South Carolina's legislation that would get around federal law and bring back the incandescent light bulb through in-state only sales.
The South Carolina Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act would require the bulb to be manufactured and sold within the state, thereby evading Commerce Clause arguments used to force South Carolina to comply with a federal regulation that raises the energy efficient minimums on light bulbs. While the new rules, to go in effect next year, don’t ban incandescents outright, the energy requirements would exclude incandescents and lead to wider use of LEDs (light-emitting diode) or CFLs (compact flourescent lamp).
“An incandescent light bulb that is manufactured commercially or privately in this state from basic materials that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state and is offered for sale and sold for use only within the borders of this state is deemed to be in the stream of intrastate commerce, rather than interstate commerce, and is not subject to federal law or federal regulation,” reads the legislation introduced last Wednesday in the General Assembly.
South Carolina stands up to the federal government and says ““hell no…not in my state”. After all…..the United States of America is a Republic…not a Democracy. We need to be reminded of that from time to time.http://hillbuzz.org/2011/03/09/bravo-south-carolina/#comments