In today's Supreme Court ruling in FCC v. Consumers' Research, a 6-3 majority upheld the Federal Communications Commission's authority to impose levies on telecommunications carriers to support a "Universal Service Fund" intended to subsidize telecommunications services for low-income consumers, people in rural areas, and some others who might not otherwise get them. The Court rejected the argument that the 1996 law authorizing this levy violates the nondelegation doctrine, which constrains delegation of legislative power to the executive. But, in the process, the majority also emphasizes important constitutional limits on delegation.
