Con Law I - Legislative Power

Syracuse University College of Law - Professor Breen Spring 2026

Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 18 - Necessary & Proper Clause

Congress shall have power to make all laws necessary & proper for executing powers.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Congress possesses powers not explicitly in the Constitution; necessary = appropriate & legitimate, covering all methods for furthering the objectives covered by the enumerated powers

• + power comes from the people

• + cts should read the Constitution expansively

Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3 - Commerce Clause

Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce among the several states (+ foreign nations and Indian tribes).

Gibbons v. Ogden

Expansive view of the CC

1. Congress has power to regulate navigation via the CC

2. Congressional regulation in this case conflicts w/ state (direct collision = fed wins)

3. Valid congressional regulation of IC preempts inconsistent state regulation

Lopez Factors

1. Does statute regulate economic/commercial activity?

2. Does statute contain a jx element?

3. Does statute regulate a traditional area of state concern?

4. Are there congressional findings regarding the activity’s effect on IC?

Other Commerce Clause Cases

NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin: Congress may regulate intrastate industrial activities that have a close and substantial relation to interstate commerce, regardless of whether they involve production or manufacturing.

US v. Darby: Congress may regulate interstate commerce to prohibit the shipment of goods produced under substandard labor conditions, as such conditions have a significant impact on interstate commerce.

Wickard v. Filburn: Congress may regulate purely intrastate activity under the Commerce Clause if, viewed in the aggregate, that activity exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.

Heart of Atlanta: Congress may regulate the movement of persons across state lines as commerce, supported by congressional findings of effect on interstate commerce.

Katzenbach v. McClung: Congress may regulate local businesses under the Commerce Clause where their activities, viewed in the aggregate and supported by congressional findings, affect interstate commerce.

Morrison: Congress may not regulate non-economic activity under the Commerce Clause, even with supporting findings, where the activity falls within a traditional area of state concern.

Gonzales v. Raich: Congress may regulate purely local, non-commercial activity when it is part of a broader class of activities that, taken in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce.

13A - Enforcement Clause (Jones v. AHM)

Congress has the power to rationally determine what slavery is & the authority to translate that determination into effective legislation.

14A, Sec. 1 - Equal Protections

1. Privileges and Immunities Clause

2. Due Process Clause

3. Equal Protections Clause

All prohibit/require states to protect rights

14A, Sec. 5 - Enforcement Clause

1. Broad Scope: Congress may use power to expand the scope of rights & even define meaning of constitutional provisions, so long as Congress does not dilute rights (Katzenbach)

2. Narrow Scope: Congress may only provide remedies for rights recognized by cts; Congress may not create new rights or expand the scope of rights (City of Boerne)

City of Boerne - 2-step Test

1. What is the constitutional right at issue and to what degree is it being violated?

2. When comparing the right to the scope of enforcement legislation, is the legislation “congruent & proportional” to the right it seeks to enforce?

Employment Division v. Smith

Neutral, generally applicable laws may be applied to religious practices even when not supported by compelling government interest.

Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 1 - Taxing & Spending Power

Grants Congress broad authority to levy taxes and spend money for the "common Defence and general Welfare of the United States".

US v. Butler

1. T & S is a broad power limited only by the requirement that it be in pursuit of the general welfare

2. AND not limited by direct grants of legislative power found in the Constitution

Sonzinsky

1. Do not examine the motives of Congress in regards to T &S

2. Tax cannot be a penalty disguised as a tax

NFIB v. Sebelius - Functional Approach

1. Burdensomeness of the purported tax

2. Existence of a knowledge, or scienter, requirement as predicate to liability under tax

3. Process by which the tax was enforced

South Dakota v. Dole - Limits to SP

1. Must be in pursuit of the general welfare

2. Must be unambiguously stated that funds are granted conditionally

3. May be illegitimate if conditions are unrelated to federal interest in spending program

4. Other parts of the Constitution may be independent bars

5. Condition may not be “unduly coercive”