Ohio Liberty Council to Force Statewide Vote on Health Care Mandates
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Liberty Council, a statewide coalition of over 25 grassroots groups, today submitted a proposed state constitutional amendment that will “preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage.” The amendment, drafted by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, would protect Ohioans from the financial burdens and individual mandates contained in the new federal health care measure passed by Congress. The group filed constitutional amendment summary language and nearly 3,000 signatures from registered voters in 48 counties with the Ohio Secretary of State and Attorney General.
The amendment language is available here.
Twenty-six state legislatures have introduced bills to propose constitutional amendments to block the individual mandates contained in the new federal regulations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Today’s filing by the Ohio Liberty Council is the nation’s first citizen-initiated action.
“The Ohio Liberty Council seeks to preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage,” said Ohio Liberty Council President Chris Littleton. “With the passage of untenable national mandates on health insurance, the federal government is trampling on the direct constitutional authority and responsibility of state legislatures. This constitutional amendment will do what our leaders in the Statehouse and Congress have failed to do – protect Ohioans from federal mandates on personal behavior.”
“The health care reform bill’s requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage essentially asserts that if you are alive, you must buy health insurance that is acceptable to the federal government. However, the mere act of being alive is not commerce that can be regulated by the federal government,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “Accordingly, the legislation is constitutionally tenuous, and will take a backseat to our constitutional amendment, which upon enactment, will be a fundamental right amongst all Ohioans.”
The amendment provides that:
- In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system;
- In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance; and
- In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.
The amendment does not:
- Affect laws or rules in effect as of March 19, 2010
- Affect which services a health care provider or hospital is required to perform or provide
- Affect terms and conditions of government employment; and
- Affect any laws calculated to deter fraud or punish wrongdoing in the health care industry.
Member groups of the Ohio Liberty Council gathered thousands of signatures in just 48 hours, delivering them to Columbus on Sunday evening. Over 25 groups covering a majority of Ohio counties participated in the signature gathering effort and will now prepare for the next phase of signature gathering.
Once the summary language is approved by the Attorney General and the signatures are verified by the Secretary of State, the Ohio Liberty Council can begin collecting the 402,275 signatures necessary to place the amendment on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. By law, the Attorney General and Secretary of State have 10 business days to complete their respective processes.
The Ohio Liberty Council is a statewide coalition of non-partisan grass roots groups in Ohio including Central Ohio 9/12 Project, Cincinnati Tea Party, Young Americans for Liberty, Dayton Tea Party, Ohio Freedom Alliance and many more grass roots organizations. By working together, the member groups of the Ohio Liberty Council seek to achieve real results to protect and promote liberty in Ohio.
The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is non-profit, non-partisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse. The 1851 Center litigates constitutional issues related to property rights, voting rights, regulation, taxation, and search and seizures.
22. March 2010 at 4:38 pm
WOSU: Ohio Tea Party Groups Propose Way for State to Opt Out of Federal Healthcare Reform
article and audio
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1626869/WOSU.News/Ohio.Tea.Party.Groups.Propose.Way.for.State.to.Opt.Out.of.Federal.Healthcare.Reform
22. March 2010 at 6:49 pm
Just wanted to add, Maurice Thompson says in this audio that crim of not buying health insurance will be a ‘felony’?
23. March 2010 at 9:07 pm
i think finally were talking and aurging …over something more then war in another country …finally some real belive in are own country
22. March 2010 at 5:28 pm
Where can I sign the petition?
22. March 2010 at 5:35 pm
The petitions have already been submitted to the Ohio Attorney General today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohiolibertycouncil/sets/72157623549135753/
22. March 2010 at 5:37 pm
You can go to http://www.TheOhioProject.com to sign up for the next set of petitions and to help with circulating petitions when we do the petition drive for getting it on the Nov. ballot.
22. March 2010 at 5:35 pm
I have been waiting for change all this time and you alarmist fear-mongers are trying to actually convince the poor and middle classes that this is not in their best interest? Cmon, sour grapes wealthy elitists, stop hijacking this country and let the poor actually receive the same care everyone else gets. I have experienced the same unified govt health care the rest of the world gets, its far better than our current system and you’ll realize that too about 18-24 months from now!
22. March 2010 at 7:21 pm
’sour grapes wealthy elitists’ … Uh, what is it about freedom you don’t understand? It does not mean free things! My husband would retire tomorrow if we could afford health insurance yet we are both fighting this tyrannical take over. We are middle class having always struggled to provide for our own and give where we can. This should be titled ‘health care DEFORM’ being no true reform about it, just ever increasing control over our lives. Government intervention is directly responsible for the health care mess we have now. True reform would mean gov. getting out of the way and let authentic free market work, not the perverted counterfeit we now have.
2. April 2010 at 4:17 pm
Bravo! When has our country ever turned down someone in an emergency room? It is not about health care, it is about the money they want from every hard working, dream filled, true American. Most of us just want them to leave us alone! Most of the problems in our country stem from Government. The mandates that they put on schools, the mismanagement of Housing, the postal service, the overspending, (a turtle crossing!!), I could go on and on!
Most true Americans understand that our family, and friends fought for Freedom and still do. Freedom to make choices, think of how that is changing. If you are not a true American, you do not understand how hard our families have all fought to keep this land free. Enabling others to come here and have dreams, and many are very successful because they were free to come here legally and start businesses. If we continue to loose all of our freedoms, where can anyone go to still have a dream? Why bother, if you work and give all your money away? Think about where the money will come from if hard working Americans no longer can invent and open new opportunities for the future of our country. We are not Europeon, our founders came here to get away from that type of government. All true Americans ancestors came here for a better life. They fought to make it the great land it is. I thank God every day for the opportunities and dreams we are allowed to have because we live in America!
31. March 2010 at 7:15 am
If this is a great system, how come federal employee’s, specifically the 545 members of congress, are excempt from this new health care system? Why do the supreme court judges not have to be a part of this?
23. March 2010 at 5:45 am
Alan, This isn’t about not wanting people to be able to afford healthcare. I for one agree that health insurances is way to expensive, no family should have to go bankrupt and the like. However, there are aspects in this bill that are far reaching and the language of the bill is ambigious at best. I sacrificed my own time to read through the legislation reading both good and bad. Do you like the aspect that sec.102 states that after day 1 of year 1 any new enrollement that is not a part of a grandfathered plan may only be offered the Health exchange program? how is that choice? If not for the current lawmakers for future lawmakers to decifer as they see fit. Additionally, as it is written private plans are always refered to as a “Qualified Healthcare Plan” determined by the administrator. However there is no definition anywhere in the legislation once again leaving it up to the interpretation of the administrator. With that type of language what happens to all of those who cannot get a private plan? that type of language leaves an open door to poor quality healthcare and limits on services. So while you may feel that those who appose this particular legislation are wrong, understand that we have the best medical system in the world. THe problem is not with the medical system in this country but the way insurance regulations change state to state these are two differant issues. The wording in this legislation is ambigious at best and penalizes anyone who has private insurance, businesses and the like. You may get health insurance however will you get quality care its questionable by reading what they have passed as the way it is written pretty much leaves it up to the administrator to decide. And yes just like private insurance there will be an advisory board who will decide what treatment is/is not appropriate so there is no guarentee you will get catastrophic coverage or care.
23. March 2010 at 10:57 am
It’s also time for all us small business owners to exercise our muscles and demonstrate our refusal to have the fruits of our labor forceably “redistributed”. We are the engine that makes the world a better place to live. It is our businesses that give others the opportunity to earn a living and live the life style they do. Maybe we should go on strike, stop doing business for a day or two, not pay employees for those days, and show the world we want the parasites removed.
23. March 2010 at 11:32 am
Way to go Ohio! Is anyone aware of any similar activity in Texas? If so, is there a website i can connect into?