Health Care Freedom Amendment

November 8, 2011: Election Day Victory for Issue 3    

August 12, 2011: Supreme Court Denies Effort to Take Issue 3 Off Ballot        

The Ohio Supreme Court this morning rejected a challenge to remove Issue 3, the Health Care Freedom Amendment, from the November ballot. The challenge was brought by ProgressOhio, a left-leaning think tank, who moved to invalidate thousands of signatures collected by petition circulators.       

The Court found, as Amendment’s proponents, through the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law had argued, that the challenger’s “legal claim lacks merit,” and “even if his challenge had substantive validity, Rothenberg’s evidence is insufficient to establish that the part-petitions do not have enough signatures.”       

Volunteer backers of the Health Care Freedom Amendment submitted over 546,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office last month. 426,998 signatures were verified, and of those, Progress Ohio attempted to challenge the validity of 62,000.       

The court unanimously ruled the challenge lacked merit and that ProgressOhio’s case did not show the signatures fell short of the 385,245 valid signatures that were required.       

“The Court’s decision is simply another repudiation of Ohio’s advocates of unlimited government, as well as their ongoing effort to use the courts to accomplish that which they fear they cannot accomplish in the light of day, through a free and open election,” said Maurice Thompson, Director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, which defended the proponents.  “Opponents of liberty, no doubt recognizing the importance of squashing a growing grass-roots revival in favor of limited government, decided to bring a case before they knew whether they had a case.  Ultimately, this frivolous politicized approach permeated their legal arguments and evidence.”       

See the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision on this issue here.      

August 3, 2011: Ballot Board Approves Ballot Language for Issue 3        

As of today, the following language has been approved for Issue 3 on the November 2011 ballot:       

Issue 3: Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Preserve the Freedom of Ohioans to Choose Their Health Care and Health Care Coverage       

Proposed by Initiative PetitionTo adopt Section 21 of Article I of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.        

 A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.The proposed amendment would provide that:       

1. In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system;
2. In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance; and
3. In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.

The proposed amendment would not:       

1. Affect laws or rules in effect as of March 19, 2010;
2. Affect which services a health care provider or hospital is required to perform or provide;
3. Affect terms and conditions of government employment; and
4. Affect any laws calculated to deter fraud or punish wrongdoing in the health care industry.

If approved, the amendment will be effective thirty days after election.       

Watch the entire recording of the Ballot Board meeting here       

Download the ballot language here

July 6, 2011: Signatures Submitted to Place Ohio Health Care Freedom Amendment on November Ballot       

Supporters today will deliver more than 546,000 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State to place the Ohio Health Care Freedom Amendment on the November ballot.   The amendment would add a 21st Section to Ohio’s Bill of Rights “to preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage.”       

“In Ohio, the initiative process has typically been controlled by special interests that have much to gain, at the expense of the rest of us.  This is our first significant effort to limit government,” said Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.  “This amendment, once enacted will not only protect Ohioans’ health care freedom from state and local government, but will also place Ohioans in the nation’s strongest position to challenge invasive elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This will be the only provision in the nation that explicitly creates a state constitutional right to health care freedom.”       

For the amendment to move forward, approximately 386,000 signatures must be declared valid.  Internal due diligence indicates that over 440,000 of the collected signatures (over 85 percent) are valid.  This is believed to be the most signatures collected by a volunteer-only organization in Ohio history for a constitutional amendment.       

The amendment provides as follows:       

• In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system;
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance; and
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.

“This amendment is a reminder of our view, and the founders’ view, that government exists to secure rights, rather than to take from some so as to provide benefits, amenities, and comfort to others,” added Thompson.       

The 1851 Center drafted and has represented the amendment’s efforts, including winning a successful challenge before the Ohio Supreme Court to former Secretary of State Brunner’s attempts to prohibit proponents from gathering the signatures needed to place the amendment on the ballot.  The Center has vowed to defend the amendment, at no cost to taxpayers, through Election Day and thereafter.        

February 13, 2011: Ohio Supreme Court Orders Ballot Board to Certify Amendment Language       

Columbus – The Ohio Supreme Court today unanimously ruled Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the Ohio Ballot Board abused their discretion and violated Ohio law in rejecting ballot language for the proposed Ohio Health Care Freedom Constitutional Amendment. The ruling is a significant victory for constitutional initiative rights, Ohio’s grass-roots liberty movement, and health care freedom in Ohio. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a non-profit constitutional rights advocacy firm, argued the case on behalf of amendment sponsors the Ohio Liberty Council.       

The court ordered Brunner and the Ohio Ballot Board to immediately certify the language and allow the petitioners to begin collecting signatures to qualify the issue for the November ballot. A copy of the court ruling is available here.       

“Today’s Supreme Court decision upheld the constitutionally-granted rights of citizens to petition their government even when the arbitrary and self-serving decisions of Secretary Brunner and the ballot board attempt to block them,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson, who also drafted the amendment. “Secretary Brunner and the ballot board tried to use their purely administrative powers to destroy a citizen-initiated amendment with which they disagreed. Thankfully, the court checked this abuse, and Ohioans will have the opportunity to put the preservation of their health care freedom to a vote.”       

In the decision, the justices wrote, “the ballot board abused its discretion and clearly disregarded R.C. 3505.62.” Further, the court upheld the special protections contained in the Ohio Constitution granting citizens the right to petition government.       

On April 9, the ballot board rejected the proposed Health Care Freedom Constitutional Amendment. It ordered the Ohio Liberty Council to resubmit the measure as two separate amendments. The ballot board’s ruling would have required the group to rewrite its constitutional amendment, and gather two sets of 402,276 signatures for two separate amendments by June 30. However, the 1851 Center argued the amendment addressed only one subject and should move forward as one constitutional amendment. The Supreme Court agreed.       

Further, the court wrote, “the ballot board has a clear legal duty to liberally construe the right of initiative, and as long as the citizen-initiated proposed amendment bears some reasonable relationship to a single general object or purpose, the board must certify its approval of the amendment as written without dividing it into multiple petitions.”       

The amendment provides that:       

• In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system;
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance; and
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.

April 14, 2010: 1851 Center Files Ohio Supreme Court Complaint Against Ballot Board        

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a non-profit constitutional rights advocacy firm, yesterday filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court seeking a remedy for improper actions taken by the Ohio Ballot Board. On Friday, the Ballot Board, chaired by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, rejected a proposed health care freedom constitutional amendment. It ruled the Ohio Liberty Council, the amendment’s sponsor, must resubmit the measure as two separate amendments. The ruling requires the group to rewrite its constitutional amendment, and gather two sets of 402,276 signatures for two separate amendments by June 30.       

In the writ of mandamus filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, the 1851 Center asserts the Ballot Board’s actions are arbitrary and run counter to the board’s own past precedent. The complaint contends the Ohio Liberty Council’s proposed Ohio Health Care Freedom Amendment addresses only one subject and should move forward as one constitutional amendment. Further, the Ballot Board’s ruling “effectively eviscerates the Ohio Liberty Council’s objective, and threatens to eviscerate access to the November, 2010 ballot,” the 1851 Center wrote in the complaint.       

“We ask the court to review and correct the Ohio Ballot Board’s improper decision,” said Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center. “Our complaint rightfully attacks the constitutional authority of this unelected body to use its duty power to perform purely administrative tasks to destroy proposed constitutional amendments with which it disagrees. It does not have the constitutional authority to interfere with the Initiative rights articulated in Section 1, Article II of the Ohio Constitution.”       

On March 22, the Ohio Liberty Council began the process of the placing a health care freedom constitutional amendment on the November 2010 ballot. The group filed petition summary language and nearly 3,000 signatures from registered voters in 48 counties with the Ohio Attorney General, who later approved the language as truthful and accurate.       

April 9, 2010: 1851 Center for Constitutional Law to File Action with Ohio Supreme Court        

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the Ohio Ballot Board today ruled a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at protecting Ohioans from forthcoming health care regulations should be split into two parts. As a result, the board rejected the proposed amendment and told its sponsor, the Ohio Liberty Council, to start over.       

The move places the Ohio Liberty Council in the untenable position of restarting the amendment language approval process and collecting two sets of 402,275 signatures by June 30. The group will ask the Ohio Supreme Court to block the Ballot Board’s action.       

“The Ohio Ballot Board got it wrong today,” said Warren Edstrom of the Ohio Liberty Council. “We will ask the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold our amendment language and correct this error.”       

Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, drafted the amendment language and represented the Ohio Liberty Council at today’s hearing. “The Ballot Board’s decision is contrary to the law and its past precedent,” said Thompson. “I am at a loss to find any logical reason for the board’s decision other than its own policy preferences. Board members cited concerns with the single subject rule regarding the amendment. However, if different parts of an amendment address a common purpose, the single subject rule is satisfied. And, this amendment’s common purpose is to allow Ohioans the right to choose their health care.”       

On March 22, the Ohio Liberty Council began the process of the placing a health care freedom constitutional amendment on the November 2010 ballot. The group filed petition summary language and nearly 3,000 signatures from registered voters in 48 counties with the Ohio Attorney General, who later approved the language as truthful and accurate.       

March 3, 2010: Ohio Liberty Council to Force Statewide Vote on Health Care Mandate        

The Ohio Liberty Council, a statewide coalition of over 25 grassroots groups, today submitted a proposed state constitutional amendment that will “preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage.” The group filed constitutional amendment summary language and nearly 3,000 signatures from registered voters in 48 counties with the Ohio Secretary of State and Attorney General.       

The amendment language is available here.       

Twenty-six state legislatures have introduced bills to propose constitutional amendments to block the individual mandates contained in the new federal regulations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Today’s filing by the Ohio Liberty Council is the nation’s first citizen-initiated action.       

“The Ohio Liberty Council seeks to preserve the freedom of Ohioans,” said Ohio Liberty Council President Chris Littleton. “This constitutional amendment will do what our leaders in the Statehouse and Congress have failed to do.”       

“The health care reform bill’s requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage essentially asserts that if you are alive, you must buy health insurance that is acceptable to the federal government. However, the mere act of being alive is not commerce that can be regulated by the federal government,” said 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson. “Accordingly, the legislation is constitutionally tenuous, and will take a backseat to our constitutional amendment, which upon enactment, will be a fundamental right amongst all Ohioans.”       

The amendment provides that:       

• In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system;
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance; and
• In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.

The amendment does not:       

• Affect laws or rules in effect as of March 19, 2010;
• Affect which services a health care provider or hospital is required to perform or provide;
• Affect terms and conditions of government employment; and
• Affect any laws calculated to deter fraud or punish wrongdoing in the health care industry.

Member groups of the Ohio Liberty Council gathered thousands of signatures in just 48 hours, delivering them to Columbus on Sunday evening. Over 25 groups covering a majority of Ohio counties participated in the signature gathering effort and will now prepare for the next phase of signature gathering.       

Once the summary language is approved by the Attorney General and the signatures are verified by the Secretary of State, the Ohio Liberty Council can begin collecting the 402,275 signatures necessary to place the amendment on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. By law, the Attorney General and Secretary of State have 10 business days to complete their respective processes.       

The Ohio Liberty Council is a statewide coalition of non-partisan grass roots groups in Ohio including Central Ohio 9/12 Project, Cincinnati Tea Party, Young Americans for Liberty, Dayton Tea Party, Ohio Freedom Alliance and many more grass roots organizations. By working together, the member groups of the Ohio Liberty Council seek to achieve real results to protect and promote liberty in Ohio.