South Carolina Free From Obamacare?

If the president can exempt himself from his own atrocious law, why can’t the state of South Carolina do the same for its citizens? Well, it certainly appears that the Palmetto State is going to actually try to become the first state to pass a law that would free its citizens and businesses from the Affordable Care Act.

According to Cain.tv:

The bill is H3101 – “The South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act.”  It passed the State House of Representatives back in May, but it failed to make it through the Senate before the body adjourned in June. Democrats rejoiced, but the celebration was premature.  It remained on the Senate calendar, and has been fast-tracked for consideration when lawmakers reconvene for the next regular session in January. 

The main segment of the bill says that “No agency of the State, officer or employee of this State, acting on behalf of the state, may engage in an activity that aids any agency in the enforcement of those provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and any subsequent federal act that amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 that exceed the authority of the United States Constitution.

State Senator Tom Davis (the Bill’s sponsor) recently told the Daily Caller:

Republicans are relying on the 10th Amendment and a Supreme Court ruling to make the new law stick…What the Supreme Court said in Printz v. United States is that states are not merely political subdivisions of the federal government to carry out what the federal government does. They are sovereign entities. Congress can pass laws, but it cannot compel the states to utilize either their treasury or personnel to implement those federal laws….The proposed legislation renders the Affordable Care Act void or inoperable through a handful of provisions.

And again from the Daily Caller:

Additional provisions of H3101 further neuter the Affordable Care Act by outlawing state exchanges, issuing tax deductions to individuals equal to the tax penalties levied by the federal government, and directing the state attorney general to sue over whimsical enforcement of the law. Taken together, the provisions effectively repeal the federal law for the people of South Carolina.

Many expect that the bill will pass and be signed quickly by Governor Nikki Haley.  However, don’t expect the Obama administration to let South Carolina free from the president’s signature law without a fight. This is the same administration that sued states over immigration and voter ID laws.

Yet, if South Carolina Republicans can pull it off and pass this bill into law, the Palmetto State may very well be the model for the other 49 states to follow.