Also known as: commandeers · commandeered · commandeering · requisition
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To compel state governments or their officials to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program by using their own legislative or executive resources to implement federal policy rather than regulating private parties directly.
Federal legislation required state and local law enforcement officers in several states to conduct background checks on handgun purchasers using federal forms and databases. State officers in one jurisdiction refused to perform the checks, citing lack of resources and authority. The refusal prevented enforcement of the federal program until federal agents assumed the task directly.
A federal statute prohibited state legislatures from enacting laws that authorize or license sports gambling operations within their borders. State legislators in one state considered passing a licensing scheme to generate revenue but halted after determining the federal prohibition targeted their legislative authority directly. Private operators could not obtain state approval and the scheme remained blocked.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A federal statute purported to authorize private parties to sue states in their own courts for violations of federal labor standards. State officials declined to hear the suits, asserting that Congress lacked power to force state judicial systems into federal enforcement roles. The suits were dismissed without state consent.
Federal regulators attempted to direct state health officials to implement a national protocol for withdrawing life support from patients in persistent vegetative states. State officials refused to allocate personnel or facilities to enforce the federal protocol. The patients remained under state guardianship without federal override.
A company town sought to prevent distribution of religious literature on its streets by treating the area as private property. State authorities declined to commandeer the streets or enforce federal free-speech rules through local officials. The literature distribution continued without state compulsion.
Federal campaign finance provisions restricted how state political parties could raise and spend funds for state elections. State officials continued to enforce their own election laws without adopting the federal restrictions. The provisions applied only to private conduct and left state legislative processes untouched.
Commandeering occurs when Congress issues direct orders to state legislatures or executive officers to enact, administer, or enforce a federal program. Valid preemption instead regulates private conduct and displaces conflicting state law without compelling state officials to act. The distinction turns on whether the federal statute targets state governmental processes or private parties.
Yes. The doctrine prohibits Congress from directing state legislatures to enact specific laws and from ordering state executive officers to perform federal tasks such as background checks or data entry. Both forms of compulsion violate the Tenth Amendment by forcing states to use their own resources to implement federal policy.
Conditional spending may be permissible if the conditions are related to the federal interest, unambiguous, and not coercive. Direct commandeering, however, occurs when Congress mandates state action without offering states a genuine choice to decline participation. Courts examine whether the funding condition leaves states with real autonomy.
No. The anti-commandeering rule addresses only federal attempts to use states as instruments of regulation. Congress may subject states to the same generally applicable statutes that bind private actors, such as wage-and-hour laws, without violating the doctrine.
…by the owners of these services and with no compensation for the deprivation of space. It would even allow the government to requisition a certain number of apartments as permanent government offices. The right of a property owner to exclude a stranger's physical occupation of his land cannot be so easily…