The case concerned the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to preempt state law under § 253(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The Missouri Municipal League, which consisted of municipalities, municipal organizations, and municipally-owned utilities, petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for an order declaring the state statute unlawful and requesting the Commission to preempt under § 253(a) of the Telecommunications Act (47 U.S.C, § 253(a)), which provides that “No State or local statute or regulation, or other State or local legal requirement, may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service.” After notice and comment, the FCC refused to declare the Missouri statute preempted.

[3] In an 8-1 opinion authored by Justice David Souter, the Supreme Court reversed the Eighth Circuit’s order and upheld the Missouri statute.

The standard for determining whether Congress truly intended to alter the balance between federal and state powers is a directive that is "unmistakably clear in the language of the statute."

[4] Justice Stevens dissented, arguing that Congress was aware of the existence of publicly-owned utilities when the Telecommunications Act was enacted and intended to include them as entities, and that the FCC's interference into state-local affairs was limited because the agency could pre-empt only those state laws that constitute nonneutral restraints on telecommunications providers.