ATLANTA, December 12, 2013 –  Today, four Georgia State representatives announced they would be introducing legislation to block Obamacare in their state.

Following the lead of South Carolina, where lawmakers are fast-tracking House Bill 3101 in 2014, the bill would, as Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Fox News this week, “gut Obamacare” in the state.

Based on the Tenth Amendment Center’s four-step plan to nullify Obamacare on a state-level, the legislation would ban state participation, assistance, or any material support for the Affordable Care Act.

State representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine) along with three other representatives will be holding a press conference on Monday, Dec. 16 to discuss the proposal.

“The bill’s main thrust is to prohibit state agencies, officers and employees of the state from implementing any provisions of the Affordable Care Act, leaving implementation entirely in the hands of the federal government, which lacks the resources or personnel to carry out the programs it mandates,” said Rep. Spencer in a press release.

Based on the long-standing legal principle, the anti-commandeering doctrine, the legislation is on strong legal grounds. In four major cases from 1842 to 2012, the Supreme Court has consistently held that the federal government cannot “commandeer” states, requiring them to enforce or expend resources to participate in federal law or regulatory programs.

Napolitano noted that the plan was not only legal, it would be highly effective. “If enough states do this, it will gut Obamacare because the federal government doesn’t have the resources…to go into each of the states if they start refusing.”

Tenth Amendment Center (TAC) national communications director Mike Maharrey suggested that a large-scale effort would be coming in 2014. “Kudos goes out to all the people in South Carolina who have worked the past year to get things this far.  And kudos to Jason Spencer for stepping up to support their effort. Our contacts here at the Center tell us to expect at least ten other states considering similar legislation in 2014, but it’s going to require people getting on the phone with their state reps and senators to make that happen.”

Maharrey said that TAC’s state-plan to nullify Obamacare includes four key parts. The main part, as bills in South Carolina and Georgia are proposing, would ban the state from enforcing or providing material support for the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act.  The plan also includes a rejection of the Medicaid expansion, steps to reduce the impact and enforcement of the mandate tax, and press for an ongoing challenge to the taxes themselves.

“Each piece might seem like a small piece of thread,” said Maharrey. “But when you tie all kinds of threads together you have a strong piece of rope.  By refusing to comply in multiple states and various areas, we’re going to pull the rug right out from under Obamacare.”

Michael Boldin

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