In what likely will be a fierce partisan battle, Floridians next year will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that targets President Obama’s signature health-care law.
The House on Wednesday approved a ballot measure aimed at allowing Florida residents to opt out of the most controversial part of the law — a requirement starting in 2014 that Americans buy health insurance, which has become known as the “individual mandate.”
The 80-37 vote on SJR 2 followed almost straight party lines, with only Greenville Democrat Leonard Bembry joining Republicans in support.
The Senate also overwhelmingly approved the measure in March.
House debate echoed the national partisanship that has surrounded the law, which Republicans deride as “Obamacare.”
Critics say the law is an abuse of federal power, in large part because of the requirement that people buy insurance.
Meanwhile, Democrats defended the health law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and said many uninsured people have to go to hospital emergency rooms for care. They said hospitals pass on those cost to people who buy health insurance.
Democrats have long argued that the proposed constitutional amendment would not ensure Floridians can opt out of the individual mandate. That is because the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution generally leads to federal laws trumping state laws when conflicts arise.
