Legislative Power Flashcards
True or false: The Necessary and Proper Clause standing alone may support federal law.
False. The Necessary and Proper Clause must work in conjunction with another enumerated federal power.
True or false: Congressional taxing and spending may be for any public purpose not prohibited by the Constitution.
True
Under the spending power, Congress may impose conditions on the grant of money to state or local governments if the conditions:
(1) Are clearly stated,
(2) Relate to the purpose of the program,
(3) Are not unduly coercive, AND
(4) Do not otherwise violate the Constitution
Most federal taxes will be upheld if they bear some reasonable relationship to _________ or to _________.
(1) Revenue production
(2) Promoting the general welfare
To be within Congress’s Commerce Clause power, a federal law regulating interstate commerce must either regulate:
(1) The channels of interstate commerce (e.g., highways, waterways, telephone lines, the internet)
(2) The instrumentalities of interstate commerce (e.g., planes, trains, automobiles) and persons and things in interstate commerce OR
(3) Activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
When Congress attempts to regulate intrastate (i.e., local) activity on the basis that the activity has a substantial effect on interstate commerce, the Court will uphold the regulation if it can think of a ________ on which Congress could conclude that the activity ________ substantially affects interstate commerce.
(1) rational basis
(2) in the aggregate
True or false: The Commerce Clause gives Congress power only to regulate existing commercial activity; it does not give Congress power to compel activity.
True
True or false: Military courts have jurisdiction over all offenses committed by persons who are members of the armed services both at the time of the offense and when charged.
True
True or false: American civilians may never be tried by military courts under martial law.
False. American civilians may only be tried by military courts under martial law if actual warfare forces the federal courts to shut down.
True or false: Although there is no express limitation on Congress’s power to dispose of federal property, federal takings of private property (i.e., eminent domain) must be pursuant to an enumerated power under some other provision of the Constitution.
True
True or false: Congress may take away the citizenship of naturalized citizens, but not natural-born citizens, without the naturalized citizen’s consent.
False. Congress may not take away the citizenship of any citizen—natural-born or naturalized—without their consent.
Legislative power can generally be delegated to the executive branch (including agencies) or judicial branch as long as _______ are set and the power is not _______.
(1) intelligible standards
(2) uniquely confined to Congress
