Re: RE: VBCNN (was: Dan Rather)

["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com>]

On 18 Sep 2001, at 7:26, hopfgapr@sprynet.com wrote:

> I'd bet that 49 star flag must be worth something I would think that would
> be a very rare flag....How long did we have 49 states? 8 months maybe?
> (Alaska was Jan 1959, I think Hawaii was Aug '59?)

That's about right.  But the procedure is that the new flag takes effect on 
the 4th of July after the admission of the new state.  So the 49-star flag 
was in effect for exactly one year, from 4 July 1959 to 4 July 1960.

The process is that, after the legislation is passed admitting a new 
state. there is a referendum in the prospective new state, in which the 
people vote on whether they want to be a state.  If the vote is in the 
affirmative, they they schedule elections to elect state officials and 
Senators and Representatives in Congress.  Meanwhile, a Presidential 
commission is formed to determine the new configuration of stars in the 
flag.  Once the state elections have been held, the President issues a 
proclamation admitting the new state and, at the same time, unveils the 
new flag design.  The final bit of ceremony is when two new desks are 
added on the Senate floor and the new state's Senators draw lots to 
determine which of them will serve for how long a term, so as to 
maintain the system of electing 1/3 of the Senators in each election.
The admission of new states also temporarily increases the size of the 
House of Representatives beyond the usual statutory limit of 435.  The 
number returns to 435 when seats are redistributed after the next 
census.


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 A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                           617.367.0468
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