Also known as: activity affecting interstate commerce · activities that affect interstate commerce · affecting interstate commerce · Commerce Clause · affectation doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Activities that have a substantial effect on the movement of goods, services, or persons across state lines, thereby coming within Congress's regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause.
Artemis Logistics ships live baitfish from out of state into a local market. State officials block the shipments to protect native fish populations. The company sues, arguing the ban targets an activity with clear interstate dimensions and lacks nondiscriminatory alternatives.
Alliance Holdings hauls hazardous waste generated in another state to a local landfill. The state charges the company a higher disposal fee than it charges in-state generators. The firm claims the surcharge discriminates against an interstate waste-handling activity without justification.
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Atlas Ventures collects solid waste from businesses across state lines. A county rule requires all waste to go to a publicly owned transfer station. The company challenges the mandate as favoring a government facility that performs a traditional public function.
Andre Antoine works for a state agency that maintains interstate highways. Federal wage and hour standards now cover his position. The state argues the rules intrude on traditional governmental functions, but the statute treats public and private employers alike.
Abigail Alvarez operates a disposal site that accepts nuclear waste from several states. Congress has authorized the state to impose an extra fee on out-of-state shipments. The operator contests the fee as unauthorized discrimination against interstate activity.
Alan Ackerman carries a handgun in his vehicle parked at a manufacturing plant. A federal statute prohibits the firearm on the premises. The employee argues the possession is purely local and noncommercial, lacking any substantial link to interstate movement of goods.
Congress must demonstrate that the activity, taken in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce. Non-economic, intrastate conduct such as simple possession does not qualify for aggregation.
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States participate in the federal political process through their senators and representatives. Courts therefore defer to Congress when it regulates states and private parties under the same commerce statute.
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Congress may expressly permit states to impose origin-based surcharges or restrictions on particular items such as nuclear waste. Authorized discrimination does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause.
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No. When the ordinance directs waste to a government-owned facility performing a traditional public function, courts apply more lenient review because the preference is presumed to serve legitimate public objectives rather than economic protectionism.
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…and foreign commerce. There is no reason to believe that Chief Justice Marshall was asserting that Congress could regulate all activities that affect interstate commerce. See ibid. The second source of confusion stems from the Court's praise for the Constitution's division of power between the States and the Federal Government: "The genius and…