House Bill 428 filled by Rep. Blaine Galliher and co-sponsored by myself and Rep. Mike Hill will place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November of this year to allow the citizens of Alabama to determine whether our state should be under the fe
| This week in the legislature will set the stage for a much larger debate ahead. During every session at least one issue seems to come out of nowhere that no one was expecting. It looks as though the national health care legislation recently passed by Congress will in fact be that issue here in Alabama. House Bill 428 filled by Rep. Blaine Galliher and co-sponsored by myself and Rep. Mike Hill will place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November of this year to allow the citizens of Alabama to determine whether our state should be under the federal health care overhaul. Many states around the country are already involved in doing the exact same thing. The argument being that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution does not give Congress the authority to mandate the purchase of personal health insurance. In all of this debate the entire purpose of the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution has been lost. Most federal actions in the modern era have been carried out under the notion that Congress has the authority to pass these laws because somehow they affect commerce to the detriment of the 10th Amendment. Many of these laws have been rejected by the courts and it is the hope of many state legislatures around the country that our efforts will lead to the same result. Also, the financial burden that this legislation will place on our state government will be enormous. With federal laws already requiring a certain level of state funding for Medicaid, this additional mandate will in fact run this unfunded mandate even higher. This will be an interesting fight to see whether or not legislative committee chairmen in the House and Senate allow this issue to be brought up for a vote. I hope that they do.
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Paid for by Committee to Elect Cam Ward, Post OfficeBox 1749, Alabaster, Al. 35007
Categories: health care bill, Cam Ward, House Bill 428
Tags: health care bill House Bill 428 Cam Ward
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