LAW 606 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Pass Laws
1 Jun 2020
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Test #3: Effect Discrimination????? Benefit/Buren Test
Test #4: Pike balancing
1. The test? Pike dicta
(1) RULE: When the statute regulates evenhandedly to effectuate a legit local public interest
& its effects on interstate commerce are only incidental, it will be upheld unless the
burden imposed on such commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local
benefits.
(2) Basically, does the burden on interstate commerce outweigh the benefit to the
regulating state?
2. History: Barnwell, S. Pacific, Bibb
(1) Barnwell: prohibited large trucks from using state highway
• No geographical trigger & no protectionist purpose unless they can show
that local trucks were smaller & out-of-state trucks were bigger
• No effect discrimination b/c lots of burdens fall on in-state truckers & not
only out-of-state
• this case was before Pike, but it would’ve been based on a balancing test
(2) S. Pacific: long trains were prohibited
• USSC doesn’t exactly believe AZ’s reasoning, but says not protectionist since
big burden on in state & out of state trains
• Even if all states had same limit, it’s still a burden on interstate commerce b/c
it means more trains; where the limit isn’t uniform, it just becomes even more
burdensome
• Pike balancing: to balance the total effect of the law as a safety measure in
reducing accidents & the national interest in keeping interstate commerce
free from interferences
(3) Bibb: regulation of mudguards on state highways
• Burdensome for trucks to change mudguards at state borders
• Even if IL correctly used it as a safety measure, it’s too great of a burden
3. Difference, objective Pike balancing test & subjective protectionist purpose test?
