Congress recently enacted the Family Legal Services for the Poor Act. The Act establishes a Poverty Law Office in every state that is responsible for representing indigent clients in family law matters, such as divorce, child custody, and child support matters. The Act funds these new offices by imposing an occupation tax on every attorney licensed to practice in a state, territory, or possession of the United States. To facilitate collection of attorney occupation tax, the Act requires every law firm or other organization, public or private, that employs lawyers to register with the Department of Labor, and to report quarterly the names and wages of each lawyer then employed. The Act places a similar reporting requirement on solo practitioners. A national association of state Attorneys General recently spoke out against the law, arguing that the Act's registration requirement and occupation tax violate the residue of state sovereignty protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. 

 

Does the Act's registration requirement violate the Tenth Amendment?