The Demise of the Recovery Act

I'm still digesting the opinion, but the obvious conclusion is that impressions from oral argument may be misleading. It also suggests that states that do not use chapter 9, have no ability to come up with a state law alternative. It is chapter 9 or nothing, which may suggest that the 10th Amendment is no longer a serious concern with regard to chapter 9. And early in the opinion Thomas says that City of Ashbury Park was indeed overruled by the 1946 Amendments to 903, despite some actual doubt on that point (and nobody really addressing it in this case).