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Texas Restricts Sales of Natural Gas Outside the State Amid Energy Crisis
Posted
February 18, 2021
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0:46Now PlayingOn Feb. 17, Texas Governor Greg Abbott resorted to a desperate measure to restore electricity. He told reporters he was banning natural gas from leaving the state through Feb. 21 to ensure that in-state power generators have enough, according to a Bloomberg News article. A copy of the order seen by Bloomberg showed that he’s requiring Texas gas to be offered for sale in-state before it can be shipped out, which is different but still a big change.
As the Bloomberg article says, “Under the Constitution’s so-called commerce clause, state governments are prohibited from interfering in interstate trade. Abbott said a disaster declaration he issued on Feb. 12 gave him latitude to impose such restrictions.”
This seems like it could be very important. Whether there’s any merit to Abbott’s argument that his disaster declaration supersedes the Commerce Clause is a matter for the courts. What’s safe to predict is that the Commerce Clause is going to be heavily chewed over in coming days. So here’s some information about it.
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to, among other things, “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”
In the years since, the Commerce Clause has been interpreted to give vast powers to the federal government and correspondingly to limit states’ powers. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was upheld by the Supreme Court in Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. United States because of “overwhelming evidence that discrimination by hotels and motels impedes interstate travel.”
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