Landor v. Louisiana Dept of Corrections and Public Safety · ¶103

That should spell the end of this dispute. The Spending Clause has no strict direct-consent-to-liability requirement, and respondents offer no reason to think RLUIPA fails the traditional Dole test. But Congress has still more reservoirs of power from which to draw. The Necessary and Proper Clause “empowers Congress to enact laws in effectuation of its enumerated powers”—including the spending power—“that are not within its authority to enact in isolation.” Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U. S. 1, 39 (2005) (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment); see Sabri, 541 U. S., at 605. Should RLUIPA’s individual-capacity remedy require more power than the Spending Clause provides, the Necessary and Proper Clause supplies it.

slip opinion, revised 6/28/26
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