Health Care Sovereignty for Colorado

On Friday February 5th, 17 House Representatives and 2 Senators in the Colorado General Assembly cosponsored new legislation limiting the federal government’s power to enforce health care legislation in this state. Please make sure this legislation passes by contacting all members of the General Assembly and ask them to cosponsor this bill.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 10-1009
CONCERNING THE STATE OF COLORADO’S SOVEREIGNTY UNDER THE TENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OVER ALL POWERS NOT GRANTED TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND NOT PROHIBITED TO THE STATES.

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment provides that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states and to the people, limits the scope of federal power, and prescribes that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; however, the states are currently treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, In the American system, sovereignty is defined as the final authority, the people, not the government, are sovereign, and all power not delegated by the people to government is retained; and

WHEREAS, Powers have been exercised, past and present, by federal administrations, and under the leadership of both Democrats and Republicans, that infringe on the sovereignty of the people of this state in violation of the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the United States Congress may not commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights that the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Because health care rights are not guaranteed or enumerated in the Constitution of the United States, decisions on how to best administer health care programs should be left to the individual states; and

WHEREAS, The citizens and legislators of Colorado know their 18 state’s needs better than the federal government, can develop a better plan for management of health care in our state than what is in the current proposed federal health care legislation, and need to be able to make our own decisions regarding what is in the best interests of this state; and

WHEREAS, The health care legislation that the federal government is proposing is in violation of state sovereignty and the states’ right to determine their own management of health care; and

WHEREAS, Certain components of the proposed federal health care legislation, such as taxation of higher-cost health care plans, are an affront to an individual’s right to self-determination; and

WHEREAS, Higher-cost health care plans are used by many citizens, including those who have preexisting conditions, disabilities, and chronic illnesses; disabled veterans; the elderly; employees of small businesses; and those in dangerous professions such as firefighting and coal mining; and

WHEREAS, Restricting and singling out these types of plans is a violation of an individual’s right to determine the health care decisions that are best for the individual and the individual’s family and is in conflict with current state policies; and

WHEREAS, Under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Colorado reserves the right not to be subjected to or required to participate in new proposed federal health legislation; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

That we, the citizens of the State of Colorado and the members of the Colorado General Assembly, hereby:

(1) Affirm Colorado’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not granted to the federal government and not prohibited to the states;
(2) Demand that the federal government, as Colorado’s agent, cease and desist immediately all actions that are beyond the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally delegated powers;
(3) Reserve the opportunity and ability of the State of Colorado and its citizens, under the state’s and the people’s Tenth Amendment rights, to opt out of any obligations due or participation required in any new federal health care legislation; and
(4) Further reserve the right to approve or reject the State of Colorado’s participation in any federal health care plan or program, either by a vote of the people or by vote of the members of the Colorado General Assembly.

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor Bill Ritter, President Barack Obama, United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the members of Colorado’s Congressional Delegation.

Tags: Colorado Sovereignty, Health Care Freedom, hjr10-1009