For all those in Wisconsin who are incensed, as am I, that healthcare was passed by the Congress, here is the next step, or at least one of them. Wisconsin Attorney General Van Hollen has examined the legislation, determined that it violates the Constitution and is asking for the authorization to join other states in challenging the legislation.
In order for this to happen, Mr. Van Hollen requires authorization from either the governor (fat chance), the State Assembly (again, not likely) or the state Senate. Mr. Leibham and others have joined in crafting a resolution to give Mr. Van Hollen that authorization from the Senate.
The legislation is LRB−4576 and it will be coming before Senator Decker (R-Weston) the Senate majority leader within the next few days. The authority to bring this resolution up for a vote rests in his hands. I would suggest that we all contact Mr. Decker at Sen.Decker@legis.wisconsin.gov to share a wish that the Senate authorize Mr. Van Hollen to pursue a challenge this legislation legally along with the Attorneys General of several other states.
"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? "~ Matthew 24:45
Showing posts with label Senator Liebham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senator Liebham. Show all posts
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Breakfast with Sen. Liebham -part 2 To coerce people out of their cars.
Update #2: 6/24/09 - The joint and several liability provision has been dropped by both the Senate and the assembly, but the budget still contains a proposal to allow stacking of insurance policies and to require increased coverage minimums. The senate has added a proposal requiring drivers in WI to purchase auto liability insurance.
Update: The proposed liability for being held 100% financially liable for all damages in an accident has been reset to 20 % instead of 1%. I still find this to be entirely unacceptable. The results will be the same.
Two of the non-fiscal items in Gov. Doyle's budget should be of concern to every WI citizen who drives a vehicle.
The first one is the raising of mandatory levels of insurance coverage. The state cannot raise your auto insurance premiums, but they can (and have) determine what a reasonable level of insurance coverage is to allow an individual to legally drive on our roads. The proposed change would raise your insurance (if you currently have the minimum coverage) by about 40%. Picture that, 40%, that's going to be about $300 for most people.
First of all, I would like to remind Mr. Doyle that not everybody in WI lives in a metropolitan area where there is public transportation available. This will relegate those folks on fixed incomes in places like Presque Isle or Siren or any number of rural communities to walking or riding bicycles, if they want to be continue to be law abiding citizens. This is Wisconsin. Walking and bicycles are not options for the entire year here. (Especially in Presque Isle or Siren-or really, any place in WI) One hopes those folks have enough land to support a good horse.(No buggies though, because they would require insurance.)
One assumes this will lead to a call for the good taxpayers of our lovely state to provide affordable public transportation for those in rural communities through yet more taxes.
One assumes this will also lead to an increase in the number of people driving without insurance which will cause another hike in that insurance cost.
Unfortunately that 40% increase in your insurance premiums is only the tip of the iceberg. The second item I want to cover in this post has the potential to more than double that or worse.
This second proposal is to drop the percentage of responsibility required to impose financial liability. This is wrong. Ethically wrong, morally wrong and financially wrong. It's a bit tricky, but let me see if I can explain the ramifications in plain language. Currently, in order for a WI citizen to be considered financially liable for the damages of an accident, it must be determined that they have at least 51% responsibility for that accident. That means if you are determined, under WI law, to be more than 50% responsible for the accident, you can be held financially liable for 100% of the damages caused by that accident.
Mr. Doyle's budget proposes that this percentage be dropped to 1.
Here's a scenario under the new budget if it is approved.
Your car is sitting in your driveway. (You managed to pay the new premium-what choice did you have, your work is 20 miles from your place of residence.) A single mother and an hourly wage earner are driving to their respective jobs. Neither one has insurance but they couldn't sell their vehicles - the market is gone because so few people could afford the insurance increase. Besides, they need a vehicle to get to work too, so what choice do they have but to drive illegally? They are both late and speeding. They collide in front of your house. One of the vehicles does a few flips, takes out a mailbox and the light post in front of your house and comes to rest next to your vehicle. A piece of this vehicle flies off and scratches your vehicle, which was sitting in your driveway. The single mother has two broken arms and a back injury. The other driver has a head injury which will put him into a coma for the next two months. The scratch to your vehicle would cost less than your deductible to fix, but here's the rub. Because you are the only one with insurance, you are now de facto 100% financially responsible for all the damages caused by this accident. You have 1% liability for the accident just because your vehicle was where the accident occurred.
Do you understand that? You are 100% financially liable for any accident if you have insurance coverage. Yes, of course the two drivers will also be held responsible, but they have nothing, so they will lose nothing. You will have the potential of losing everything you own to satisfy the financial obligations incurred by this accident if your insurance coverage isn't enough to cover the entire bill. That means your coverage needs to pay for damage to both of the vehicles,(in addition to the scratch on yours) the community property (the light post and mailbox) and the hospital costs for both of those drivers. Will those drivers be able to sue you for ongoing medical expenses if they require them? Maybe.
This will have the affect of making auto insurance providers pay for 100% of the damages caused by all accidents in which there is the involvement of at least one insured vehicle. If I were an auto insurance provider, I would refuse to provide coverage for WI drivers or any vehicles operating in this state under those conditions. If auto insurers continue to write policies in WI, they will surely become the most expensive policies in the nation. What will this increase do to businesses who require fleet vehicles-cabs, trucking, even the buses used for public transportation in the big cities?
This alone has the potential to so change our state that we may never see it come back. Businesses faced with such liability and labor issues (How can they find a reliable workforce if it's too expensive to drive?) will surely relocate. Auto sales will drop like a rock. Auto insurers will surely go elsewhere. Who wants to be on the hook financially for every auto accident in an entire state? How will that impact our citizens? What subterfuges and stratagems will be employed to find someone with insurance upon whom to place the blame for any accident?
I'm sure Mr. Obama will be pleased with this innovative way to "coerce people out of their cars". I am not. Neither should any citizen of WI. The insurance coverage increase was bad enough given our current economic woes, but the 1% liability is beyond the pale. This will not save any money for the state and does not belong in WI law much less a budget proposal.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."~Exodus 20:17
Update: The proposed liability for being held 100% financially liable for all damages in an accident has been reset to 20 % instead of 1%. I still find this to be entirely unacceptable. The results will be the same.
Two of the non-fiscal items in Gov. Doyle's budget should be of concern to every WI citizen who drives a vehicle.
The first one is the raising of mandatory levels of insurance coverage. The state cannot raise your auto insurance premiums, but they can (and have) determine what a reasonable level of insurance coverage is to allow an individual to legally drive on our roads. The proposed change would raise your insurance (if you currently have the minimum coverage) by about 40%. Picture that, 40%, that's going to be about $300 for most people.
First of all, I would like to remind Mr. Doyle that not everybody in WI lives in a metropolitan area where there is public transportation available. This will relegate those folks on fixed incomes in places like Presque Isle or Siren or any number of rural communities to walking or riding bicycles, if they want to be continue to be law abiding citizens. This is Wisconsin. Walking and bicycles are not options for the entire year here. (Especially in Presque Isle or Siren-or really, any place in WI) One hopes those folks have enough land to support a good horse.(No buggies though, because they would require insurance.)
One assumes this will lead to a call for the good taxpayers of our lovely state to provide affordable public transportation for those in rural communities through yet more taxes.
One assumes this will also lead to an increase in the number of people driving without insurance which will cause another hike in that insurance cost.
Unfortunately that 40% increase in your insurance premiums is only the tip of the iceberg. The second item I want to cover in this post has the potential to more than double that or worse.
This second proposal is to drop the percentage of responsibility required to impose financial liability. This is wrong. Ethically wrong, morally wrong and financially wrong. It's a bit tricky, but let me see if I can explain the ramifications in plain language. Currently, in order for a WI citizen to be considered financially liable for the damages of an accident, it must be determined that they have at least 51% responsibility for that accident. That means if you are determined, under WI law, to be more than 50% responsible for the accident, you can be held financially liable for 100% of the damages caused by that accident.
Mr. Doyle's budget proposes that this percentage be dropped to 1.
Here's a scenario under the new budget if it is approved.
Your car is sitting in your driveway. (You managed to pay the new premium-what choice did you have, your work is 20 miles from your place of residence.) A single mother and an hourly wage earner are driving to their respective jobs. Neither one has insurance but they couldn't sell their vehicles - the market is gone because so few people could afford the insurance increase. Besides, they need a vehicle to get to work too, so what choice do they have but to drive illegally? They are both late and speeding. They collide in front of your house. One of the vehicles does a few flips, takes out a mailbox and the light post in front of your house and comes to rest next to your vehicle. A piece of this vehicle flies off and scratches your vehicle, which was sitting in your driveway. The single mother has two broken arms and a back injury. The other driver has a head injury which will put him into a coma for the next two months. The scratch to your vehicle would cost less than your deductible to fix, but here's the rub. Because you are the only one with insurance, you are now de facto 100% financially responsible for all the damages caused by this accident. You have 1% liability for the accident just because your vehicle was where the accident occurred.
Do you understand that? You are 100% financially liable for any accident if you have insurance coverage. Yes, of course the two drivers will also be held responsible, but they have nothing, so they will lose nothing. You will have the potential of losing everything you own to satisfy the financial obligations incurred by this accident if your insurance coverage isn't enough to cover the entire bill. That means your coverage needs to pay for damage to both of the vehicles,(in addition to the scratch on yours) the community property (the light post and mailbox) and the hospital costs for both of those drivers. Will those drivers be able to sue you for ongoing medical expenses if they require them? Maybe.
This will have the affect of making auto insurance providers pay for 100% of the damages caused by all accidents in which there is the involvement of at least one insured vehicle. If I were an auto insurance provider, I would refuse to provide coverage for WI drivers or any vehicles operating in this state under those conditions. If auto insurers continue to write policies in WI, they will surely become the most expensive policies in the nation. What will this increase do to businesses who require fleet vehicles-cabs, trucking, even the buses used for public transportation in the big cities?
This alone has the potential to so change our state that we may never see it come back. Businesses faced with such liability and labor issues (How can they find a reliable workforce if it's too expensive to drive?) will surely relocate. Auto sales will drop like a rock. Auto insurers will surely go elsewhere. Who wants to be on the hook financially for every auto accident in an entire state? How will that impact our citizens? What subterfuges and stratagems will be employed to find someone with insurance upon whom to place the blame for any accident?
I'm sure Mr. Obama will be pleased with this innovative way to "coerce people out of their cars". I am not. Neither should any citizen of WI. The insurance coverage increase was bad enough given our current economic woes, but the 1% liability is beyond the pale. This will not save any money for the state and does not belong in WI law much less a budget proposal.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."~Exodus 20:17
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wisconsin's 10th Amendment Resolution
Senator Liebham has kindly provided me with the text of his proposed resolution regarding the 10th amendment for Wisconsin and his aid, Mr. Werwie has assured me that I may publish it here. Without further ado, here is the text of the resolution.
2009 − 2010 Legislature SRM:wlj:phLRB−0927/1
"2009 − 2010 LEGISLATURE2009 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: state sovereignty.
Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads,“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”; and
Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the U.S. Constitution and no more; and
Whereas, as the scope of power is defined by the Tenth Amendment, the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
Whereas, today the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and
Whereas, the legislature has forwarded to the federal government numerous resolutions opposing federal encroachment on state powers but has received no response or result from Congress or the federal government; and
Whereas, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112S. Ct. 2408 (1992) that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and
Whereas, a number of federal proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the state of Wisconsin hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further
Resolved, That adoption of this resolution does not constitute an application by the legislature of the state of Wisconsin for the calling of a federal Constitutional Convention within the meaning of Article V of the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further
Resolved, That this resolution shall serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further
Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to the presiding officer of each house of each state legislature of the United States, and to each member of this state’s congressional delegation.(END)" (Emphasis in bold is mine)
"Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." ~Exodus 16:4
2009 − 2010 Legislature SRM:wlj:phLRB−0927/1
"2009 − 2010 LEGISLATURE2009 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: state sovereignty.
Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads,“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”; and
Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the U.S. Constitution and no more; and
Whereas, as the scope of power is defined by the Tenth Amendment, the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
Whereas, today the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and
Whereas, the legislature has forwarded to the federal government numerous resolutions opposing federal encroachment on state powers but has received no response or result from Congress or the federal government; and
Whereas, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112S. Ct. 2408 (1992) that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and
Whereas, a number of federal proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the state of Wisconsin hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further
Resolved, That adoption of this resolution does not constitute an application by the legislature of the state of Wisconsin for the calling of a federal Constitutional Convention within the meaning of Article V of the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further
Resolved, That this resolution shall serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further
Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to the presiding officer of each house of each state legislature of the United States, and to each member of this state’s congressional delegation.(END)" (Emphasis in bold is mine)
"Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." ~Exodus 16:4
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