The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and an Unbridled Spending Power: Will They Survive on the Supreme Court's Road to Substantive Federalism

The question remains as to how far the Supreme Court will go in its refortification of the Tenth Amendment. This Note explores emerging federalism trends and evaluates the CAA in light of a stronger state sovereignty that is appearing on the constitutional horizon. Parts II and III examine the CAAA and the constitutional problems engendered by the Act. Part IV examines current Tenth Amendment and Spending Clause jurisprudence, and illustrates that the CAAA is a classic example of how Congress has been able to circumvent the Tenth Amendment with its Spending power.

Part V presents a new view of federalism that is materializing in Commerce Clause and Eleventh Amendment doctrine, and extends that theory to the Tenth Amendment in the hope of finding a substantive bar on Congress's excessive use of the Spending power. Part VI calls for a restructuring of the CAAA to promote its high objectives, and concludes that unless the Act falls in line with the substantive federalism trend, its objectives will not be fulfilled.