ESPC blog follows effort to declare Affordable Care Act illegal

Equality State Policy Center president Dan Neal details the passionate debate over HB 35, which would make it illegal to enforce the Affordable Care Act in Wyoming, punishable by a $5,000 fine and felony conviction. This blog post also provides an overview of bills aimed at campaign finance and county elections.

EXCERPT:

The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee worked hard – and late – on a nullification act that challenges the Affordable Care Act. It is sponsored by Rep. Bob Brechtel R-HD38, Casper) and a dozen other legislators, at least a few of them itching to prove their anti-federalism credentials.

House Bill 35 – Health care choice and protection act proclaims the ACA unconstitutional and thus null and void in Wyoming. As drafted, the bill imposed a $5,000 fine and a felony conviction on any state employee, official, or public servant found to be enforcing the ACA.

But the sponsors ran into a storm of criticism from a wide variety of interest groups. Wyoming Public Employees Association lobbyist Bob Kuchera expressed worries that the bill puts state employees at risk of committing a felony if they simply went about their work of implementing the new federal law.