Law Commons^™

Congress' Pet: Why The Clean Air Act’S Favoritism Of California Is Unconstitutional Under The Equal Footing Doctrine , Valerie Jm Brader

ExpressO

The Clean Air Act gives two regulatory powers to one state – California – that it forbids to all others: the power to regulate fuels, and the power to regulate motor vehicle construction. This paper makes the novel argument that by creating a differential in power between the states, these provisions violate the equal footing doctrine, and are therefore unconstitutional. In doing so, it is the first law review article to provide a complete history of the doctrine, a foundational principle that pre-dates the Constitution and remains the law of the land today. Though the doctrine has been relegated to …