Federalism

Question 1

under the 10th amendment, all powers NOT granted to the federal government are vested where?

Answer 1

reserved to the states or the people

Question 2

what is the states’ general police power?

Answer 2

state have power to regulate the health, safety, and welfare of their people

Question 3

generally, what level of scrutiny are state police powers evaluated under?

Answer 3

rational basis review

Question 4

what level of scrutiny will state police powers be evaluated under if they burden a fundamental right or involve a suspect/quasi suspect class?

Answer 4

strict or intermediate scrutiny

Question 5

what is the anti-commandeering principle? (10th amendment)

Answer 5

congress cannot commandeer a state by requiring it to enact certain state laws or to enforce federal laws

Question 6

true or false: a federal tax that doesn’t apply to businesses but merely taxes state government entities are typically INVALID.

Answer 6

TRUE

Question 7

true or false: non-coercive spending conditions violate the anti-commandeering principle.

Answer 7

FALSE (these are merely grants with strings attached)

Question 8

what is the main exception to the anti-commandeering principle?

Answer 8

civil rights = under the 14th amendment, congress can restrict states from discriminating in violation of equal protection or depriving rights protected by due process

Question 9

true or false: the anti-commandeering principle does NOT apply when Congress regulates an activity in which both states and private actors engage.

Answer 9

TRUE (can regulate if it applies to both public and private sectors)

Question 10

what is the effect of the supremacy clause on state law?

Answer 10

a federal law may supersede or preempt state or local laws

Question 11

what is express preemption?

Answer 11

a federal law expressly says that the states may not adopt laws concerning the subject matter of the federal legislation

Question 12

how are express preemption clauses construed?

Answer 12

narrowly

Question 13

if a state law conflicts with federal law requirements (making it impossible to follow both), what is the result?

Answer 13

the state law will be held as impliedly preempted

Question 14

if a state law prevents achievement of a federal objective (even without direct conflict), what is the result?

Answer 14

the state law will be held as impliedly preempted

Question 15

what is field preemption?

Answer 15

a valid federal law may impliedly “occupy” the entire field, thus barring any state or local law EVEN IF state or local law is NONCONFLICTING

Question 16

how do courts determine if there’s field preemption?

Answer 16

by looking at the regulatory scheme to determine whether Congress intended to preempt the entire field
**NOTE = look for EXTENSIVE regulation or an agency created to oversee the area – preemption likely

Question 17

what is the presumption against preemption?

Answer 17

a starting point in all preemption cases that presumes that the historic state police powers are NOT to be superseded unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress