Pg 11

Question 1

What is the taxing power?

Answer 1

Congress has the independent power to lay and collect taxes for the general welfare of the United States

Question 2

When are taxes usually upheld under the taxing power?

Answer 2

Taxes are usually upheld if:

• they were intended to raise revenue [subjective test], or
• they did in fact raise revenue [objective test] and no individual rights were infringed.

Question 3

Is it necessary that there is a connection between what Congress is taxing and what it is spending for?

Answer 3

No.

I.e.: Congress can impose a tax on gum to support solar energy. Those two things are unrelated, but it does not matter.

Question 4

When can the court limit the exercise of Congress’ tax power?

Answer 4

If there is a penalty provision that is extraneous to the tax need

Question 5

If the words say “fee” instead of “tax“ is that still considered to be a tax under Congress’ taxing power?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

If a question says “state tax” does that fall under congress’ taxing power?

Answer 6

No because the taxing power only applies to the federal government

Question 7

What are the major limits on Congress’ taxing power?

Answer 7

• no money can be spent except by appropriation
  – no preference can be given to anyone port
  – no bills of attainder
  – Cannot tax items exported from one state to another state
• taxing must be meant to raise revenue

Question 8

What is a bill of attainder?

Answer 8

When a law singles out an individual or group for unfavourable treatment and imposes punishment on that group or person or tries to tax them out of existence. This is unconstitutional

IE: finding someone guilty of treason without trial

Question 9

What has to be the main purpose for a tax?

Answer 9

To raise revenue (non regulatory purpose)

Question 10

What is a major question when you are looking at whether a tax is constitutional?

Answer 10

Ask if it is meant to regulate or to tax. Congress is not allowed to regulate through taxes.

Ie: if a gun cost $3000, but with tax it cost $8000, then it is clear that Congress is just trying to regulate guns

Question 11

Does the constitution put a limit on the amount that Congress can tax?

Answer 11

No

Question 12

If a federal law is revenue-producing on its face, can the courts prove a hidden regulatory motive to find it unconstitutional under the taxing power?

Answer 12

No

Question 13

What is the spending clause?

Answer 13

Congress can use federal money to provide for the common defence and general welfare. This is an independent source of federal power that is fiscal and not regulatory.

Question 14

Is it possible for Congress to indirectly regulate by attaching conditions to federal funds that they give where the recipients can either accept the funds and abide by the conditions or reject the funds to avoid the regulation?

Answer 14

Yes. In this case, the authority is always indirect through a condition on spending

I.e.: Congress gives federal funds to states to promote tourism with the condition to outlaw racial discrimination in hotels. Or they could give money for worker disability claims with the condition that minimum safety conditions be met in the workplace

Question 15

What must be the goal of the spending power of Congress?

Answer 15

To promote the general welfare of the United States.

Question 16

What is the standard that must be met under the spending clause?

Answer 16

Rational basis standard of review: the expenditure is presumed to be constitutional unless the P can show there was no legitimate general welfare interest that was furthered, or it was irrational to believe the interest would be furthered by the means that were chosen

Question 17

Congress is allowed to spend through the spending clause and to impose what types of conditions on the receipt of federal money?

Answer 17

Reasonable conditions

Question 18

Congress can use the spending power to enact federal legislation that would otherwise be what?

Answer 18

Beyond any enumerated federal legislative power

Question 19

If Congress gives money under the spending power with a condition, and a state accepts, what happens?

Answer 19

Essentially a contract has been formed and the state must voluntarily and knowingly accept the conditions

Question 20

Is it possible for Congress to use conditions on spending power money to pressure or compel states to accept policy changes?

Answer 20

No, the states must voluntarily and knowingly accept the money with the conditions. It cannot be a gun to the head with the state having no better options.

Question 21

Is congress free to take away existing funding if a state doesn’t cooperate with something new that Congress wants them to do?

Answer 21

No

Question 22

Why can a state not ignore conditions on money through the spending clause that it accepts from the federal government?

Answer 22

Because federal law is supreme

Question 23

If limits are attached to spending through the spending clause, what is necessary?

Answer 23

There must be a nexus between the limit and the purpose of the program

Question 24

What is the purpose of an inter-governmental immunity?

Answer 24

Prevents federal interference with state government legislative functions. So agencies in the federal government are immune from state regulation unless the federal government has consented.

I.e.: the state makes a law that all businesses have to use electric vehicles, but this does not apply to the federal Social Security office in the state, because it is a federal business

Question 25

What are the three different areas that inter-governmental immunities apply?

Answer 25

1. The federal government/its agencies are immune from state regulation unless they consent to it
2. Federal law is not applied to state legislators that are acting in the course of their official duties
3. Federal courts only have to follow state law in cases where the jurisdiction is based on diversity or a federal statute specifically incorporates state law

Question 26

What are the four major elements of the spending clause?

Answer 26

– it must serve a general welfare purpose
– conditions cannot be ambiguous
– conditions must be reasonable and related to a government interest being further by the funding program
– conditions cannot violate any other constitutional provision

Question 27

Congress can only tax or spend for general welfare, but they have no power to do what for the general welfare?

Answer 27

Regulate

Question 28

If Congress intends to condition receipt of money on compliance with some policy, under the spending clause, what do they have to do?

Answer 28

Must make that condition clear at the outset

Question 29

What is the contracts clause?

Answer 29

This stops states from using their power to enact legislation that has a retroactive effect on private and government contracts. This is used to invalidate statutes that retrospectively impair contractual obligations of private parties. The idea is that states cannot modify or alter public contracts or private contracts.

Question 30

Is the federal government subject to the contracts clause?

Answer 30

No, but due process does put some limits on their power to enact legislation that has a retroactive affect on private and government contracts

Question 31

What are the factors to decide if the contracts clause has been violated?

Answer 31

– if the impairment of contract was substantial
– if the plaintiff heavily relied on the contract provisions
– if the law was necessary to deal with general social problems
– if the law was a temporary measure to deal with an emergency
– if the law regulates a field the state has previously tried to regulate

Question 32

Under the contracts clause, when can the court enact legislation that limits contractual rights?

Answer 32

When it is to protect a basic societal interest and it is reasonable and a narrow means of protecting important societal interests

Question 33

If a court upheld a state law that put a statutory ceiling on price increases of natural gas suppliers, why was it upheld under the contracts clause?

Answer 33

Because it was a narrowly tailored means to promote an important state interest to protect consumers from high market prices caused by federal deregulation

Question 34

Would there be a contracts clause issue here?

If legislation affects contracts but doesn’t substantially impair contract rights in a retroactive way?

Answer 34

No issue

Question 35

To figure out if a state can enact legislation that impairs contracts on an essay, what steps would be considered?

Answer 35

• is there a contract?
  – Has state law been a substantial impairment of a contract relationship?
  • if the law operates PROSPECTIVELY to regulate everyone, it does not impair contracts
  • if the state regulation only ALTERS contract remedies, and not the rights and responsibilities of parties to the contract, that is an insignificant impairment
  • if the impairment is SUBSTANTIAL…
• is the state law meant to promote a significant and legitimate public purpose?
  – is the law reasonable and narrowly tailored to promote that purpose?
  – did the state reserve a power to modify its contracts when it entered the contract with the private party?