FEDERAL GOV POWERS & LIMITATION Flashcards
What are the sources of Power for the Federal Government?
- Commerce Clause
- Spending
- Taxing
- 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution
- Others such as war, federal property, limited police power, citizenship, bankruptcy, Postal services, coin money and patent/copyright.
(DO NOT FORGET THE NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE)
What is the [ NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE]
The Necessary and Proper Clause grants Congress broad authority to enact laws that shall be necessary and proper to execute any of their enumerated powers. The law need only be rationally related to the implementation of a constitutionally enumerated power.
In other words: The Necessary and Proper Clause is used in conjunction with an existing power. It acts as an extension of an existing power.
MBE TIP: Necessary and Proper alone is never the right answer choice as the source of constitutionality of a law. Again, this is because it is not an independent source of power. It must be paired with an enumerated power.
What is the limitation for the exercise of the 10th amendment Powers?
The 10th Amendment –> Which provides that the powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited by the Constitution are reserved to the states. Therefore, Congress can’t compel a city or state to pass a law.
a) Can induce action by putting strings on federal grant of funds (South Dakota V. Dole).
b) Congress cannot take unduly coercive action.
c) May prohibit harmful commercial activity by state gov’ts. (Reno v. Condon) Congress can prohibit harmful sale of personal private information from DMV records.
What is a common way in which COMMANDEERING is triggered?
1) Fed govt. is forcing the state to enforce the federal law.
2) Fed govt. is forcing the state to adopt/pass similar law.
Under what CONDITIONS may Congress condition federal funding?
Congress may impose conditions on federal funding if:
a. The condition is clearly stated
b. The funding program conditioned is related to the law or action sought to be followed by the state
c. The condition is not unduly coercive
[Notes] :
i) States are not obligated to take the funds and satisfy the condition. States are free to reject or accept the federal funds. However, if they do accept the funds from a valid condition, they are then obligated to hold up their end of the bargain. (No funny business states!)
ii) Creating a new funding program and incentivizing the state in adopting action or regulation is rarely, if ever, unduly coercive.
iii) Conditioning an existing funding program as an incentive to adopt action or regulation can be unduly coercive but it depends on how much is conditioned. (The lower the amount = somewhat coercive) vs (The higher the amount = Unduly coercive )
Ex: Federal govt. conditioning 2% of the existing $1,000,000 funding for highway development. Likely not unduly coercive.
What is the rule of General Applicability when it comes to the federal powers over states?
States are not immune to federal regulation. Congress may impose regulatory statutes of generally applicable laws that do not directly target the states and apply to both private and state actors.
