Bill SB709 Provides A Backdoor To Implement Parts Of ObamaCare

Senator Missy Irvin,  District 18, was at the Stone County Republican meeting on July 10 to discuss ObamaCare, the Supreme Court decision and Arkansas Senate Bill  SB 709. Missy Irvin stated that she wrote SB709 but that is NOT TRUE. The bill was a  model piece of legislation provided by the  American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This was confirmed with ALEC and some of the members of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that Missy is a member of.   

ALEC is not our friend. ALEC  writes model legislation for all states to improve corporations’ bottom line. 

Some of the other groups that writes model legislation for the states are The Council of State Governments (CSG) and National Conference of State Legislatures. These two groups are not our friends either. These two groups are part of what is called “Metro 1313″.

SB 709 is a bad piece of legislation.  SB709 still allows ObamaCare into Arkansas via the backdoor and that is not what the people of Arkansas want.  The people of Arkansas want no part of ObamaCare  and our legislators do not  understand this. There are ways to get rid of ALL of ObamaCare and not just part of it.         

SB709 provides a backdoor to implement parts of  ObamaCare. 

The backdoor to ObamaCare is highlighted in  RED in SB709 below.  The part to look at in SB709  comes after UNLESS

The Federal government has over stepped their bounds with ObamaCare and the states are under no obligation to enforce it. Congress’  powers are limited and are defined in the US Constitution in Article 1 Section 8. 

A copy of the US Constitution can be found at http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html    I have attached   Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution below.

US Constitution Article 1 Section. 8.

Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;

Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;–And

Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Now that you know what the powers of Congress are, you  have to ask yourself why aren’t  the state legislators  standing on  state sovereignty and saying NO to the federal government. Both parties have sold out and it is up the people to take their country back.

==================================================Senate Bill SB709 Below ==================================================

SB709 Died in Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. There are 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans on the committee. It takes 5 votes to get the bill out of committee. This bill will be reintroduced.

Source: SB709   http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2011/2011R/Bills/SB709.pdf

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.

State of Arkansas 

88th General Assembly                               A Bill

Regular Session, 2011                                                                                           SENATE BILL 709

By: Senators Irvin, Bledsoe, G. Baker, Rapert, Files, J. Hutchinson, M. Lamoureux, E. Williams, Holland, J. Dismang, J. Key, B. Sample, Whitaker, Hendren, B. Pritchard By: Representatives J. Burris, Baird, Benedict, Biviano, Clemmer, Dale, Deffenbaugh, English, Eubanks, Garner, Hammer, Harris, Hickerson, Hobbs, Hopper, Hubbard, D. Hutchinson, Johnston, Lea, Mauch, D. Meeks, S. Meeks, Rice, Sanders

For An Act To Be Entitled

AN ACT TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE REFORM ACCOUNTABILITY ACT; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Subtitle

AN ACT TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE REFORM ACCOUNTABILITY ACT AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 25, Chapter 1 is amended to add an additional subchapter to read as follows:

Subchapter 4 — The Healthcare Reform Accountability Act

25-1-401. Title.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Healthcare Reform Accountability Act”.

25-1-402. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

                (1) State officers are not agents of the federal government;

                (2) The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the states to address particular problems nor command the states’ officers or those of their political subdivisions to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program;

                (3) Congressional mandates to the states to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty;

                (4) The holdings of the United States Supreme Court cited in this section, from Printz v. United States, 521 US 898 – 1997, underlie the American system of dual sovereignty; and

                (5) The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the federal government may not commandeer the political authority of the states in order to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program.

25-1-403. Requirements for state agency enforcement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

                (a) A department or agency of this state shall not implement or enforce any part of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, unless:

                                (1) The department or agency reports to the legislature under subsection (b) of this section; and

                                (2) The department or agency is specifically authorized under existing state legislation, state rules, or some combination of the two (2) to implement or enforce the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148.

                (b) The reports required under subsection (a) of this section shall include without limitation:

                                (1)(A) The specific Arkansas authorization under existing state legislation, state rules, or some combination of the two (2) to implement and enforce the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148; and

                                                (B) The specific provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, that is to be implemented or enforced; 

                                (2) Whether the provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148 to be implemented and enforced allows for a state waiver or any other alternatives to the federal provision;

                                (3) An explanation of the nature of the duty or duties created by that provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2                Pub. L. No. 111-148 and an explanation of how that duty or duties will be               implemented;

                                (4) An estimate of the number of the inhabitants of the state who will be directly affected;

                                (5) The cost to the state or citizens of the state to implement and sustain the federal reform provision; and

                                (6) The consequences to the state, if it does not implement orenforce that federal reform provision

        (c) The reports required under subsection (a) of this section shall be                accessible, at a minimum, through the Arkansas state government website.                

SECTION 2. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the

General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that Congress has enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148; that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148 requires state agencies to perform acts that should be noticed to the people of this state; and that this act is immediately necessary because state agencies have already begun to perform acts that would be required to be posted on a  website under this act. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective on: 

                                (1) The date of its approval by the Governor;

                                (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the  bill; or  

                                (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.