Supreme Court strikes down Maine law; Arkansas angle

A Wednesday ruling by the United States Supreme Court invalidated part of a Maine law regulating the transportation of tobacco with the aim of keeping it away from minors. The 1994 federal law in question that trumped the state law says that no state may enact a law "related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier...with respect to the transportation of property." This was the subject of today's Texarkana Gazette editorial.

The ruling could affect not only states' rights to regulate tobacco shipments but also other products such as explosives, fireworks, and wild animals. One Arkansas statute in particular that could be affected if it placed tighter restrictions includes Ark. Code Ann. §20-22-708. However, that statute arguably deals only with the consumer and not the carrier. Another statute that could potentially be affected is §3-7-106, but probably not on the issue of shipments because of previous congressional action and court rulings.

In another ruling Wednesday, the high court held that if a medical device is approved by the federal government, consumers may not sue the manufacturer under state statutes. These interpretations of federal law are considered victories for manufacturers and American business as a whole, and I suspect some groups will be leaning on Congress to revisit both of these issues.

My opinion as to the ruling on the Maine law is that it is not only correct, it is only practical. I'm all for Congress enacting legislation to keep cigarettes out of the hands of minors, but a ruling in favor of Maine's law would place an unnecessary burden on delivery companies and other businesses to be knowledgeable of various restrictions in the 50 states. 40 states have a law on the books similar to Maine's, so this ruling has a wide reaching effect.