United Haulers Association, Inc., et al. v. Oneida-herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, et al. (550 U.S. 330)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 30, 2007 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 550 U.S. 330 · 127 S. Ct. 1786
- Decided
- April 30, 2007
- Term
- October Term 2006
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part II-D. “Flow control” ordinances require trash haulers to deliver solid waste to a particular waste processing facility. In C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Clarkstown, 511 U. S. 383 (1994), this Court struck down under the Commerce Clause a flow control ordinance that forced haulers to deliver waste to a particular private processing facility. In this case, we face flow control ordinances quite similar to the one invalidated in Carbone. The only salient difference is that the laws at issue here require haulers to bring waste to facilities owned and operated by a state-created public benefit corporation. We find this difference constitutionally significant. Disposing of trash has been a traditional government activity for years, and laws that favor the government in such areas— but treat every private business, whether in-state or out-of-state, exactly the same — do not discriminate against interstate commerce for purposes of the Commerce Clause. Applying the Commerce Clause test reserved for regulations that do not discriminate against interstate commerce, we uphold these ordinances because any incidental burden they may have on interstate commerce does not outweigh the benefits they confer on the citizens of Oneida and Herkimer Counties. I Located in central New York, Oneida and Herkimer Counties span over…
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