Governor: You can thank an Austin Republican for most recent amendment to U.S. Constitution

Watson

A policy aide for Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman received some high-profile praise for his role in resurrecting a Constitutional Amendment effort no one ever thought would gain enough momentum to be ratified.

Greg Watson, a former longtime Texas Capitol staffer and a Travis County GOP Precinct Chairman, was lauded by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during the March 31, 2016, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute (TCCRI) Policy Orientation. Abbott, who supports what's known as an Article V Convention, used Watson's story as an example that amending the Constitution can be done.

Abbott's remarks are below in video form and in print. But first, here's the text of the 27th Amendment -- introduced in 1789 and finally ratified in 1992 some two centuries later.

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

“[Paraphrasing those who doubt the plausibility of an Article V convention] 'We all know this is just a fiction because things like this are never gonna happen.' To those naysayers I have two words: 

Greg Watson. 

Most of y’all don’t know who Greg Watson is. In 1983, Greg Watson was an undergrad student right here on this campus. And he was taking a government class and he had to write a term paper for his government class. And in going through the University of Texas Library, he stumbled upon this old amendment that passed through Congress, but was never ratified. He thought 'well, this is pretty cool.' He wanted to write a paper on how that amendment could actually become a part of the Constitution. His professor at the University of Texas was unimpressed and gave him a 'C' grade on that paper. 

But for Greg Watson the issue turned out to be far more important to him than any letter grade—it was now a cause. Because this is something that resonated with him — but he found that it was something that resonated with the people of the United States. Because the issue focused on a frustration Americans had at the time and that was the United States Congress. This amendment is one that said that no Congressional pay raise is effective until after the next election. 

The problem that Greg Watson had is that amendment was passed by Congress in 1789 and was about 200 years old. The other problem that he faced is that every law professor, every pundit, every critic in the United States of America, said it no longer had vitality and what he was trying to embark upon was completely impossible. 

The deal, though, is that Greg Watson was not a pundit, he was not a professor. He was a citizen who cared about the future of this country. 

So he started writing letters — this is before Facebook, or twitter, or email — and he wrote letter, after letter, after letter. And he got one state to agree to it. Then he got another state to agree to it. Then he got 10 states to agree to it. Then he got 20 states to agree to it. And then, finally, he got the 38th state to agree to it. 

This college paper project that Greg Watson embarked upon became the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution; because of one single individual. This can be done.” 

   --Gov. Greg Abbott.

Credits: Courtesy photo/Video from District 6 Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman.