Republicans in West Virginia’s House of Delegates are pushing legislation that would make it a crime to enforce Obamacare in the state, according to The Charleston Gazette.
The bill makes it a felony for federal employees to enforce Obamacare, and state workers would be charged with a misdemeanor, for attempting to implement federal regulations through Obamacare. The bill also declares Obamacare “invalid” in the state, according to the Gazette.
The proposal was taken up by the House Health and Human Resources Committee on Tuesday. However, a lawyer for the committee admitted that it might be unconstitutional to actually prosecute federal or state workers over administering Obamcare. It could also put health insurance for thousands of West Virginians who benefit from the law into jeopardy.
Six Republicans in the House are cosponsoring the bill: Larry Faircloth, Kayla Kessinger, Michael Ihle, Pat McGeehan, Michael Moffat, and Josh Nelson. Most of those are aligned with the Tea Party wing of the West Virginia GOP.
As TPM has previously reported, now-Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) once said she supporting arresting federal officials for trying to enforce Obamacare.
(Pictured: The West Virginia House of Delegates)
