http://sovereign.ohiofreedom.com/wordpress/?page_id=743

Ohio State Senators Tim Grendell and Shannon Jones have introduced SJR-7, a State Constitutional Amendment “to prohibit a law or rule from compelling a person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system.” If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this proposal at a special election held February 2, 2010, Section 43 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio shall take effect immediately.

SJR-7 would deny the ability of any new law to impose demands, restrictions or penalties on health care choices on Ohioans. Versions of proposed federal health care reform legislation have included insurance coverage mandates, and certain penalties on employers who fail to provide employee health insurance.

SJR-7 states, in part:

(1) A law or rule shall not compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system

(2) A person or employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for paying directly for lawful health care services. A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for accepting direct payment from a person or employer for lawful health care services.

Some say that a federal program would raise serious constitutional concerns. They cite the Tenth Amendment as limiting the Federal Government to those powers delegated to it by the People in the Constitution.

A bit on nullification from our friends at TenthAmendmentCenter.com:

Nullification

When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective,’ within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as the state is concerned.

Nullification has a long and interesting history in American politics, and originates in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. These resolutions, secretly authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, asserted that the people of the states, as sovereign entities, could judge for themselves whether the federal government had overstepped its constitutional bounds – to the point of ignoring federal laws.

Virginia and Kentucky passed the resolutions in response to the federal Alien and Sedition Acts, which provided, in part, for the prosecution of anyone who criticized Congress or the President of the United States.

Nullification was regularly called upon by states all over the country in response to everything from higher taxes to the fugitive slave law of 1850.

the states should be nullifying a lot of fed laws

if it passes that will be bad for Ohio, the feds will take away state funding for any programs needed by the state.

Actually, it will be very good for Ohio because they will be free to implement whatever programs they want and pay for it themselves. (They won't be bled dry by paying for others and they won't be stuck with onerous federal dictats that bleed them of money and resources like Obama's Fascistcare. As you can see in the article, nullification doctrine has been around for a LONG time, and it should be used more often!) I will move there ASAP if they pass the nullification and no other state I goes the nullification route.

QFT!!!

ok whatever you say..... koolaid anyone?

Koolaid? I don't even belong to a party, so you'll be drinking that alone, I'm afraid! I only see the Obamabots and neocons drinking koolaid around this website.

Every side has their koolaid.. the followers of followers... believe what you want and follow who you want, because in the end this will hurt Ohio and the people living there, I'm no fan of Obama, or the health reform but it's not that part that will hurt Ohio, it's the cutting of all federal funds to the state.. bye bye medicaid/ medicare in Ohio.

I don't see how being emancipated from federal dictats could possibly hurt Ohioans (independence has always helped people in the past. Out here in the west, for example, we saw explosive growth in real estate and business before the Feds started leeching off us). "Federal funding" is just a nice way of saying "welfare". It benefits some people (mostly the rich folks with connections in the government and the middle class booboisie) at the expense of the general population. No dignified person could be happy living like this.

I feel sorry for you if you have so little self respect that you'd rather suckle the teat of the federal government than earn your own living.

whatever .... good luck to you in Ohio...

As a tax payer of Ohio I can only say we have a couple fringe right wing loonies of our own. Most of the right wing was tossed out of office last election but we have a couple left still running interference for the insurance companies.

Well good luck to you and your fellow Ohioans...

the guy who wrote this law is moron . states can not write laws that over ride federal law ... SORRY ... READ A BOOK

Ummm...nullification has been around since practically the beginning of America. Perhaps you should read a book?

dream on . federal laws over rides state laws .. put down your comic books ..

Still no real news here in Ohio about this topic. As an ohio tax payer I have no idea what this post is about.

You must be thinking of some specific instances where this doctrine has been used. As a general Constitutional rule, States are sovereign. For example, some states do not prohibit marijuana, same-sex marriage, etc. Also check out the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, which render inoperative in each state the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts passed by anti–French Revolution Federalists.

Put down YOUR comic books and pick up a couple civics books.

I think it's GREAT.

I wish them the best. Hopefully it does pass and set a trend for the rest of the Country.