Opinion ID: 446765
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legitimacy of Local Purpose

Text: 21 On the issue of legitimate local purpose, the statement by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which emphasizes benefits to local business accruing from section 7613, evinces an aura of economic protectionism, which is abhorrent to the Commerce Clause. Hughes, 441 U.S. at 333, 99 S.Ct. at 1734. Moreover, Maine's total ban on the importation of bait fish is apparently unique among the fifty states, and even Maine accepts importations of cold water fish, subject to a certification procedure. 11 Although Maine is not necessarily required to lower its environmental standards to those of the other states, or to permit entry of warm water bait fish merely because it accepts cold water fish, the uniqueness of section 7613's ban, together with the indications of economic protectionism, cast doubt on the legitimacy of local purpose. 12