Nondelegation doctrine doesn't nix FCC funding program for internet and phone service, Supreme Court rules
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that a program to fund internet and communications services for underserved areas does not violate the nondelegation doctrine.
Congress did not impermissibly transfer power to the Federal Communications Commission to run the program, and the FCC did not impermissibly delegate authority to a private company that provided nonbinding advice, Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the majority opinion.
The case involves a challenge to fees imposed on telecommunications carriers to help provide service to schools, libraries and underserved areas.
At issue was whether Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine by requiring the FCC to determine the required fees and whether the FCC delegated too much authority to a private company to handle financial projections and administrative tasks.
The nondelegation doctrine bans Congress from delegating legislative power to federal agencies without an “intelligible principle” to guide the exercise of agency discretion. The last time that the Supreme Court cited the doctrine to invalidate a federal law was in 1935.
The case is Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research.
Hat tip to SCOTUSblog, which had early coverage of the case.
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