What legislation did South Dakota challenge in South Dakota v. Dole?

In South Dakota v. Dole, the state of South Dakota challenged the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This legislation mandated that states raise the legal drinking age to 21 in order to qualify for federal highway funds. The challenge arose from South Dakota's desire to maintain a lower drinking age of 19, arguing that the federal government was overstepping its authority by coercively linking federal funding to the enforcement of the drinking age.

The case reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in favor of the federal government, upholding the law. This decision highlighted the tension in federalism regarding the balance of power between state and federal governments, specifically in the context of conditional grants—where federal funds are tied to specific state policies or requirements.

The other options do not relate directly to the central legislative focus of the case, which was specifically about the drinking age and the conditions applied by the federal government to highway funds.