Article 1, Section 1, Clause 3 — Overview Of Duties Of Tonnage
Primary source
Commentary below is sourced from the Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) mirror of the U.S. Constitution Annotated, used per LII's robots.txt with 10-second crawl-delay compliance.
Commentary
prev | next
Article I, Section 10, Clause 3:
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, prohibits states from interfering with interstate and foreign commerce by imposing duties of tonnage—charges to access a port based on a vessel’s capacity (i.e., its tonnage)—without congressional consent. States may impose other types of taxes or charges on vessels provided they do not constitute duties of tonnage or otherwise violate the Constitution.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.