Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437, 24 (1992)

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460

WYOMING v. OKLAHOMA

Opinion of the Court

have enacted the valid provisions with the invalid provisions removed, if with the invalid provisions removed the rest of the act is fully operative as a law.' " Englebrecht v. Day, 201 Okla. 585, 591, 208 P. 2d 538, 544 (1949) (quoting Sterling Refining Co. v. Walker, 165 Okla. 45, 25 P. 2d 312 (1933)). It is also true that under Oklahoma law, a severability clause in a statute creates a presumption that the legislature would have adopted the statute with the unconstitutional portions omitted. 201 Okla., at 591, 208 P. 2d, at 544; see Champlin Refining Co. v. Corporation Comm'n of Oklahoma, 286 U. S. 210, 234-235 (1932) (inquiring into severability under Oklahoma law). The Act in this case contains a severability provision:

"The provisions of this act are severable and if any part or provision shall be held void, the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act." Act of Mar. 26, 1986, Ch. 43, § 3, 1986 Okla. Sess. Laws 74.

But there are no parts or separate provisions in the invalid § 939 of the Act. It applies to "[a]ll entities providing electric power for sale to the consumer in Oklahoma" and commands them to purchase 10% Oklahoma-mined coal. Okla. Stat., Tit. 45, § 939 (Supp. 1988). Nothing remains to be saved once that provision is stricken. Accordingly, the Act must stand or fall as a whole.

We decline Oklahoma's suggestion that the term "all entities" be read to uphold the Act only as to the GRDA, for it is clearly not this Court's province to rewrite a state statute. If "all entities" is to mean "the GRDA" or "state-owned utilities," the Oklahoma Legislature must be the one to decide. Indeed, this argument perceives the nature of the severability clause to be much different than that written by the Oklahoma Legislature. Severability clauses may easily be written to provide that if application of a statute to some classes is found unconstitutional, severance of those classes permits

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