Spending Power Test (South Dakota v. Dole)
When Congress offers money to the States with conditions
(strings attached), such an exercise of the spending power is valid if:
(1) the spending program is in pursuit of the general welfare (courts
generally defer to
Congress in defining general welfare);
(2) any condition it includes is unambiguously stated so that the
states can make a knowing choice to accept or reject the money;
(3)
there is a relationship between the condition imposed
and the purpose of the federal spending;
(4) the condition does not induce the states to violate some other
provision of the
Constitution and, therefore, be independently barred (consider this
issue by asking whether a state could enact the condition on its own,
in the absence of the incentive of a federal spending program, without
violating the constitution); and
(5) the financial inducement offered by Congress must not be so
coercive as to go beyond pressure and amount to a compulsion.