![handle is hein.crs/govekpk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: \Congressional ______
R aesearch Service
Congress and Law Enforcement Reform:
Constitutional Authority
Updated February 15, 2023
Incidents involving the use of force by law enforcement, such as the 2020 death of George Floyd and the
2023 death of Tyre Nichols, have generated heightened interest in the issue of reforming the policing
practices of state and local law enforcement. As discussed in another Legal Sidebar, several existing
federal laws seek to prevent and redress constitutional violations by state and local authorities. Congress
is constitutionally limited in its ability to legislate on matters related to state and local law enforcement-
limits that may inform any new laws Congress seeks to enact on this evolving issue. This Legal Sidebar
begins with an overview of Congress's authority to enact legislation and the limits on those powers. It
then discusses in more detail two of Congress's enumerated constitutional powers that may be most
relevant to federal legislation on matters relating to state and local law enforcement.
Limits to Congressional Authority
The Constitution establishes a system of dual sovereignty between the States and the Federal
Government. Under the Tenth Amendment, [t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The Supreme Court has recognized that there are certain subjects that are largely of local concern where
states historically have been sovereign, such as issues related to the family, crime, and education. In
contrast, Congress may only enact legislation under a specific power enumerated in the Constitution, and
it cannot use its power to intrude impermissibly on the sovereign powers of the states.
Because of these principles, the Supreme Court has recognized various limitations on Congress's power
to legislate in areas that fall within a state's purview, observing that congressional power is subject to
outer limits, and that Congress must take care not to effectually obliterate the distinction between what
is national and what is local. For example, although Congress has invoked its power to regulate interstate
and foreign commerce to legislate on a wide range of economic and social activities, the Court has limited
its reach when the legislation seeks to regulate purely local, non-economic activities. Additionally, under
the anti-commandeering doctrine, Congress is prohibited from directing states or localities to regulate the
activities of private parties on behalf of the federal government.
Although these principles constrain Congress's power, Congress can sometimes rely on its enumerated
powers to regulate in areas of state and local concern. The spending power and Section 5 of the
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10487
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govekpk0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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