FEDERALISM TODAY| 77THE COMMERCE CLAUSE
Another category of cases leading to more state power concerns the commerce
clause of the Constitution. A signifi cant recent Court case that limited Con-
gress’s commerce powers involved the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990,
which made it a federal off ense to have a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. Con-
gress assumed that it had the power to pass this legislation, given the Court’s
previously expansive interpretation of the commerce clause, even though it
concerned a traditional area of state power. Although it was a stretch to claim
that carrying a gun in or around a school was related to interstate commerce,
RECENT IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON FEDERALISM
TABLE »^ 5.1
CASE HOLDING AND SIGNIFICANCE
Gregory v. Ashcroft (1991) The Missouri constitution’s requirement that state judges retire by age
70 did not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
United States v. Lopez (1995) Carrying a gun in a school did not fall within “interstate commerce,” thus
Congress could not prohibit the possession of guns on school property.
Seminole Tribe v. Florida (1996) The Court used the Eleventh Amendment to strengthen states’ sovereign
immunity, ruling that Congress could not compel a state to negotiate
with Indian tribes about gaming and casinos.
Printz v. United States (1997) The Court struck down part of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
Act, saying that Congress cannot require local law enforcement offi cers
to perform background checks on prospective handgun purchasers.
City of Boerne v. Flores (1997) The Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as an
overly broad attempt to curtail the state-sponsored harassment of
religion, saying that national legislation aimed at remedying states’
discrimination must be “congruent and proportional” to the harm.
Alden v. Maine (1999) State employees could not sue the state of Maine for violating the
overtime pay provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
United States v. Morrison (2000) The Court struck down part of the Violence against Women Act, saying
that Congress did not have the power under the commerce clause to
provide a national remedy for gender-based crimes.
Kimel et al. v. Florida Board of
Regents (2000)The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 could not be
applied to state employees because it was not considered “appropriate
legislation” under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Alabama v. Garrett (2001) The Court struck down the portion of the Americans with Disabilities Act
that applied to the states, saying that state governments are not required
to make special accommodations for the disabled.
Nevada Department of Human Resources v.
Hibbs (2003)The Court upheld Congress’s power to apply the 1993 Family Leave Act
to state employees as “appropriate legislation” under Section 5 of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
United States v. Bond (2011) The Court upheld individuals’ right to challenge the constitutionality of a
federal law under the Tenth Amendment.
National Federation of Independent
Business v. Sebelius (2012)The Court upheld most provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but struck
down the expansion of Medicaid as an unconstitutional use of coercive
federalism (states could voluntarily take the additional funding to cover
the expansion, but they would not lose existing funds if they opted out).