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1982
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SENATE
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61
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Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Federal Constitution,
and that therefore the bill is unconstitutional.
For that reason, I have vetoed Senate bill 624.
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Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor
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May 24, 1982
The Honorable Harry Hughes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404
Re: Senate Bill 624
Dear Governor Hughes:
This is to advise you that we have reviewed for
constitutionality and legal sufficiency Senate Bill 624, a
bill which amends Art. 56, Sec. 136 to temporarily reduce
the motor fuel tax on gasohol which is produced in Maryland.
As the reduction of this tax violates the prohibition in the
Federal Constitution on the states' discriminating against
interstate commerce, we are unable to approve the bill.
Article I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3 of the Federal Constitution
authorizes Congress "to regulate commerce ... among the
several states." It is well understood that this clause is
also a limitation on the powers of the states. In this
regard, the Supreme Court recently declared:
"One of the fundamental principles of Commerce
Clause jurisprudence is that no State, consistent with
the Commerce Clause, may 'impose a tax which
discriminates against interstate commerce ... by
providing a direct commercial advantage to local
business.' Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. v.
Minnesota, 358 U.S. 450, 458, 79 S.Ct. 357, 362, 3
L.Ed. 2d 421 (1959). See Boston Stock Exchange v.
State Tax Commission, 429 U.S. 318, 329, 97 S.Ct. 599,
606, 50 L.Ed.2d 514 (1977). This antidiscrimination
principle 'follows inexorably from the basic purpose of
the Clause' to prohibit the multiplication of
preferential trade areas destructive of the free
commerce anticipated by the Constitution. Boston Stock
Exchange, supra, 429 U.S. at 329, 97 S.Ct. at 606. See
Dean Milk Co. v. Madison, 340 U.S. 349, 356, 71 S.Ct.
295, 298, 95 L.Ed. 329 (1951)."
Maryland v. Louisiana, ____ U.S. ____, 101 S.Ct. 2114, 2133
(1981). Taxing the sale of gasohol at a lesser rate simply
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