The Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act on Wednesday, March 10th, and Governor Bob McDonnell has said he will sign it.

Here’s the text of the bill:

§ 38.2-3430.1:1. Health insurance coverage not required.

No resident of this Commonwealth, regardless of whether he has or is eligible for health insurance coverage under any policy or program provided by or through his employer, or a plan sponsored by the Commonwealth or the federal government, shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual insurance coverage. No provision of this title shall render a resident of this Commonwealth liable for any penalty, assessment, fee, or fine as a result of his failure to procure or obtain health insurance coverage. This section shall not apply to individuals voluntarily applying for coverage under a state-administered program pursuant to Title XIX or Title XXI of the Social Security Act.

WaPo reported on Thursday:

The Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill that would make it illegal for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a measure intended to conflict with Democratic efforts to reform health care in Washington.

Thirty-four other states are weighing similar legislation to block the individual mandate, which is an element of bills that have passed both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. But Virginia is the first state to complete legislative action on such a bill.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell said Wednesday that he intends to sign the legislation.

This time is noticeably different than past efforts by the states to take-on the federal government: 70% of the states are moving forward with similar legislation, and they appear to be listening to their constituents. A little closer look at the numbers reveals that the total is just three states shy of that required for ratification.

Of course, none of this will become necessary if ObamaCare is defeated in the House.

(H/T – Neil)

(It was nearly impossible to respect fair-use since the entire WaPo report was only six paragraphs long.)