COLUMBIA S.C.,
Dec. 11, 2014, The fight to nullify Obamacare in South Carolina continues with
a bill introduced in the state House by Rep. Bill Chumley earlier today.
Over the last
two years, Chumley, along with Sen. Tom Davis, led a bold effort to reject the
federal act in the state. Chumley’s 2013 bill, H.3101, and Davis’ amendment to
it, garnered national attention, but ultimately was not given a full vote in
the state legislature due to a parliamentary technicality.
But Chumley is
back for round two, and his new bill starts from a powerful position. Based on
the Davis amendment to H.3101, which had widespread support in the Senate,
it would be a significant blow to implementation of Obamacare in the
state. Some call it a “nullification in practice.”
Called the “ACA
Anti-Commandeering Act,” House Bill 3020 (H. 3020) addresses large areas of Obamacare and bans state
participation or enforcement.
The legislation
prohibits the state from implementing or participating in the “establishment of
a health insurance exchange,” or expanding Medicaid under the federal act. It
also prohibits the state from taking actions to “assist in the enrollment of
any person” in an exchange.
H.3020 also
specifically targets the individual and the employer mandates. It prohibits the
state from enforcing or even aiding in the enforcement of either section. This
includes an express prohibition on the use of any “assets, state funds or funds
authorized or allocated by the state to any public body… to engage in any
activity that aids in the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or
regulation intended to give effect to or facilitate the enforcement”
of these mandates, or “any other portion of the ACA.”
Judge Andrew
Napolitano has said that this action taken by a number of states would “gut
Obamacare.” James Madison, writing in Federalist #46, said that such a
“refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union” would create effective
roadblocks to stop implementation of federal acts.
“The federal
government can barely manage running a website,” said Mike Maharrey, national
communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center. “If South
Carolina withdraws all material support and resources from the
implementation of Obamacare, this will effectively pull the rug out from under
it in practice,” he continued.
Maharrey
noted that the South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) would be
banned from investigating or enforcing violations of federally mandated health
insurance requirements and said this will “prove particularly problematic for
the federal government.”
Insurance
commissioners serve as the enforcement arm for insurance regulation in the
states. The federal government has no enforcement arm. It assumed the state
insurance commissioners would enforce all of the provisions of the ACA. So,
when people have issues with their mandated coverage, they will have to call
the feds. At this point, it remains unclear who they will even call should the
SCDOI be prohibited from carrying out this essential task. Issues SCDOI
would not address include prohibiting a denial of insurance for preexisting
conditions, requiring dependent coverage for children up to age 26, and
proscribing lifetime or yearly dollar limits on coverage of essential health
benefits.
“Disputes over
these mandates arise under federal, not state law,” said
Georgia State Rep. Jason Spencer, who sponsored a bill to take this step in
2013. “The federal Department of Health and Human Services can be expected to
seek to commandeer the machinery of Georgia’s commissioner of insurance to
enforce them or to investigate alleged violations because at present there is
no federal health insurance agency and Congress is not likely to create one
given the substantial opposition to Obamacare. Under HB707, the feds won’t be
able to do that. They’ll have to figure out how to do it themselves.”
Maharrey also
noted that the South Carolina state and local employees would be banned from
recording IRS tax liens that result from a failure to pay the Obamacare
“tax.” Federal tax liens in South Carolina are recorded
Additionally, tax liens from the IRS for failure to pay the mandate’s “tax” penalty are recorded
in South Carolina by a county register of deeds or clerk of court.
Passage of H.3020 would legally prevent South
Carolina localities from participating in this action, lessening the
effect of the mandate by allowing home owners, for example, to reduce the risk
of refusing to comply.
NEXT
UP
The legislative
session in South Carolina begins on Jan 13, 2015. H.3020 was referred to the
House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry where it will need to pass by a
majority vote before the full house has an opportunity to consider it.
ACTION
STEPS
In South
Carolina (other states below)
1.
Call your state representative. A
phone call has far more impact than an email, so call them. Strongly, but with
courtesy, let them know that you support H. 3020 and want them to co-sponsor
and support the bill as well. If they do not commit to that, ask them why. If
they don’t have an answer, let them know you’ll call back in a few days.
Then do it again and again until you get the answer you’re looking for –
a YES on H. 3020.
Contact info
here: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php
2.
Call the committee chair. Be
respectful – and ask him to give a prompt hearing and vote for H. 3020.
William E.
“Bill” Sandifer, III
(803) 734-3015
(803) 734-3015
3.
Call all the other committee members. Strongly,
but respectfully urge each of them to vote YES on H.3020. If they do not commit
to a YES, ask them why, and if they remain undecided let them know you’ll follow
up in a few days.
Committee
members here: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/committeeinfo/houselci.php
4.
Spread this information widely.
Send it to your friends, local and state grassroots groups, and
everywhere possible to get the word out.
All
other states – ask your state rep and senator to
introduce a bill similar to the one being considered in South Carolina.
Contact info here: http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
Source:
http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2014/12/nullification-in-practice-new-south-carolina-bill-would-gut-obamacare-in-the-state/
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