★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
Cite
Executive Order 13146 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13146—Presidents Council on the Future of Princeville, North Carolina

•
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
•
3 min read (526 words)
•
65 Fed. Reg. 11201

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (526 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is established the "President’s Council on the Future of Princeville, North Carolina" (Council).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President William J. Clinton on February 29, 2000, this order concerns Presidents Council on the Future of Princeville, North Carolina. Princeville, North Carolina (Princeville) has a unique place in American history. This small city in eastern North Carolina was the first city in the United States founded by ex-slaves. In its history, Princeville has been damaged by floods many times. Recently, it was devastated by floods caused by Hurricane Floyd.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪
Establishment

There is established the "President’s Council on the Future of Princeville, North Carolina" (Council).

▪
Functions

The Council shall develop recommendations for the President on further agency and legislative actions that can be undertaken to address the future of Princeville.

▪
Coordination

At the request of the Chair, agencies shall cooperate with and provide information to the Council.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
46 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
526
3,518 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.2
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to develop recommendations for Federal agency actions to address the future of Princeville, North Carolina, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Policy. Princeville, North Carolina (Princeville) has a unique place in American history. This small city in eastern North Carolina was the first city in the United States founded by ex-slaves. In its history, Princeville has been damaged by floods many times. Recently, it was devastated by floods caused by Hurricane Floyd. In response to the damage, appropriate Federal agencies have already begun repair and recovery efforts to assist Princeville. However, it is the policy of this Administration to do more to help this city that occupies such a significant place in our history. Therefore, this order will create an interagency council to develop recommendations for further actions to address the future of Princeville.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Establishment. (a) There is established the "President’s Council on the Future of Princeville, North Carolina" (Council). The Council shall comprise the Secretaries of Defense, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs, or their designees, and such other executive department and agency (agencies) representatives as the President may deem appropriate. The Council shall consult with other agencies and State and local governments, as appropriate. (b) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or his designee, shall serve as Chair of the Council.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Functions. The Council shall develop recommendations for the President on further agency and legislative actions that can be undertaken to address the future of Princeville. In developing the recommendations, the Council shall consider, among other things: (a) the unique historic and cultural importance of Princeville in American history; (b) the views and recommendations of the relevant State and local governments, the private sector, citizens, community groups, and non-profit organizations, on actions that they all could take to enhance the future of Princeville and its citizens; and (c) agency assessments andrecommendations to repair and rebuild Princeville, and, to the extent practicable, protect Princeville from future floods. The Council, through its Chair, shall submit its recommendations to the President. Where appropriate, the Council’s recommendations shall include draft legislation requesting additional funding or other authorities to aid in the reconstruction and protection of Princeville.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Coordination. At the request of the Chair, agencies shall cooperate with and provide information to the Council.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Judicial Review. This order is not intended to, nor does it create, any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, it agencies, its officers or employees, or any other person. William J. Clinton

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

February 29, 2000.

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,146, 65 Fed. Reg. 11,201 (Feb. 29, 2000).