Agenda - Council - 12/20/1983 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I Page legislative purpose, any act might be justified by the imagination of the attorneys. See e.g., Petra~eck v. Industrial Commission~ ~54 P2d 1097 (Col. 1976) (Court disregarded "administrative expediency" purpose); 3 and R Doe v. 3ames Plyler~ 458 F.Supp. 569 (D.Tex. 1978), Aff'd.~ 628 F2d ##g (unequal distribution of funds to schools not justified by ~'cost concerns"). An excellent example of the steps to be taken in analyzing legislative "purpose" in an equal protection case is found in Delaware River Basin Commission v. Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority~ 641 F2d 1087 (3rd Cir. 1981). In that case the court was examining the validity of a "grandfather" exemption for water use charges under the rational relationship test of equal protection. The court began by stating that identifying the purpose of the statute was the first step in the analysis: ~'when reviewing a classification under the rationality test~ ... a court must conduct a two step analysis. First, it should identify the purposes of the statute and assure itself that these purposes are legitimate .... ~' Id. at 1092. In identifying the purpose the court stated that "ordinarily, this inquiry will involve examination of statements of purpose and other evidence in the legislative history." Id. at 1092o93. The court proceeded to examine the legislative history which included senate committee reports as well as statements from the commission which implemented the '~grandfather' provision. The court reached the conclusion that there was no indication from these sources of the legislative intent and, only at that point, did it consider the possibility of looking to other sources for legislative intent. The court determined that "in the face of legislative silence," the court might consider the propriety of speculation about Iegislative ends by the parties or by the court itself. Id. at 1094. Even though it could not find an "articulated" purpose in the legislation at hand, the court in Delaware River Basin was still reluctant to allow speculation on the legislative purpose: