Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority — State of West Virginia et al. v. Treasury (N.D. Ala., Doc. 81)

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Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority, filed September 27, 2021 as Document 81 in State of West Virginia, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Case No. 7:21-cv-00465-LSC, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Western Division. The notice states that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued its decision in Kentucky v. Yellen, Kentucky and Tennessee's Spending Clause challenge to the Tax Mandate, granting the States' motion for summary judgment and holding that the Tax Mandate is unconstitutionally coercive under the Spending Clause. It states that Defendants are now enjoined from seeking enforcement of the Tax Mandate against Tennessee and Kentucky, and attaches the decision. It is signed /s/ Edmund G. LaCour, Jr.

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“Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority — State of West Virginia et al. v. Treasury (N.D. Ala., Doc. 81).” Original at storage.courtlistener.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/notice-other-state-of-west-virginia-et-al-v-u-s-department-of-the-trea-2f10e41385/, SHA-256 ddc461601ec197673313ee6aaf34bbc2414e33cb3509c7108e7a2a35f165b155.

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Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 1 of 6 FILED
2021 Sep-27 PM 04:42
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
WESTERN DIVISION

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, et al., Case No. 7:21-cv-00465-LSC

Plaintiffs,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE
TREASURY, et al.,

Defendants.

PLAINTIFFS’ NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY

On Friday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of

Kentucky issued its decision in Kentucky and Tennessee’s Spending Clause

challenge to the Tax Mandate. Kentucky v. Yellen, No. 3:21-cv-000-17 (E.D. Ky.

Sep. 24, 2021).

In the opinion, the court granted the States’ motion for summary judgment,

holding that the Tax Mandate is unconstitutionally coercive under the Spending

Clause and that “the coercion presented in the ARPA is exactly the kind of intrusion

on state sovereignty that the Constitution prohibits.” Id. at 11. In so holding, the

court cited both the “sheer size of the federal government’s offering” and the

“economic devastation the pandemic has brought.” Id. at 9. Considering all fifty

States and the District of Columbia, the court recognized that ARPA funds represent
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Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 2 of 6

“roughly twenty percent of the annual state tax collections brought in by state

governments” and held that “‘refusing to accede to the conditions set out in the [law]

is not a realistic option.’” Id. at 8 (quoting Nat’l Fed'n of Indep. Bus. v. Sebelius, 567

U.S. 519, 681 (2012) (Scalia, J., dissenting)). The court specifically rejected

Defendants’ argument that NFIB’s coercion analysis applied only to conditions

affecting the receipt of pre-existing funds, slip. op. at 7 n.3, the same argument

Defendants rely on here. See Doc. 76 at ECF 37.

Finally, the court held that a permanent injunction was appropriate because

there is “no cognizable interest of the federal government in enforcing the Tax

Mandate” and because “the States’ ability to set their taxing policy as a co-sovereign

enhances, rather than threatens, individual liberty.” Slip op. at 14. Defendants are

now enjoined from seeking enforcement of the Tax Mandate against Tennessee and

Kentucky.

The court’s decision is attached.

DATED: September 27, 2021 Respectfully submitted,

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Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 3 of 6

/s/ Edmund G. LaCour, Jr. /s/ Bryan M. Taylor
STEVE MARSHALL Bryan M. Taylor
Alabama Attorney General Bachus Brom & Taylor LLC
Edmund G. LaCour, Jr. 300 Vestavia Parkway, Suite 3700
Alabama Solicitor General Birmingham, AL 35216
James W. Davis Tel: (334) 595-9650
A. Reid Harris btaylor@bachusbrom.com
Assistant Attorneys General
Office of the Alabama /s/ Nicholas Bronni
Attorney General LESLIE RUTLEDGE
501 Washington Ave. Arkansas Attorney General
P.O. Box 300152 Nicholas J. Bronni (pro hac vice)
Montgomery, AL 36130 Arkansas Solicitor General
Tel: (334) 353-2196 Vincent M. Wagner (pro hac vice)
edmund.lacour@alabamaAg.gov Deputy Solicitor General
jim.davis@AlabamaAG.gov Dylan L. Jacobs (pro hac vice)
reid.harris@AlabamaAG.gov Assistant Solicitor General
Counsel for State of Alabama Office of the Arkansas
Attorney General
/s/ Lindsay S. See 323 Center Street, Suite 200
PATRICK MORRISEY Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
West Virginia Attorney General Tel: (501) 682-6302
Lindsay S. See (pro hac vice) nicholas.bronni@arkansasag.gov
West Virginia Solicitor General Counsel for State of Arkansas
David C. Tryon (pro hac vice)
Special Assistant to the /s/ John M. Ptacin
Attorney General TREG R. TAYLOR
(Admitted in Ohio; practicing Attorney General of Alaska
under supervision of West Virginia John M. Ptacin (pro hac vice)
attorneys) Chief Assistant Attorney General
Jessica A. Lee (pro hac vice) Alaska Department of Law
Assistant Solicitor General 1031 West Fourth Avenue, Suite 200
Office of the West Virginia Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Attorney General Tel: (907) 269-5100
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East Facsimile: (907) 276-3697
Building 1, Room E-26 John.ptacin@alaska.gov
Charleston, WV 25305 Counsel for State of Alaska
Tel: (304) 558-2021
Lindsay.S.See@wvago.gov
Counsel for State of West Virginia
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Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 4 of 6

/s/ Jason Hilborn /s/ David M.S. Dewhirst
ASHLEY MOODY AUSTIN KNUDSEN
Florida Attorney General Attorney General of Montana
Jason H. Hilborn (pro hac vice) David M.S. Dewhirst (pro hac vice)
Assistant Solicitor General Solicitor General
Office of the Florida Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General 215 North Sanders
Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 201401
State of Florida Helena, MT 59620-1401
PL-01 The Capitol Tel: (406) 444-4145
Tallahassee, FL 32399 David.Dewhirst@mt.gov
Tel: (850) 414-3300 Counsel for the State of Montana
Jason.Hilborn@myfloridalegal.com
Counsel for State of Florida /s/ Anthony J. Galdieri
/s/ Jeffrey S. Thompson Anthony J. Galdieri
THOMAS J. MILLER Senior Assistant Attorney General, Civil
Attorney General of Iowa Bureau
Jeffrey S. Thompson* New Hampshire Department of Justice
Solicitor General 33 Capitol Street
1305 East Walnut Street Concord, NH 03301
Des Moines, IA 50319 Tel: (603) 271-1214
Tel: 515-281-5164 Anthony.J.Galdieri@doj.nh.gov
jeffrey.thompson@ag.iowa.gov Counsel for the State of
Counsel for State of Iowa New Hampshire

/s/ Dwight R. Carswell /s/ Mithun Mansinghani
DEREK SCHMIDT JOHN M. O’CONNOR
Kansas Attorney General Oklahoma Attorney General
Dwight R. Carswell (pro hac vice) Mithun Mansinghani (pro hac vice)
Assistant Solicitor General Solicitor General
Office of the Kansas Oklahoma Office Of The
Attorney General Attorney General
120 SW 10th Ave., 3rd Floor 313 NE Twenty-First St.
Topeka, Kansas 66612 Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Tel: (785) 368-8410 Tel: (405) 521-3921
dwight.carswell@ag.ks.gov mithun.mansinghani@oag.ok.gov
Counsel for State of Kansas Counsel for the State of Oklahoma
4
Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 5 of 6

/s/ J. Emory Smith, Jr. /s/ Melissa A. Holyoak
ALAN WILSON SEAN REYES
South Carolina Attorney General Utah Attorney General
J. Emory Smith, Jr. (pro hac vice) Melissa A. Holyoak (pro hac vice)
Deputy Solicitor General Utah Solicitor General
Office of the South Carolina Office of the Utah Attorney General
Attorney General 160 E. 300 S., 5th Floor
Post Office Box 11549 Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Columbia, SC 29211 Tel: (801) 366-0260
Tel: (803) 734-3680 Counsel for State of Utah
esmith@scag.gov
Counsel for State of South Carolina

/s/ Jeffery J. Tronvold
JASON RAVNSBORG
South Dakota Attorney General
Jeffery J. Tronvold (pro hac vice)
Deputy Attorney General
1302 East Highway 14, Suite 1
Pierre, South Dakota 57501-8501
Tel: (605) 773-3215
Jeffery.tronvold@state.sd.us
Counsel for State of South Dakota

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Case 7:21-cv-00465-LSC Document 81 Filed 09/27/21 Page 6 of 6

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on September 27, 2021, I filed with the Court and served

on all counsel through the CM/ECF system the foregoing document.

/s Edmund G. LaCour Jr.
Counsel for the State of Alabama

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