BUSINESS AFFECTED WITH A PUBLIC INTEREST
A commercial venture or an occupation that has
become subject to governmental regulation by
virtue of its offering essential services or products
to the community at large.
A business affected with a public interest is
subject to regulation by the POLICE POWER of
the state to protect and to promote the GENERAL
WELFARE of the community which it serves.
Such a designation does not arise from the fact
that the business is large, or that the public
receives a benefit or enjoyment from its opera-
tion. The enterprise, as a result of its integral
participation in the life of the community or by
the privilege it has been granted by the state to
serve the needs of the public, is regulated more
strictly by the state than other businesses.
What constitutes a business affected with a
public interest varies from state to state. Three
classes of businesses have been traditionally
regarded as affected with a public interest:
(1) those carried on pursuant to a public grant
or privilege imposing a duty of making available
essential services demanded by the public, such
as common carriers and PUBLIC UTILITIES;
(2) occupations considered from the earliest
times in common law to be exceptional, such as
the operation of inns or cabs; and (3) businesses
that although not public at their inception have
become such by devoting their activities to a
public use, such as insurance companies and
banks.
A business affected with a public interest
remains the property of its owner, but the com-
munity is considered to have such a stake in its
operation that it becomes subject to public reg-
ulation to the extent of that interest.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Regulation.
