such a proposal is produced, the plan shall list reimbursable expenses. Only listed expenses shall qualify for reimbursement. The plan of reimbursement shall be of fixed percentages or fixed amounts or both and shall be scheduled to continue indefinitely. No such amount or percentage shall be greater than the actual expense.

The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, may produce a single proposal of remuneration providing for medical insurance coverage for members of Congress and their immediate families.

A ratified proposal of remuneration may modify a previously ratified proposal of remuneration.

Within three weeks of the date of the opening of each convention, the proposals of remuneration shall be submitted together on a single day to each of the state legislatures for ratification. No state legislature or its members shall modify the submitted proposals. The members of the state legislatures shall vote on each of the submitted proposals separately within two hundred and seventy days of their submittal. A proposal of remuneration becomes federal law upon its ratification by a majority of the state legislatures, except that a proposal to increase the base pay of members of Congress by more than ten percent must be ratified by two-thirds of the state legislatures, and a proposal to decrease the base pay of members of Congress must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. A ratified proposal of remuneration shall not have the force of constitutional law. No treaty shall modify the provisions or effects of a ratified proposal of remuneration.

Where the delegates produce a proposal of remuneration that contains no changes from the previously ratified or constructively ratified scheme, then such proposal shall be deemed to have been ratified by a majority of the state legislatures. No other proposal of remuneration shall be constructively ratified except as expressly provided in the next paragraph.

If a proposal of remuneration is not ratified within two hundred and seventy days of its submittal, then the proposal fails. If a majority of state legislatures fail to ratify the proposal of the first convention providing for a base salary for members of Congress, then a base salary of $174,000 per year shall be deemed to have been included in a proposal of remuneration, and such proposal shall be deemed to have been ratified by a majority of the state legislatures. If a majority of state legislatures fail to ratify the proposal of the first convention providing for a plan of reimbursement of members of Congress for reasonable travel expenses related to their office, then the scheme of reimbursement for travel expenses for members of Congress in effect at the start of the first convention shall be deemed to have been included in a proposal of remuneration, and such proposal shall be deemed to have been ratified by a majority of the state legislatures. Reimbursement amounts and percentages so included shall be deemed fixed and scheduled to continue indefinitely, except that no such amount or percentage shall be greater than the actual expense.

Congress shall have no power over remuneration for its members from the date of the actual or constructive ratification of the remuneration proposals of the first convention.

The Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Official travel by members of Congress by means of transportation owned by the United States shall not be considered remuneration. Travel by members of Congress to and from their respective districts shall not be considered official travel for purposes of this paragraph.

Franking privileges of members of Congress shall not be considered remuneration.

Members of Congress shall not receive free or reduced price meals, personal services, or other perquisites, but members may be reimbursed for such expenses if so provided by a ratified proposal of remuneration.

Members and former members of Congress may use medical facilities provided specially to veterans of the armed forces and such use shall not be considered remuneration for their service or prior service as members of Congress.

Members of Congress, based upon their status as federal employees and without special consideration, may purchase life insurance that is generally available to other federal employees. Members that purchase such life insurance must themselves pay the full premiums.

'''Section 9. The state legislatures may regulate the ethics of Congress.''' The delegates to each convention, by majority vote, may produce proposals of congressional ethics. Proposals of congressional ethics shall address only the ethical administration of Congress and the ethical behavior of its members. The delegates shall not produce a proposal of congressional ethics other than as expressly authorized in this section. A proposal of congressional ethics or provision thereof not expressly authorized by this section shall be nonratifiable. Proposals of congressional ethics may be produced only during the first six weeks of a convention. Proposals of congressional ethics shall be submitted together on a single day to each of the state legislatures for ratification. No state legislature or its members shall modify the submitted proposals. The members of the state legislatures shall vote on each of the submitted proposals of congressional ethics separately and within two hundred and seventy days of their submittal. A proposal of congressional ethics becomes federal law upon its ratification by two-thirds of the state legislatures. A ratified proposal of congressional ethics shall not have the force of constitutional law. No treaty shall modify the provisions or effects of a ratified proposal of congressional ethics. If a proposal of congressional ethics is not ratified within two hundred and seventy days of its submittal, then the proposal fails.

A ratified proposal of congressional ethics may modify a previously ratified proposal of congressional ethics. Neither Congress nor either chamber thereof shall have the power to modify a ratified proposal of congressional ethics. Where a rule, regulation, statute, or other provision of Congress or either chamber thereof relates to the ethical administration of Congress or a chamber thereof or to the ethical behavior of its members, and where such provision is in conflict with a ratified proposal of congressional ethics, the ratified proposal shall prevail.

'''Section 10. The state legislatures may nullify certain regulations.''' The delegates to each convention, by two-thirds majority vote, may produce proposals of regulation nullification. Proposals of regulation nullification shall address only regulations promulgated pursuant to a delegation of congressional authority and shall have the sole purpose of eliminating such regulations. A proposal of regulation nullification may address multiple regulations promulgated pursuant to multiple delegations of congressional authority. The delegates shall not produce a proposal of regulation nullification other than as expressly authorized in this section. A proposal of regulation nullification or provision thereof not expressly authorized by this section shall be nonratifiable. Proposals of regulation nullification shall be submitted together on a single day to each of the state legislatures for ratification. No state legislature or its members shall modify the submitted proposals. The members of the state legislatures shall vote on each of the submitted proposals of regulation nullification separately and within eighteen months of their submittal. A proposal of regulation nullification becomes federal law upon its ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. A regulation so nullified shall not be repromulgated, and Congress shall not have the authority to direct any entity to repromulgate the regulation. A ratified proposal of regulation nullification shall not have the force of constitutional law. No treaty shall modify the provisions or effects of a ratified proposal of regulation nullification. If a proposal of regulation nullification is not ratified within eighteen months of its submittal, then the proposal fails.

Where a regulation has been promulgated pursuant to a delegation of congressional authority and the regulation has the primary effect of regulating the states or the people or both, then such regulation may be nullified by a proposal of regulation nullification produced by a majority vote of the delegates and ratified by a majority of the states, except that this provision shall not apply to a regulation of the National Guard or taxation. A proposal of regulation nullification produced pursuant to this paragraph may be produced only during the first six weeks of a convention.

'''Section 11. The state legislatures may nullify certain statutes.''' The delegates to each convention, by two-thirds majority vote, may produce proposals of statute nullification. Proposals of statute nullification shall address only statutes or portions thereof passed by Congress or previously ratified proposals of statute nullification or both and shall be limited to the purposes of eliminating such statutes and modifying one or more previously ratified proposals of statute nullification, except that statutes passed pursuant to Congress’s authority granted by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments shall not be subject to a proposal of statute nullification. A proposal of statute nullification may address multiple statutes and previously ratified proposals of statute nullification. Where a proposal of statute nullification modifies a previously ratified proposal of statute nullification, such modification shall be limited to reducing or eliminating the time period for which Congress’s authority to reenact a statute previously nullified by a ratified proposal of statute nullification is abolished. The delegates shall not produce a proposal of statute nullification other than as expressly authorized in this section. A proposal of statute nullification or provision thereof not expressly authorized by this section shall be nonratifiable. Proposals of statute nullification shall be submitted together on a single day to each of the state legislatures for ratification. No state legislature or its members shall modify the submitted proposals. The members of the state legislatures shall vote on each of the submitted proposals of statute nullification separately and within eighteen months of their submittal. A proposal of statute nullification becomes federal law upon its ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. Congress shall not have the authority to reenact a statute nullified by a ratified proposal of statute nullification for a period of thirty years from the date of ratification unless the respective ratified proposal states a period of less time. A ratified proposal of statute nullification shall not have the force of constitutional law. No treaty shall modify the provisions or effects of a ratified proposal of statute nullification. If a proposal of statute nullification is not ratified within eighteen months of its submittal, then the proposal fails.

If a statute nullified by a ratified proposal of statute nullification provided for a delegation of congressional authority, any rules promulgated pursuant to such delegation shall be nullified. If a statute so nullified provided for the creation of a government entity, then the entity shall be abolished upon ratification of the proposal.

For purposes of this amendment, a law shall be considered a statute whether or not it is codified.

'''Section 12. The delegates may propose amendments to the Constitution.''' The delegates to each convention, by two-thirds majority vote, may propose amendments to the Constitution. Amendments proposed by the delegates shall address only the powers of Congress and the sole purpose of the amendments shall be to modify such powers. An amendment proposed pursuant to this section shall not expand the powers of Congress beyond their scope as delegated by the states at the time of ratification of this amendment and as delegated by the states under any amendments proposed pursuant to Article V and ratified after the ratification of this amendment. The delegates may provide in the proposed amendment a time limitation for ratification by the states. Such limitation shall not be less than ten years from the date of submittal for ratification. The delegates shall not propose an amendment to the Constitution other than as expressly authorized in this section. A proposed amendment or provision thereof not expressly authorized by this section shall be nonratifiable. Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted together on a single day to each of the state legislatures for ratification. No state legislature or its members shall modify submitted proposed amendments. A proposed amendment becomes constitutional law upon its ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. No treaty shall modify a provision or the effects of a provision of the Constitution of the United States.

The delegates to conventions that open twenty or more years after the date of the ratification of this amendment may also propose amendments that have the purpose of allowing states to limit the number of terms of their members of Congress.

'''Section 13. Each convention continues until certain conditions are met.''' Each convention called by this amendment shall continue until the proposals of remuneration of members of Congress required by this amendment, all additional proposals produced pursuant to this amendment, and all proposed amendments to the Constitution proposed pursuant to this amendment have been submitted to the legislature of each state for ratification and until a majority of the delegates vote to close the convention, except that after five days after the submittal of all such produced proposals and proposed amendments for ratification, a convention may be closed by the number of votes equal to or greater than one-third of twice the number of states in the Union plus one. The delegates shall not delay the closing of a convention by delaying the submittal of produced proposals or proposed amendments to the state legislatures for ratification.

'''Section 14. This amendment does not affect Article V.''' The provisions of this amendment shall not apply to conventions called or amendments proposed under Article V.