Federalism: state and federal governments Flashcards
Relationship between federal and state power
(1) Federal powers are superior to state powers where they conflict;
(2) On most topics, Congress and the states have concurrent powers;
(3) Some powers are exclusively federal, e.g., over foreign relations and coining of money.
Intergovernmental immunities
(1) Federal government:
It is generally immune from direct state regulation or taxation.
But states can tax indirectly, e.g., by taxing the income of federal employees.
(2) State governments:
They are not immune from direct federal regulation, and states cannot shield their officers from federal liability for violating federal constitutional rights.
But the federal government cannot commandeer or coerce states into carrying out federal programs.
Preemption
Federal law overrides inconsistent state law, but there must be incompatibility or conflict.
State law is not preempted merely because it addresses the same subject matter or topic as a federal statute.
Premption: preempting the field
In rare circumstances, when Congress decides there should be no state law in a particular field (“field preemption”), then any state law inconsistent with the federal statute is preempted.
Preemption: state police power
There is a presumption against preemption in an area governed by the state’s police power.
Anti-coercion doctrine
Although Congress cannot “commandeer” state legislatures by commanding them to enact specific legislation, Congress can use its spending power to accomplish such a result indirectly by conditioning the receipt of federal funding on enacting such legislation.
Congressional “encouragement” cannot exceed that point at which pressure turns into compulsion, e.g., by totally eliminating or eliminating a large, coercive amount, of funding.
Federal taxation of states
Pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, the federal government may tax a state; the Tenth Amendment does not protect a state from all federal taxation.
States, however, have partial immunity from direct federal taxation that would unduly interfere with the performance of the states’ “sovereign functions of government.”
Therefore, the federal government generally may not impose significant taxes directly on states for property used for or income received from the state’s performance of basic governmental functions—e.g., public schools and state parks.
State taxes: interstate commerce
A state tax imposed on interstate commerce must satisfy the Complete Auto test.
(i) the activity taxed must have a substantial nexus to the taxing state;
(ii) the tax must be fairly apportioned;
(iii) the tax may not discriminate against interstate commerce; and
(iv) the tax must be fairly related to the services provided by the state.
State taxes: foreign commerce
In addition to the requirements applicable to a tax on interstate commerce, a state tax on foreign commerce must not:
(i) create a substantial risk of international multiple taxation or
(ii) prevent the federal government from “speaking with one voice” regarding international trade or foreign affairs issues
Preemption: obstacles to federal purposes
A state law may indirectly conflict with federal law by creating an obstacle to or frustrating the accomplishment of that law’s purpose.
Absent obstacle preemption, however, a state is free to set more stringent standards on conduct than those imposed by the federal government, as long as it does not infringe on a federally protected right.
State taxes: federal instrumentalities
The federal government and its instrumentalities—such as a national bank chartered by the federal government—are immune from taxation by the states.
States may, however, impose generally applicable indirect taxes so long as they do not unreasonably burden the federal government—e.g., state income taxes on federal employees).
School desegregation orders
Only intentional (de jure) segregation in schools violates the Equal Protection Clause. A court cannot impose a remedy that involves multiple school districts unless there is evidence of intentional segregation in each district.
