Driver's Privacy Protection Act valid under Tenth Amendment

Law Reporter, Apr 2000

Reno ro. Condon, - S. Ct. -, No. 98-1464, 2000 WL 16317 (Jan. 12,2000).

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (DPPA), 18 U.S.C. 2721 etseq., is a proper exercise of Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause and does not violate Tenth Amendment federalism principles.

The DPPA prohibits disclosure and sale of personal information contained in state motor vehicle records without an individual's consent. South Carolina sued the federal government, alleging the statute violates the Tenth Amendment. The trial court granted the state summary judgment and enjoined the act's enforcement, finding that it was incompatible with the principles of federalism. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

Reversing, the Supreme Court held the act is a proper exercise of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause. The information the DPPA regulates is a "thing in interstate commerce" because of its sale to entities and individuals engaged in interstate commerce and its use in the stream of interstate commerce for matters related to interstate motoring. Thus, the court reasoned, the states' sale of personal information provided by drivers is properly regulated by Congress.

Moreover, the Court disagreed with the state's argument that the DPPA violates Tenth Amendment federalism principles. The Court noted that in the cases cited by South Carolina, New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), and Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), the statutes at issue were found unconstitutional because Congress commandeered the state legislative process by requiring a state legislature to enact a particular kind of law. The DPPA differs from the statutes in those cases, however, in that it regulates state activities, rather than seeking to control the manner in which states regulate private parties. The act regulates states as the owners of the databases, but does not require state legislatures to enact any laws or regulations or require state officials to assist in enforcing the statute to regulate private individuals.