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Kansas Liberty: 19 March 2010
Chairman's vote decided the fate of SCR 1626
Republicans on the left help defeat Health Care Freedom Amendment
Although the Health Care Freedom language failed to pass in the Senate Judiciary Committee again today on a tied vote, HCR 5032, which is identical to SCR 1626, will be debated on the House floor Monday.
The motion that failed today in committee would have converted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1626 from a constitutional amendment format to a statutory format in a new bill, with a resulting name change of "Health Care Freedom Act." According to some constitutional scholars, it wouldn't matter whether a challenge to the federal government by the state was based on a constitutional amendment or a state law — the result would be similar.
The House counterpart to SCR 1626 is House Concurrent Resolution 5032. Each of the measures seek to provide Kansas residents with the ability to choose which type of health care they want to receive — despite any federal health-care mandates that could become law.
The legislation would not preclude Kansans from being able to participate in any federal health-care proposal that could become law.
Legislation promoting the Health Care Freedom Amendment would need to be passed in both chambers with a two-thirds majority before the provision could be placed on the ballot for Kansans to vote on in 2010. If adopted, the Kansas Health Care Freedom Amendment would be added to the state constitution.
If the format is changed to statutory language instead, it would need to pass by a constitutional majority in each House to become law, a much lower hurdle.
SCR 1626, as a proposed constitutional amendment, failed to pass out of committee yesterday on a tied 4-4 vote. Prior to failing as a constitutional amendment Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, attempted to change the measure to a simple resolution that would only send a message to the federal government. Vratil's measure also failed. However, the Judiciary Chair Sen. Tim Owens, R-Overland Park, agreed to bring the measure up for debate again today.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, made a motion for the legislation to be changed to a statutory format because the proposed constitutional amendment had failed the day before. This motion would have created language in the bill that would have created a state law to protect Kansas citizen's freedom to provide for their health care, but it would not have given citizens an opportunity to vote for the measure on the ballot.
Pilcher-Cook is publisher of Kansas Liberty.
Pilcher-Cook’s motion failed on a 5-5 vote, as a bill needs at least a one vote advantage to be passed out of committee. Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, was absent.
Senators voting to pass the bill out of committee included:
Derek Schmidt, R-Independence; Julia Lynn, R-Olathe; Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson; Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee; Les Donovan, R-Wichita
Senators voting against the measure included:
Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer; Laura Kelly, D-Topeka; John Vratil, R-Leawood; Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita; and Tim Owens, R-Overland Park.
Yesterday the vote was also tied, with a count of 4-4. Schodorf and Donovan were absent from yesterday’s vote and Owens did not vote.
Legislators who serve as chair of a committee traditionally do not vote while in committee unless they need to break a tie. Owens’ actions were unusual as he not only abstained from voting to break the tie in Thursday’s meeting, but he then voted to defeat the measure in today’s meeting.
Without Owens’ vote today, the measure would have passed.
Owens did not return Kansas Liberty’s request for comment.
In a statement to Kansas residents who have asked Umbarger why he voted against the Health Care Freedom Amendment, Umbarger somewhat dodged the question. In his response, the Republican from Thayer said that he did not support the motion to place SCR 1626 into a gutted House bill because “it would have put this language into state statutory law, which would have not given the people of Kansas the right to vote on the resolution.”
However, yesterday Umbarger actually voted in favor of Vratil's motion that would have changed the language of the bill so that it could only be used as a statement, and would not contain the ability for Kansas voters to decide whether to amend the state’s constitution. Afterwards, Umbarger voted against passing out SCR 1626 as a constitutional amendment, which would have given Kansas voters "the right to vote" for the amendment to the state constitution.
Today, Umbarger voted against converting SCR 1626 to statutory language.
Greg Ward, co-founder of the Kansas 9.12 Project and founder of the Kansas Sovereignty Coalition, was disappointed in the outcome, but said he was especially concerned about the actions of the Republican members who voted against the measure.
“I am amazed at the number of Republicans working to limit the liberties we have instead of limiting the overreaching government on both the federal and state level that seeks more and more control of our lives,” Ward told Kansas Liberty.
The Kansas Sovereignty Coalition and the Kansas 9.12 project have worked to increase awareness of legislative attempts to free Kansans from being forced to comply with federal regulations. These organizations, in addition to other local groups such as Political Chips, are planning to rally at the Statehouse next Monday when the House debates House Concurrent Resolution 5032. This measure is identical to SCR 1626.
This legislation is also designed so that it can be used to protect Kansans from having to comply with federal mandates that could become law, such as the requirement to force every United States resident to purchase health insurance. During committee hearings on these bills, law professors explained how mandating health insurance coverage would be unconstitutional. Click here to see a video of Kris Kobach, professor of constitutional law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, explain the constitutional implications of the Democrats’ pending health-care proposals and how the Health Care Freedom Amendment could affect these proposals
(http://kansas912project.ning.com/video/kris-kobach-on-the-health-care).
HCR 5032 passed out of the House Health and Human Services Committee in March with a 12-9 vote. The House vote fell largely along party lines.
Resources:
Health Care Freedom Amendment web page
Senate Concurrent Resolution 1626
House Concurrent Resolution 5032
Kansas 9.12 Project
Kansas Sovereignty Coalition
Previously on Kansas Liberty:
Debate-who decides supremacy of Health Care Freedom Amendment?
Health care freedom jumps hurdle in Senate
Judiciary could still pass Health Care Freedom bill
Urgent: Still Another Chance
The House bill HCR 5032 was defeated today by a vote of 75-46, but there is a motion to reconsider, which will only require a simple majority of 63 votes. If enough of us call/email and make our voice heard, we could make a difference.
Here is a list of today's vote record, including who voted NO so you can focus on them: http://tinyurl.com/yllakyh
If you want to focus on your particular representative, here is where to find them (don't use the map, just enter your street halfway down the page): http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/vote/
Here is the House bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/bill/2010/2010_5032.pdf
Here is the senate bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/bill/2010/2010_1626.pdf
Keep up to date on this issue on PoliticalChips: http://www.politicalchips.org/profiles/blog/show?id=4095899%3ABlog
PLEASE PASS THIS ON!
City in Kansas pushes law believed to violate religious liberties
Brownback initiative cheers left-wing groups
When you get tired of playing their game, try enforcing the law.
When you get tired of playing their illegal, crooked, socialistic, communistic, anti-American game, let me know.
When they know they can see jail time for stealing, corruption and destruction of the United States and Kansas economy for their own personal gain, watch how things straighten up.
Where's all the Federal social socurity money that should have been earning interest on interest. Gone, let with IOU's on IOU's. This is call stealing or when it's a "white collar crime, embezzelment.
There are 32 states that are passing legislation to file suit against the people voting for healthcare. Three have already passed it.
The smart states are jumping ship before the illegal activities of so called U.S. Representatives backrupt their states. Those that are already bankrupt have no choice but to continue and go communist.
This is a war folks for the survival of the now bankrupted U.S. that has been going on for 70 years and wake up, we have lost. We have to fall back to a defendable position and hold our ground within our state.
The states that grab a chair before the music stops are the ones that will survive. They are all sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States but have for years been giving away what they don't have, they must steal to get elected. How's it working for the ones doing the right thing, doing the work?
Quotes from Kansas representatives:
The things in the budget aren't things we just dream up, everything that is in the budget is something someone wants".
Dah. Now what is your job?
"Look at the population of the United States and look at the population of China, of India. There is no way we can compete with their population. We need more people".
You have to be kidding. Who elected this guy?
"I really don't see any problems. Everytime I go past Wal-Mart, the parking lot is full".
The Wal-Mart indicator. I'm sure it sounded brillant to him when he said it to me. It made me sick.
Quote from the article:
“I am amazed at the number of Republicans working to limit the liberties we have instead of limiting the overreaching government on both the federal and state level that seeks more and more control of our lives,” Ward told Kansas Liberty.
Gee, big surprise, socialist "Republicans". Just communists that aren't in a hurry.
They are not going to enforce the law, in fact they are so far gone they don't even know what their job is. Maybe an indictment and a few years to think about it would encourage the next representatives to know what their job is.
Thank you.
DRSANGLE