Twenty-seventh Amendment: Congressional pay

The Twenty-seventh Amendment says a law changing what members of Congress are paid can't take effect "until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." It was proposed in 1789 with what became the Bill of Rights and wasn't ratified until 1992, more than two centuries later. California applies the same idea to city councils: a pay change generally doesn't apply to a council member during their current term, with an exception for councils with staggered terms.

The text

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Source: National Archives transcription Verified1

What it says

• "Varying the compensation." It covers raises and cuts alike Verified1.
• "Shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." Congress can pass a pay change at any time, but it can't take effect until after the next House election. Voters get a chance to respond first Verified1.
• What it doesn't do. It doesn't set an amount or ban raises. Congress still sets its own pay under Article I, §6 Verified4.

History

• 1789. "The original Constitution, which took effect in 1789, did not prevent federal laws that increased or decreased Members of Congress' salaries from becoming operative before the next congressional election" Verified2. During ratification, critics worried Congress could "indulge themselves in the fullest extent" by setting their pay "as high as they please" Verified2. The First Congress proposed this amendment along with the ten that became the Bill of Rights Verified1.
• Stalled. "By the end of 1791, only six of the then-existing fourteen states had ratified the Pay Amendment" Verified2.
• A college paper. "In 1982, Gregory D. Watson, an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote about the Congressional Pay Amendment in a paper for a political science class." He argued it was still pending because Congress had set no deadline Verified2. "From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, more than 30 state legislatures ratified the Amendment" Verified2.
• 1992. "On May 18, 1992, National Archivist Don W. Wilson ... proclaimed the Amendment to have been ratified on May 7, 1992" Verified2.

Can ratification take 200 years?

In Dillon v. Gloss (1921), the Court said "the ratification must be within some reasonable time after the proposal" and should be "sufficiently contemporaneous" across states (Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368 (1921)) Verified5. In Coleman v. Miller (1939), however, the Court treated timeliness as "a political question pertaining to the political departments, with the ultimate authority in the Congress" (Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939)) Verified6. The Twenty-seventh was accepted as ratified after more than 200 years. See Article V.

How courts read it

• Cost-of-living adjustments. In Boehner v. Anderson (1994), a federal appeals court "rejected a Twenty-Seventh Amendment challenge to congressional pay legislation." Congressman John Boehner had challenged automatic adjustments under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 Verified2.
• Untested ideas. "It is unclear whether various novel statutory mechanisms for regulating Members' pay might comply with the Twenty-Seventh Amendment," such as the 2013 "No Budget, No Pay Act," which would have temporarily withheld members' pay until their chamber agreed to a budget resolution Verified2.

In Williams

The amendment covers only Congress. California has parallel rules for city councils in general law cities like Williams Verified7:

• No mid-term raises. "A change in compensation does not apply to a council member during the council member's term of office." There's an exception for councils with staggered terms: when one member starts a new term, all members' pay can be adjusted (Gov. Code §36516.5) Verified3. Williams has staggered terms; the city lists some seats ending November 2026 and others November 2028 Verified8.
• Caps and process. A council may set salaries by ordinance. For cities of up to 35,000 people, the cap is "nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) per month," and raises above that are limited to set yearly amounts Verified9. "No ordinance shall be enacted or amended to provide automatic future increases in salary" (§36516(a)(5)) Verified9.
• Voters can decide instead. Whether council members get a salary, and how much, can also be put to voters at a municipal election (§36516(b)) Verified9.
• What Williams pays. The city's 2026 candidate guide says: "Councilmembers receive a monthly stipend of $420 and the Mayor receives $560" Verified10. Williams had an estimated 5,621 residents on January 1, 2026 Verified11, so the $950-a-month cap for cities of up to 35,000 applies Verified12.
• What we couldn't verify. We haven't read the ordinance that set those amounts. Ask the City Clerk for it.

Our reading: unlike the federal rule, California's version bans automatic raises outright. Under §36516.5, a raise generally waits until a member starts a new term, but with staggered terms, all members' pay can be adjusted once any member starts a new term.

Common misconceptions

• "It bans congressional raises." It only delays them until after a House election Verified1.
• "It's a modern amendment." It was written in 1789 and ratified in 1992 Verified1.
• "Amendments expire if they aren't ratified quickly." Only if Congress sets a deadline. This one had none Verified2.
• "A city council can vote itself an immediate raise." In California, a pay change generally doesn't apply during the member's current term; with staggered terms, it can take effect for everyone once one member starts a new term Verified3.

Check yourself

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