Rejecting Nullification: Idaho Draws the Constitutional Line

Matthew Spalding / March 02, 2011

The recent effort to revive nullification may have just met its high water mark.

In the last 6 months, various laws with the objective of “nullifying” Obamacare have been introduced in thirteen states: Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. To date, the farthest along had been Idaho, where a nullification bill declaring Obamacare “void and of no effect” and stopping its enforcement had passed the House and the governor was itching to sign it in to law.  But in a victory for common sense and constitutional government, the legislation has been defeated in the Idaho Senate’s State Affairs Committee.

“I find no constitutional justification for the things that we are talking about here today,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill.  “I commend you for your goals, for the passion with which you pursue those.  I cannot pursue them in the manner that some of you are prescribing.” (more…)