Oklahoma, et al. v. United States, et al.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, 15 U.S.C. §§ 3051-3060, delegates federal law-enforcement and rulemaking power to a private corporation—the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (the “Authority”)—to govern the horseracing industry. The Act gives the Authority the exclusive power to enforce both the Act and the rules against regulated parties in federal court, as well as the powers to issue subpoenas, search the businesses and property of regulated persons, and impose sanctions that include fines, penalties, disgorgement, and lifetime bans from horseracing. The Act also requires the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate the private Authority’s rules as federal law, even if it disagrees with them as a policy matter, so long as they are “consistent” with the Act. 15 U.S.C. § 3053(c)(2). The Sixth Circuit below previously held that the Act does not violate the private non-delegation doctrine—the principle that Congress cannot delegate governmental power to private entities. The Fifth Circuit, however, declared the Act unconstitutional, and a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit agreed with the Sixth Circuit. This Court vacated all three decisions and remanded for reconsideration in light of FCC v. Consumers’ Research, 606 U.S. 656 (2025). On remand, the Sixth Circuit again upheld the Act. The question presented is whether the Act’s delegation of law-enforcement and rulemaking power to the private Authority violates the Constitution’s private non-delegation doctrine.