Page:NPPC v. Ross.pdf/22

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
16
NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL v. ROSS

Opinion of the Court

Arizona order requiring cantaloupes grown in state to be processed and packed in state. 397 U. S., at 138–140. The Court held that Arizona’s order violated the dormant Commerce Clause. Id., at 146. Even if that order could be fairly characterized as facially neutral, the Court stressed that it “requir[ed] business operations to be performed in [state] that could more efficiently be performed elsewhere.” Id., at 145. The “practical effect[s]” of the order in operation thus revealed a discriminatory purpose—an effort to insulate in-state processing and packaging businesses from out-of-state competition. Id., at 140, 145.

Other cases in the Pike line underscore the same message. In Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co., the Court found no impermissible burden on interstate commerce because, looking to the law’s effects, “there [was] no reason to suspect that the gainers” would be in-state firms or that “the losers [would be] out-of-state firms.” 449 U. S. 456, 473 (1981); see also id., at 474–477, and n. 2 (Powell, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (asking whether the “actual purpose,” if not the “ ‘avowed purpose,’ ” of the law was discrimination). Similarly, in Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland, the Court keyed to the fact that the effect of the challenged law was only to shift business from one set of out-of-state suppliers to another. 437 U. S. 117, 127 (1978). And in United Haulers, a plurality upheld the challenged law because it could not “detect” any discrimination in favor of in-state businesses or against out-of-state competitors. 550 U. S., at 346. In each of these cases and many more, the presence or absence of discrimination in practice proved decisive.

Once again, we say nothing new here. Some time ago, Tracy identified the congruity between our core dormant Commerce Clause precedents and the Pike line. 519 U. S., at 298, n. 12. Many lower courts have done the same. See, e.g., Rosenblatt v. Santa Monica, 940 F. 3d 439, 452 (CA9 2019); Park Pet Shop, Inc. v. Chicago, 872 F. 3d 495, 501