694
Scalia, J., dissenting
have been regulated, and the way in which public policy problems that arise in the area have been addressed, since the founding of the Republic. See, e. g., Federal Procurement Regulations: Policy, Practice and Procedures, at 11-196 (describing the history of Federal Government procurement regulation). But these laws and regulations have brought to the field a degree of discrimination, discernment, and predictability that cannot be achieved by the blunt instrument of a constitutional prohibition.
Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations would not contain the 5,000+ pages it does if it did not make fine distinctions, permitting certain actions in some Government acquisition areas and prohibiting them in others. Similarly, many of the competitive bidding statutes that I have cited contain exceptions for, or are simply written not to include, contracts under a particular dollar amount,2 or those covering certain subject matters,3 or those that are time sensitive.4 A politi-2 See, e. g., 41 U. S. C. §§ 252a(b), 403(11) (certain federal contracting laws rendered inapplicable "to a contract or subcontract that is not greater than" $100,000); Cal. Pub. Cont. Code Ann. § 10507.7 (West Supp. 1996) (lowest-responsible-bidder requirement for certain goods and materials only applicable to "contracts involving an [annual] expenditure of more than fifty thousand dollars"); Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 50, § 20/20 (1993) (lowest-responsible-bidder requirement for certain construction contracts not applicable to contracts for more than $5,000); N. Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 103.1 (McKinney Supp. 1996) (not covering public-work contracts for $20,000 or less or purchase contracts for $10,000 or less); S. D. Codified Laws § 5-18-3 (Supp. 1996) (requiring competitive bidding process for certain public-improvement contracts "involv[ing] the expenditure of twenty-five thousand dollars or more"); Tex. Loc. Govt. Code Ann. § 262.023(a) (Supp. 1996) (applying only to "a contract that will require an expenditure exceeding $15,000").
3 See, e. g., Idaho Code § 33-1510 (1995); N. J. Stat. Ann. § 28:1-7 (West 1981); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 511.12 (Supp. 1995); Okla. Stat., Tit. 52, § 318 (1991); Utah Code Ann. § 17A-2-1195 (1991).
4 See, e. g., Del. Code Ann., Tit. 29, § 6903(a)(2) (1991); Fla. Stat. § 287.057(3)(a) (Supp. 1996); Minn. Stat. § 16B.08(6) (1988); N. H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 228:4(I)(e) (1993); Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 12-3-202(3), 12-3-206 (1992).
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