64
Opinion of the Court
pool be made on some out-of-state purchases.3 It is the imposition of that requirement that gave rise to this litigation. Petitioners in No. 01-950 operate dairy farms in Nevada; petitioners in No. 01-1018 operate such farms in Arizona. They contend that the 1997 amendment discriminates against them. In response, the California officials contend that it merely eliminated an unfair competitive advantage for out-of-state producers that was the product of the regulatory scheme itself.
Without reaching the merits of petitioners' constitutional claims, the District Court dismissed both cases and the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed. 259 F. 3d 1148 (2001). Relying on its earlier decision in Shamrock Farms Co. v. Veneman, 146 F. 3d 1177 (1998), the court held that a federal statute enacted in 1996 had immunized California's milk pricing and pooling laws from Commerce Clause challenge. It also held that the corporate petitioners had no standing to raise a claim under the Privileges and Immunities Clause, and that the individuals' claim under that Clause failed because the 1997 plan amendments did not, "on their face, create classifications based on any individual's residency or citizenship." 259 F. 3d, at 1156. We granted certiorari to review those two holdings, 537 U. S. 1099 (2003), but in doing so we do not reach the merits of either constitutional claim.
II
In some respects, the State's composition standards set forth in the 1947 Act exceed those set by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For example, California's minimum standard for reduced fat milk requires that it contain at least 10 percent solids-not-fat (which include protein,
3 After the 1997 amendment, processors whose blend price exceeds the quota price must make contributions to the pool on their out-of-state purchases as well as their in-state purchases.
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