Amendment 28 — the People’s Amendment

Section 1

Purpose and Authority

Section 1 establishes the foundational purposes of the amendment.

The amendment declares that the People, acting through Article V of the Constitution, are exercising their sovereign authority.

The Amendment:

• reduces corruption and undue influence;
• strengthens accountability;
• protects democratic participation;
• improves institutional functionality;
• establishes long-term fiscal responsibility;
• preserves essential earned-benefit programs; and
• ensures that public office serves the Nation rather than private or factional interests.
• restores confidence in government;

The Section frames the amendment as a structural reform measure rather than an ideological or partisan document.

Section 2

Definitions

Section 2 provides an extensive constitutional definitions framework.

The amendment repeatedly relies upon objective criteria, ministerial duties, measurable standards, GAO certifications, and transparent public reporting. To support this structure, Section 2 defines numerous operational terms.

Defined terms include:

• essential programs;
• fiscal requirements;
• proportional adjustments;
• public fiscal ledger;
• line-item veto;
• improper payments;
• contractor integrity risk;
• wasteful expenditures;
• inflation indexing;
• objective criteria;
• automatic enforcement mechanisms; and
• the Independent Office of Public Integrity (“IOPI”).

This Section is designed to reduce ambiguity, constrain discretionary abuse, and improve judicial administrability.

The amendment repeatedly attempts to distinguish objective constitutional compliance from subjective political judgment.

Section 3

Voting Rights

Section 3 establishes a constitutional guarantee of equal, reasonably accessible, and nondiscriminatory voting access in federal elections.

The Section prohibits laws or practices that materially burden voting rights absent objectively supportable necessity grounded in election integrity or comparable legitimate governmental interests.

This Section:

• authorizes Congress to establish uniform nationwide minimum standards for federal elections;
• preserves substantial state authority over election administration;
• protects judicial enforceability of voting rights;
• permits content-neutral election integrity measures; and
• attempts to balance election accessibility with fraud prevention and administrative feasibility.

The Section also clarifies that nothing within it creates a constitutional right to unlimited election spending inconsistent with Section 15.

Section 4

Federal Districting Reform

Section 4 prohibits partisan gerrymandering for congressional districts.

The Section requires congressional districts to be drawn through independent state-established redistricting bodies operating under neutral and transparent standards.

Required districting criteria include:

•  substantially equal population per district;
• compactness;
• contiguity;
• respect for political and community boundaries;
• compliance with federal minority-voting-rights protections; and
• neutrality toward political parties and incumbents.

The amendment eliminates partisan map manipulation while preserving state-level implementation authority.

The Section also includes:

• transparency requirements;
• public reporting obligations;
• implementation deadlines;
• judicially enforceable standards; and
• limitations on continuing judicial supervision.

Section 5 & 6

Congressional Term Limits

Sections 5 and 6 impose term limits on Members of Congress.

House of Representatives:

• maximum elected service: 12 years;
  
• limited partial-term exceptions;
• service aggregated regardless of interruption.

Senate:

• maximum elected service: 18 years;
  
• limited partial-term exceptions;
• service aggregated regardless of interruption.

The amendment states that the purpose of these limits is to:

• reduce entrenched power;
• encourage leadership renewal;
• reduce structural corruption incentives;
• preserve institutional independence; and
• improve public trust.

Transition rules are addressed in Section 9.

Section 7

Supreme Court Reform

Section 7 is one of the amendment’s most extensive and structurally significant provisions.

The Section attempts to preserve Article III life tenure while restructuring active participation on the Supreme Court.

The amendment maintains:

• one continuous Supreme Court;
• life tenure during good behavior;
• undiminished compensation; and
• continued constitutional judicial office for all Justices.

At the same time, it creates a rotating “active service” system.

Under the rotation sysem:

• nine Active Justices hear newly argued Supreme Court cases at any given time;
• each Justice serves one active period of approximately 18–22 years;
• active-service vacancies occur on a regular schedule every two years;
• Justices then transition to senior status while retaining Article III office.

Senior Justices may:

• complete previously argued Supreme Court matters;
• sit by designation on lower federal courts; and
• temporarily return to active participation under limited circumstances.

The amendment attempts to prevent strategic retirements and irregular vacancy timing by creating predictable appointment intervals.

The Section also establishes:

• structured nomination timelines;
• bipartisan Senate committee procedures;
• confirmation deadlines;
• automatic procedural triggers;
• public-comment periods;
• incapacity-review procedures; and
• restrictions on procedural obstruction.

The President retains constitutional nomination authority, but bipartisan committee procedures encourage broader consensus.

The amendment repeatedly states that:

• no Justice loses Article III status;
• the Supreme Court remains one continuous constitutional court;
• active/senior distinctions are administrative rather than constitutional removal;
• the amendment does not create separate courts or unequal classes of Justices.

The Section further attempts to constrain judicial-management concerns by limiting judicial review largely to ministerial and declaratory enforcement.

Section 8

Line-item Veto Authority

Section 8 creates a constitutionally authorized line-item veto process.

Unlike the previously invalidated statutory federal line-item veto, this authority would exist directly within the Constitution.

The President may disapprove individual appropriations or monetary items identified through objective certification procedures.

Key safeguards include:

• GAO-certified eligibility lists;
• objective fiscal criteria;
• prohibition on targeting political opponents or geographic areas;
• itemization requirements for appropriations;
• transparency through the public fiscal ledger;
• judicial review limited to objective compliance;
• protection of essential programs; and
• congressional override by three-fifths vote.

The amendment repeatedly attempts to prevent:

• selective retaliation;
• “Frankenstein vetoes” that rewrite statutory meaning;
• post hoc justification;
• manipulation through lump-sum appropriations; and
• discretionary geographic targeting.

The Section is tightly integrated with the amendment’s broader fiscal framework.

Section 9

Transition And Implementation

Section 9 establishes implementation rules.

Key provisions include:

• ratification effectiveness;
• transitional treatment of prior congressional service;
• implementation of Supreme Court rotation schedules;
• civic-education review requirements;
• public reporting obligations; and
• limited authority for nonsubstantive formatting corrections.

The Section is designed to ease transition into the amendment’s long-term structural framework.

Section 10

Compensation, Ethics,
And Conflict-of-interest Rules

Section 10 creates an extensive ethics and anti-corruption framework.

Major provisions include:

• salary caps for major federal officials;
• automatic salary suspension mechanisms for congressional noncompliance;
• restrictions on gifts and outside compensation;
• stock-trading prohibitions;
• digital-asset trading restrictions;
• blind-trust requirements;
• post-service lobbying restrictions;
• cooling-off periods for appointments;
• contracting restrictions;
• disclosure and transparency requirements.

The amendment is designed to stop:

• insider trading;
• revolving-door corruption;
• influence peddling;
• financial conflicts of interest;
• personal enrichment from office.

The Section also attempts to create automatic compliance incentives by tying compensation to constitutional performance obligations.

Section 11

Stand-alone Legislative Consideration

Section 11 establishes constitutional safeguards designed to prevent unrelated provisions from being buried inside large omnibus legislation, where they may be combined with dozens or even hundreds of unrelated measures. It creates procedures requiring stand-alone consideration and separate recorded votes for designated legislative measures.

Under the Section, a relatively small number of Representatives or Senators may trigger stand-alone consideration procedures requiring a recorded up-or-down vote on designated legislation

Objectives include:

• improving transparency;
• increasing legislative accountability;
• reducing hidden provisions;
• improving public understanding of legislation; and
• reducing coercive legislative bargaining structures.

Section 12

Independent Office Of Public Integrity (Iopi)

Section 12 creates the Independent Office of Public Integrity (IOPI).

IOPI functions as an independent constitutional oversight and enforcement institution.

IOPI responsibilities include:

•  auditing;
• transparency;
• certification;
• investigations;
• anti-corruption enforcement;
• anti-fraud and fiscal accountability oversight;
•  compliance verification;
•  public reporting and disclosure requirements;
• enforcement of integrity standards established by the amendment; and
• oversight relating to government waste, surplus assets, and other fiscal accountability mechanisms established by the amendment.

The amendment constrains IOPI authority through:

• objective criteria requirements;
• ministerial limitations;
• protections for legislative independence;
•  transparency requirements;
• limitations on discretionary policymaking;
• judicial review constraints; and
• separation-of-powers safeguards.

The Section repeatedly states that IOPI:

• must rely heavily on objective ministerial records.
• may not direct legislative outcomes;
• may not exercise criminal prosecutorial authority;
• may not intrude upon protected legislative deliberations except to the minimum extent necessary;

The office is designed as a constitutional accountability mechanism rather than a policymaking body.

Section 13

Fair Taxes

Section 13 establishes a constitutional taxation framework.

The Section to combines:

• broad-based taxation;
•  lower burdens on lower- and middle-income Americans;
• progressive taxation principles;
• anti-evasion protections;
• long-term fiscal stability;
• constitutional tax limitations.

Major provisions include:

• no federal income tax on the first $40,000 of individual income (inflation indexed);
• limited rates on moderate-income ranges;
• progressive “fair-share” marginal tax structure;
• uniform treatment of income from labor and wealth;
•  protection against selective taxation;
• constitutionalization of realization-based taxation principles;
• prohibition on taxes based solely on unrealized gains;
• objective anti-evasion standards.

The Section also authorizes a generally applicable supplemental tax structure for extraordinary realized income events exceeding extremely high thresholds.

The amendment repeatedly:

• avoids vague economic theories;
• constrains discretionary tax manipulation;
• preserves objective administrability;
•  prevents confiscatory taxation;
•  preserves broad economic growth incentives.

Section 14

Fiscal Responsibility Guarantee

Section 14 establishes a constitutional fiscal-control framework.

The Section creates:

• balanced-budget requirements;
• debt-reduction obligations;
• automatic enforcement triggers;
•  proportional reduction mechanisms;
• emergency exceptions;
• economic-adjustment standards;
• recession-response provisions;
• catastrophic-event exceptions.

The amendment creates a rules-based fiscal system that automatically responds when spending or debt thresholds exceed constitutional limits.

At the same time, the amendment protects:

• Social Security;
• Medicare;
•  veterans’ programs;
• national-defense readiness;
• other constitutionally designated essential programs.

Automatic enforcement mechanisms are designed to activate if Congress fails to maintain required fiscal standards.

The amendment repeatedly emphasizes:

• objective economic measurements;
• GAO certifications;
• automatic implementation;
• uniform proportionality;
•  limited discretionary manipulation.

Section 15

Clean Politics

Section 15 establishes a constitutional campaign-finance and anti-corruption framework.

The Section establishes constitutional limitations intended to reverse judicial doctrines that treat unlimited political spending as protected speech.

The amendment authorizes:

• reasonable regulation of campaign financing;
• transparency requirements;
• anti-corruption limitations;
• restrictions on undue influence;
• regulation of large-scale election spending.

The Section simultaneously preserves:

• political speech;
• civic participation;
• associational rights;
• viewpoint neutrality.

The amendment repeatedly emphasizes that regulation must operate under objective and uniformly applicable standards.

Section 16

Electoral Integrity And Democratic Safeguards

Section 16 establishes additional election-integrity protections.

The Section includes safeguards relating to:

• election administration;
• transparency;
• public confidence;
• procedural integrity;
• neutral administration;
• protection against manipulation.

The amendment is designed to strengthen both public trust and operational reliability in federal elections.

Section 18

Fiscal Integrity And Public Stewardship

Section 18 establishes broader federal fiscal-management obligations.

The Section addresses:

• waste reduction;
• modernization;
• federal accounting systems;
• contractor oversight;
• improper payments;
• transparency;
• procurement integrity;
• long-term stewardship of public funds.

The amendment constitutionalizes higher standards of fiscal administration and public accountability.

Section 17

Interpretive Principles And Judicial Construction

Section 17 provides interpretive rules for courts.

The Section repeatedly directs courts to:

• preserve the operational effect of the amendment;
• construe provisions to maintain enforceability;
• avoid interpretations that defeat self-executing mechanisms;
• preserve severability where possible;
• respect objective constitutional standards.

The Section is designed to prevent judicial nullification through narrow interpretive doctrines.

Section 19 & 20

Social Security And Medicare Protections

Sections 19 and 20 establish constitutional protections for Social Security and Medicare.

The amendment:

• preserves long-term solvency;
•  prevents diversion of dedicated funding;
•  maintains continuity of benefits;
•  protects earned-benefit structures;
•  integrates solvency planning into the broader fiscal framework.

The Sections are closely connected to the fiscal mechanisms established elsewhere in the amendment.

Section 21

Enforcement, Self-execution, And Remedial Authority

Section 21 establishes the amendment’s enforcement architecture.

The amendment operates through:

• self-executing provisions;
• automatic enforcement mechanisms;
• objective ministerial duties;
• limited judicial-management requirements;
• declaratory and equitable relief;
• constitutional deadlines;
• mandatory public reporting.

The Section:

• prevents institutional evasion;
• reduces dependence on future legislation;
• preserves constitutional operability;
• constrains judicial overreach;
• ensures that enforcement mechanisms remain effective.

The amendment repeatedly attempts to minimize the need for courts to supervise political branches continuously while still preserving enforceability.

Overall Structural Themes

Several recurring themes run throughout Amendment 28:

Objective Standards Over Subjective Judgment

The amendment repeatedly attempts to replace discretionary standards with measurable constitutional requirements.

Automatic Constitutional Enforcement

Many provisions operate automatically when triggering conditions occur, reducing reliance upon political willingness to enforce the amendment.

Transparency and Public Reporting

The amendment repeatedly requires publication of decisions, certifications, fiscal actions, and compliance records through a public fiscal ledger.

Institutional Accountability

The amendment imposes enforceable consequences for governmental nonperformance.

Structural Anti-Corruption Measures

Many Sections are directed toward reducing incentives for corruption, influence peddling, insider advantage, and procedural manipulation.

Fiscal Sustainability

The amendment constitutionalizes long-term fiscal discipline while preserving essential programs.

Separation-of-Powers Preservation

The amendment repeatedly states that it does not eliminate core constitutional functions of the legislative, executive, or judicial branches except where expressly modified.

Judicial Administrability

The amendment repeatedly frames enforcement around the use of objective records, ministerial duties, and manageable constitutional standards.

Conclusion

Amendment 28 creates one of the most extensive structural constitutional reform packages in modern American history.

Rather than focusing upon a single issue, the amendment attempts to establish an integrated constitutional framework.

It addresses:

• elections;
• congressional structure;
• Supreme Court appointments and active service;
• campaign finance;
• ethics;
• fiscal governance;
• entitlement protection;
• transparency;
• anti-corruption enforcement;
• public accountability.

The amendment is designed around the principle that constitutional reform should:

• reduce institutional incentives for dysfunction;
• restore public trust;
• preserve democratic legitimacy;
• constrain corruption;
• maintain long-term fiscal stability;
• preserve essential national commitments;
• improve governmental accountability to the People.

Throughout the amendment, substantial emphasis is placed upon objective constitutional standards, transparency, automatic enforcement, and operational continuity.

The amendment redesigns multiple structural aspects of federal governance through permanent constitutional reform rather than temporary and often changing statutory measures.