Opinion ID: 1548590
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Legitimate Public Purpose

Text: Because there is no substantial impairment, there is no constitutional violation, and we could here end our inquiry. See Allied Structural Steel, 438 U.S. at 244, 98 S.Ct. 2716. However, even if we were to assume that the impairment is substantial, consideration of the remaining steps in the three-step analysis would still lead us to conclude that there is no constitutional violation. The second step is to determine whether the State has established a legitimate public purpose for the Act. The requirement of a legitimate public purpose guarantees that the State is exercising its police power, rather than providing a benefit to special interests. Energy Reserves Group, 459 U.S. at 412, 103 S.Ct. 697. The majority concedes, as it must, that the purpose of the Act, which is to support programs that promote access to needed health care for underserved persons, is a legitimate and important goal. We agree. An additional legitimate public purpose is to eliminate a potential unforeseen windfall to the JUA's insureds. See id. (observing that [o]ne legitimate state interest is the elimination of unforeseen windfall profits).