Constitutional Law – Commerce Clause – State Statute Requiring Interstate Motor Carrier to Secure a Permit

Petitioner brought an action in an Arkansas state court to enjoin enforcement of a state statute which required all contract carriers using the highways of the state to secure a permit from the state Public Service Commission. The Arkansas Supreme Court found that five driver-owners who had been arrested while transporting petitioner’s product in interstate commerce without such a permit were “contract carriers” within the meaning of the statute. Neither petitioner nor any of the drivers had applied for a state permit. Under the terms of the statute, granting of the permit was contingent on certain factors, such as the financial reliability of the applicant, applicant’s sense of responsibility to the public, and the existing and proposed transportation service. Held, four justices dissenting, the requirement of such a permit imposes no undue burden on interstate commence because there was no showing that the state will ever attempt to impose any of the apprehended burdensome conditions as prerequisite to the granting of the permit. Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Co. v. Wood, 344 U.S. 157, 73 S.Ct. 204 (1952).