...financial restrictions of the 1962 covenant were valid when adopted does not finally resolve this case. The Contract Clause is not an absolute bar to subsequent modification of a State's own financial obligations.24 As with laws impairing the obligations of private contracts, an impairment may be constitutional...

...contract clause "prohibits the retroactive repeal of the 1962 covenant." The Court reasoned that the clause "is not an absolute bar to subsequent modification...impairment may be constitutional if it is reasonable and necessary to serve an important public purpose. In applying this standard, however, complete deference...

...of sovereign power," necessarily reserved by the States to safeguard the welfare of their citizens. The Contract Clause is not an absolute bar to subsequent...impairment may be constitutional if it is reasonable and necessary to serve an important public purpose. In applying this standard, however, complete deference...