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Executive Order 12140 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 12140—Gasoline End-User Allocation

Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter
•
Tuesday, May 29, 1979
•
3 min read (503 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Jimmy Carter on 1979-05-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Gasoline End-User Allocation." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO MOTOR GASOLINE END-USER ALLOCATION By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States of America, including the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, as amended (P.L.
▪ Each Governor is hereby delegated the authority to establish a system of end-user allocation for motor gasoline, subject to the terms and conditions as set forth below.
▪ This Order shall terminate, unless extended, at midnight on September 30, 1979.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
Total Words
503
3,017 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.8
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12140, Jimmy Carter (May 29, 1979). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12140-gasoline-end-user-allocation.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO MOTOR GASOLINE END-USER ALLOCATION By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States of America, including the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, as amended (P.L. 93-159), and as President of the United States of America, notwithstanding the delegations to the Secretary of Energy in Executive Order 11790 as amended by Executive Order 12038, it is hereby ordered: SECTION 1-101. Each Governor is hereby delegated the authority to establish a system of end-user allocation for motor gasoline, subject to the terms and conditions as set forth below. SEC. 1-102. When a Governor determines that his State, or any locality therein, is experiencing a shortage of motor gasoline available for retail distribution, such that the public health, safety, or welfare is endangered, he may require motor gasoline retail sales outlets in that State or locality to: (a) Supply with gasoline (including gasohol) vehicles: (1) which have a license plate number, the last digit of which is an even number, or where there are only letters on the license plate, the last letter of which is a letter in the first half of the alphabet (AM), only on even days of the month; (2) which have a license plate number, the last digit of which is an odd number, or where there are only letters on the license plate, the last letter of which is a letter in the last half of the alphabet (N-Z), only on odd days of the month; and (3) which have individually or as a class been designated by the Governor of that State as eligible to purchase gasoline on any day in order to assure adequate supplies for such vehicles to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, or to assure necessary governmental services (including local, State and Federal). (b) Require purchasers to purchase a specified minimum amount of gasoline (including gasohol), expressed in either gallons, fractions of gas tanks, or dollars, as determined by the Governor; and (c) Supply gasoline at specified times of day or on specified days, as determined by the Governor to be necessary to reduce the length of or prevent lines of purchasers. SEC. 1-103. A Governor may adopt such additional rules or regulations not inconsistent with Department of Energy policies and regulations and subdelegate this authority as he deems necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of section 1-102 above. SEC. 1-104. For purposes of this Order, the term "Governor" includes the Governors of the 50 States, the Chief Executive Officer of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States, other than the Panama Canal Zone. SEC. 1-105. This Order shall terminate, unless extended, at midnight on September 30, 1979. The Secretary of Energy may at any time revoke this delegation in whole or in part with respect to any State. JIMMY CARTER The White House, May 29, 1979. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:28 a.m., May 30, 1979]