Oklahoma City -
With the 2012 Oklahoma legislature in session, many lawmakers are picking up where they left off last year -- and that includes State Rep. Mike Ritze, who wants to effectively nullify ObamaCare in the state.
The Broken Arrow Republican behind House Bill 1276 said Monday that he will continue to seek its passage.
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
which is better known as ObamaCare, is unconstitutional we need to stand up for
the rights of Oklahoma citizens," said Ritze. "Oklahomans expect nothing less."
According to Ritze's office, he is one of only two doctors serving in the Oklahoma Legislature.
House Bill 1276 notes that the Tenth Amendment
of the United States Constitution defines the total scope of federal powers
"as being those which have been delegated by the people of the several
states to the federal government, and all powers not delegated to the federal
government in the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people themselves."
The bill then notes that the assumption of federal power
made with passage of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act" and "Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of
2010" is "nowhere expressly granted by the United States
Constitution and interferes with the right of the people of the State of
Oklahoma to regulate health care as they see fit."
House Bill 1276 passed out of committee last year and now awaits
consideration by the full House.
