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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 120 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. J. RES. 120

  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
normalize vacancies and appointments for justices of the Supreme Court 
              of the United States and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 5, 2024

Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Manchin) introduced the following joint 
 resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION

 
  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
normalize vacancies and appointments for justices of the Supreme Court 
              of the United States and for other purposes.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled   (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. The Supreme Court of the United States shall be 
composed of nine justices (which includes the Chief Justice of the 
United States for purposes of this article each place it appears).
    ``Section 2. The term of the first justice of the Supreme Court of 
the United States (in this article referred to as a `justice') 
appointed on or after the date of the ratification of this article 
shall--
            ``(1) begin on July 1 of the first odd-numbered year 
        beginning after the date of the ratification of this article; 
        and
            ``(2) terminate on June 30 of the year that is 18 years 
        after such odd-numbered year.
    ``Section 3. The term of the second justice appointed on or after 
the date of the ratification of this article, and each justice 
appointed thereafter, shall--
            ``(1) begin on July 1 of the first odd-numbered year after 
        the odd-numbered year during which the term of the most 
        recently appointed justice, other than a justice appointed 
        under section 6 to serve for the remainder of an 18-year term, 
        began; and
            ``(2) terminate on June 30 of the year that is 18 years 
        after the odd-numbered year during which the term of the 
        justice began.
    ``Section 4. For a vacancy arising because an individual serving as 
a justice on the day before the date of the ratification of this 
article ceases serving as a justice, if the vacancy arises before July 
1 of the odd-numbered year during which the term of the justice 
appointed to fill the vacancy begins--
            ``(1) the individual appointed to fill the vacancy may 
        serve as a justice before the term of the individual begins; 
        and
            ``(2) the term of the individual as a justice shall 
        terminate in accordance with section 2 or 3, as applicable.
    ``Section 5. For a vacancy arising because an individual serving as 
a justice on the day before the date of the ratification of this 
article ceases serving as a justice, if the vacancy arises after July 1 
of the odd-numbered year during which the term of the individual 
appointed to fill the vacancy begins, the term of the individual as a 
justice shall terminate in accordance with section 2 or 3, as 
applicable, without regard to the fact that the individual did not 
begin serving as a justice on the date on which the term began.
    ``Section 6. If an individual who is appointed to a position as a 
justice on or after the date of the ratification of this article ceases 
serving as a justice before the end of the term of the individual as a 
justice, the President may appoint an individual to serve for the 
remainder of the term, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate.
    ``Section 7. When a vacancy arises in the position of Chief Justice 
of the United States, the most senior justice serving at the time the 
vacancy arises shall become the Chief Justice of the United States.
    ``Section 8. An individual appointed to a position as a justice on 
or after the date of the ratification of this article, including an 
individual appointed to serve for the remainder of a term under section 
6, may not subsequently be appointed to a position as a justice.''.
                                 <all>
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