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South Dakota v. Dole

Facts of the Case

Provided by Oyez

In 1984, Congress enacted legislation ordering the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of federal highway funds from states that did not adopt a 21-year-old minimum drinking age. South Dakota, a state that permitted persons 19 years of age to purchase alcohol, challenged the law.

Questions

  1. Did Congress exceed its spending powers, or violate the Twenty-first Amendment, by passing legislation conditioning the award of federal highway funds on the states' adoption of a uniform minimum drinking age?

Conclusions

  1. No. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that Congress, acting indirectly to encourage uniformity in states' drinking ages, was within constitutional bounds. The Court found that the legislation was in pursuit of "the general welfare," and that the means chosen to do so were reasonable. The Court also held that the Twenty-first Amendment's limitations on spending power were not prohibitions on congressional attempts to achieve federal objectives indirectly. The five percent loss of highway funds was not unduly coercive.

Non-Delegation? Or No Divesting? Art. I, Sec. 1 at the Founding and Today

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Administrative Law & Regulation and Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Groups

Online Event
Speakers:
Nicholas Bagley • Philip A. Hamburger • Jennifer L. Mascott • Nicholas R. Parrillo • Neomi Rao
Topics:
Administrative Law & Regulation • Separation of Powers • Federalism & Separation of Powers • Constitution • Founding Era & History