Bob CollinsA fight may be brewing over light bulbs.
The incandescent is likely to be replaced between 2012 and 2014 by new energy standards for light bulbs, under a bill signed by President George W. Bush in 2007. It’s led to claims the incandescent was to be banned in the U.S. It’s not. There are provisions in place for the production of them for such things as oven and refrigerator lights. And if the incandescent can meet the energy standard, there’s no reason they can’t be sold.
Today, a group of Republican lawmakers at the Minnesota Capitol introduced legislation that would authorize the use and sale of incandescent light bulbs, if they’re manufactured in Minnesota.
It’s a Constitutional argument:
Subdivision 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that:
(a) The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees to the states and their citizens all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves to this state and the citizens of this state certain powers as they were understood at the time this state was admitted to statehood.
(b)The Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees to the people rights not enumerated in the Constitution, including rights as they were understood at the time this state was admitted to statehood.
(c) The guaranty of those powers and rights is a matter of contract between this state, the citizens of this state, and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed to and adopted by this state and the United States.
(d) The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under article 1, section 8, Constitution of the United States, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
It’s not clear if any light bulbs are currently made in Minnesota, but that’s not the point of the legislation. Besides, there’s an effort to improve the efficiency of incandescents so they meet the new standards.
