Congress enacted a statute appropriating money to the states…
Congress enacted a statute appropriating money to the states on condition that the states use the money to support “public performances of classical ballet open to the public.” The statute provided that the money was not to be used to support any other type of dance, and that tickets to any performance paid for with these funds were to be distributed to the public on a first come, first served basis. A state that accepted a grant of $500,000 under the federal statute gave half of the grant to a state-sponsored ballet company. The company had been started 20 years earlier as part of a state effort to bring culture to poor, inner-city areas. By state law enacted when the company was formed, no less than 35% of the tickets to each performance of the ballet company must be distributed to the inner-city school systems to be given to minority school children. Is the state’s method of distributing tickets to the state ballet company’s performances constitutional?