Hacker News Reader

Comment by AndyMcConachie | Hacker News Reader

The inter-state commerce clause allows Federal Law to preempt state law in this case. Congress has imbued the FCC with the power to regulate(see Chevron v EPA) exactly this. States have no reserved power to regulate the behavior of telecoms.

View on HN

FCC failed to preempt local state laws that ban municipal broadband. How is that different? Or FCC only can do it when serving monopolists?

Because under our system municipalities, counties, etc only have as much authority as are delegated by the state.

Well that is not really true depending on if the state has ever regulated something in the past. For example cars used to come with CA emissions standard as an item because CA regulated air quality before the federal government. It is not in cache right now but I believe they way it came down was if the state has regulated in the past and the state rules are stronger then the federal then the state wins.

CA got an exemption for CARB written into the federal emissions law at the time it was drafted. That's not the same as being grandfathered in just by virtue of having been the first to regulate.

Thanks for the clarification. I do believe there was some threat of case law behind this (back to states rights).

Interesting background of the current president trying to pull the waver here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/trump-ca...

Not sure that's always true - otherwise CARB and other such state agencies wouldn't exist (https://www.arb.ca.gov).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com