Tag Archives | Louisiana Sovereignty

WASHINGTON, June 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire — Last Friday, June 18, 2010, Louisiana became the first state with a Democrat-controlled legislature to oppose a requirement to purchase health insurance—the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s health reform agenda. Louisiana House Bill 1474 (HB1474), which passed the Louisiana Senate with strong bipartisan support, will soon head to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s desk. The measure is modeled after the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act now introduced or announced in 42 states.

House Bill 1474, which was supported by 14 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats, states that “No resident of this state, regardless of whether he has or is eligible for health insurance coverage under any policy or program provided by or through his employer, or a plan sponsored by the state or the federal government, shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual health insurance coverage.”

The measure faced a tough battle in the Senate, where sponsors conceded to an amendment that may hamper Louisiana’s ability to file an additional 10th Amendment-based lawsuit against the federal health reform law.

“Today, Louisiana sends a clear message to the President and Congress that there is broad, bipartisan opposition to the centerpiece of their health reform agenda,” said ALEC Health Task Force Director Christie Herrera, who is coordinating the nationwide effort.

“ALEC congratulates Representative Kirk Talbot, free-market think tank The Pelican Institute, and the Louisiana Grassroots Network for their work in rejecting an unconstitutional overreach into the health care decisions of Louisianans,” Herrera added.

Health Care Freedom Acts have already been enacted in statute form by the Virginia, Idaho, and Utah legislatures, and constitutional amendments or referenda will appear on the ballot in Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida, and Missouri. Active citizen initiatives are also underway in Colorado, Michigan, and Mississippi.

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CLICK HERE to view the Tenth Amendment Center’s Health Care Freedom Act legislative tracking page

The Tenth Amendment Center has released the Federal Health Care Nullification Act, which directly nullifies the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on a state level. Click here to learn more.

With a 59-15 vote Thursday, the Louisiana State House approved a bill that declares no one in Louisiana can be mandated to pay a penalty if they don’t have insurance – or be required to participate in a health system.

House Bill 1474 states that every Louisiana resident “is and shall be free from governmental intrusion in choosing or declining to choose any mode of securing health insurance coverage without penalty or threat of penalty.”

Sponsor Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, said he wants to challenge a Congress that he believes has exceeded its authority under the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. “Congress does not have the right to mandate that private citizens enter into a contract with private business,” he said. The commerce clause, he said, allows federal regulation of economic activity but “not inactivity.”

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution codifies in law that the federal government is one of limited, delegated powers – and that all powers not enumerated in the Constitution are reserve “to the States, respectively, or to the People.”

The founders, during the time of the Constitution’s ratification, made clear that a vast majority of regulatory powers would be left in the states – including social services, agriculture, mining, and more. Click here to read more.

Virginia, Utah, and Idaho have already passed a Health Care Freedom Act, and the Governors of each state have already signed the act into law. More than two dozen other states are considering similar legislation or state constitutional amendments, including Arizona, Missouri, and Florida, where in November, voters will have the opportunity to approve or deny a similar proposal as a state Constitutional amendment which has already passed both state houses.

CLICK HERE to view the Tenth Amendment Center’s Health Care Freedom Act legislative tracking page

The Tenth Amendment Center has released the Federal Health Care Nullification Act, which directly nullifies the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on a state level. Click here to learn more.