Yes, but, that same constitutional government also allows US states to 'nullify' federal laws that will be highly detrimental to the state's citizens and economy. For example ...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...escalates.html
(snip) The EPA will decide directly on greenhouse-gas permits for companies seeking to build or upgrade power plants and oil refineries in Texas, the agency said today in a statement. The EPA’s nationwide carbon rules, imposed under the Clean Air Act, take effect Jan. 2.
Texas is the only state that has refused to implement the new rules. President Barack Obama is pressing ahead with the regulations after Congress failed to pass legislation capping carbon emissions. Perry, a Republican, calls the rules overreaching by the federal government that will cripple his state’s economy.
“The EPA’s misguided plan paints a huge target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers by implementing unnecessary, burdensome mandates on our state’s energy sector, threatening hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs and imposing increased living costs on Texas families,” Katherine Cesinger, a Perry spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.
The American Petroleum Institute in Washington, the largest U.S. lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, called the EPA’s plan improper.
‘Coercing’ States
“In unprecedented fashion, EPA is now coercing some states to relinquish their authority and is directly usurping state regulatory authority in Texas,” Howard Feldman, API’s director of regulatory and scientific affairs, said in a statement.
The EPA’s rules are set to start 13 months after the agency declared carbon-dioxide emissions a danger to public health and welfare. The EPA’s “endangerment finding” followed a Supreme Court ruling in 2007 that the agency has the authority to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. (snip)
^^^ This is one reason that states like Texas will maintain their competitive economic advantage over states like California !
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