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Georgia Healthcare Freedom Act (2010)
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
Georgia Health Care Freedom Act did not appear on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, also known as SB 317 called for prohibiting laws from compelling any person to participate in any health care system.
Background
A similar measure, known as SR 794 and HR 1107, was a proposed constitutional amendment that called for "no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system." However, those measures were defeated by the Senate.[1] HR 1086, a proposed constitutional amendment from Rep. Calvin Hill sought to bar the federal government from requiring individuals to buy private health insurance and forcing businesses to pay fines if their workers don’t have coverage, however, the measure did not garner the required two-thirds majority to qualify for the ballot.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: How the Georgia Constitution is amended
In order to move the proposed constitutional amendment to the 2010 ballot the measure required two-thirds approval in both the House and Senate. On March 17, 2010 the Senate rejected the proposed measure - Senate Resolution 794 - with a vote of 34 to 19.[3] Although the House voted 111-61 in favor of HR 1086, it did not meet the two-thirds requirement to qualify the amendment for the ballot.[2] Senate Bill 317, however, which does not propose amending the constitution, was approved by the Senate.[4] The amendment was defeated in the House on March 22, 2010. However, two days later on March 24, the House voted 110 to 58 to reconsider the vote.[5][6]
Sponsors
Sponsors of SB 317 include: Senators Judson Hill, David Shafer, Chip Rogers, Tommie Williams, Jack Hill and Chip Pearson.
Similar measures in other states
Groups in Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota and New Mexico are considering a similar proposal. Two of these states (North Dakota and Wyoming) allow ballot initiatives; in the other three states, the state legislature would have to vote it onto the ballot using their state's procedure for constitutional amendments.[7]
See also
Articles
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Examiner, "Georgia Tea Party endorses constitutional amendment to bar federal mandates," February 8, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Effort falls short in House to block health care overhaul in Ga.," March 22, 2010
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Senate Dems block proposed constitutional amendment to opt out of federal health care," March 17, 2010
- ↑ WCTV, "Georgia Republicans Send Anti-Health Care Message," March 18, 2010
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "House reconsiders its vote on health care controversy," March 24, 2010
- ↑ GPB News, "Amendment on Health Care Fails in House," March 22, 2010
- ↑ Fox News, "State Lawmakers Considering Move to Opt Out of Federal Health Care," June 25, 2009 (dead link)
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