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Economic Regulation & Property

Flint v. Stone Tracy Co.

Decided: 1911

In brief

The Origination Clause is satisfied so long as the House first passed a bill on the same general subject, even if the Senate rewrote it.

The Court's ruling in depth

The Corporation Tax of 1909 originated in the House as a tariff bill; the Senate stripped and replaced its contents with a tax on corporate income before returning it. Challengers argued the tax violated Article I, § 7's rule that bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. The Court held that the House had originated a revenue bill; the Senate's power to 'propose or concur with Amendments' includes wholesale substitutes so long as the subject remains revenue. Flint is the foundational precedent letting the Senate rewrite House-passed revenue bills — a practice used continuously ever since, including in the Affordable Care Act's passage.

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