In 2001, Puerto Rico enacted a law that requires specific labels on cement sold in Puerto Rico and imposes fines for any violations of these requirements. The law prohibits the sale or distribution of cement manufactured outside Puerto Rico that does not carry a required label warning that the cement may not be used in government-financed construction projects. Antilles Cement Corp., a Puerto Rican firm that imports foreign cement, filed a complaint in federal court, claiming that this law violated the dormant commerce clause. (The dormant commerce clause doctrine applies not only to commerce among the states and U. S. territories, but also to international commerce.) Did the 2001 Puerto Rican law violate the dormant commerce clause? Why or why not? The Commerce Clause is intended to prevent states from establishing 1. Select: agencies, laws, government officers and 2. Select: agencies, regulations, government officers that would interfere with trade among the states.
Select: Article I Section 8, The 10th Amendment, The 1st Amendment of the Constitution gives the power to regulate interstate commerce to Select: the convention of governors, the Congress, the President of the United States.
The Commerce Clause originally meant that only Select: interstate, intrastate could be regulated but now it means Select: both interstate and intrastate, only interstate, only intrastate, only international, the level of anger on the part of business people. Puerto Rico enacted a law prohibiting the 1. Select: sale, manufacture, advertising and 2. Select: manufacture, distribution, advertising of cement manufactured outside of Puerto Rico that does not carry a label that the cement cannot be used in government-funded projects. The requirement of the label, and the restriction from non-Puerto Rican cement Select: does commerce can be regulated. State Select: police powers, commerce powers include items related to 1. Select: commerce, health, bankruptcy 2. Select: commerce, safety, bankruptcy 3. Select: commerce, bankruptcy, general welfare. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the commerce clause to give Select: Congress, the states the Select: partial, concurrent, exclusive power to regulate commerce that substantially affects trade among the states. To determine if Select: a state, Congress has violated this "dormant commerce clause" a court will evaluate 1. Select: the state's interest in the regulation, the free association rights of the companies impacted, the level of anger on the part of business people and 2. Select: the burden on interstate commerce, the free association rights of the companies impacted, does not affect interstate commerce. The Puerto Rican regulation Select: does, does not give Puerto Rican cement manufacturers a benefit over out-of-state manufacturers. Cement manufactured within Puerto Rico Select: does, does not have to carry a label and can be used in government-funded projects. Because this regulation Select: does, does not discriminate against non-Puerto Rican manufacturers, it likely Select: does, does not violate the dormant commerce clause. What if Puerto Rico required all cement to carry a label with the location where it was manufactured and the date it was packaged? Does that regulation discriminate against interstate manufacturers?
Select: Yes, No This labeling scheme likely Select: will, will not violate the dormant commerce clause if Puerto Rico still requires Puerto Rican cement to be used in government-funded activities. If Puerto Rico does not require Puerto Rican cement to be used in government-funded activities, but does require the label because cement from some other states is known to not last in Puerto Rican weather, the courts will balance
1. Select: the state's interest in cement that lasts, the right of Puerto Rican companies to have a preference, the right of all cement companies to have government contracts with 2. Select: the burden on interstate commerce, the right of Puerto Rican companies to have a preference, the right of all cement companies to have government contract.