The 72nd Congress proposed the Twentieth Amendment on March 2, 1932, and the amendment was ratified by the following states. The Amendment was adopted on January 23, 1933 after 36 states, being three-fourths of the then-existing 48 states, ratified the Amendment. Virginia: March 4, 1932 New York: March 11, 1932 Mississippi: March 16, 1932 Arkansas: March 17, 1932 Kentucky: March 17, 1932 New Jersey: March 21, 1932 South Carolina: March 25, 1932 Michigan: March 31, 1932 Maine: April 1, 1932 Rhode Island: April 14, 1932 Illinois: April 21, 1932 Louisiana: June 22, 1932 West Virginia: July 30, 1932 Pennsylvania: August 11, 1932 Indiana: August 15, 1932 Texas: September 7, 1932 Alabama: September 13, 1932 California: January 4, 1933 North Carolina: January 5, 1933 North Dakota: January 9, 1933 Minnesota: January 12, 1933 Arizona: January 13, 1933 Montana: January 13, 1933 Nebraska: January 13, 1933 Oklahoma: January 13, 1933 Kansas: January 16, 1933 Oregon: January 16, 1933 Delaware: January 19, 1933 Washington: January 19, 1933 Wyoming: January 19, 1933 Iowa: January 20, 1933 South Dakota: January 20, 1933 Tennessee: January 20, 1933 Idaho: January 21, 1933 New Mexico: January 21, 1933 Missouri: January 23, 1933This satisfied the requirement for three-fourths of the then-existing 48 states. The amendment was subsequently ratified by: Georgia: January 23, 1933 Ohio: January 23, 1933 Utah: January 23, 1933 Massachusetts: January 24, 1933 Wisconsin: January 24, 1933 Colorado: January 24, 1933 Nevada: January 26, 1933 Connecticut: January 27, 1933 New Hampshire: January 31, 1933 Vermont: February 2, 1933 Maryland: March 24, 1933 Florida: April 26, 1933 Effects Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment prescribes that the start and end of the four-year term of both the president and vice president shall be at noon on January 20. The change superseded the Twelfth Amendment's reference to March4 as the date by which the House of Representatives must—under circumstances where no candidate won an absolute majority of votes for president in the Electoral College—conduct a contingent presidential election. The new date reduced the period between election day in November and Inauguration Day, the presidential transition, by about six weeks. Section1 also specifies noon January 3 as the start and end of the terms of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives; the previous date had also been March 4. Section 2 moves the yearly start date of congressional sessions from the first Monday in December, as mandated