US West Communications, Inc. v. City of Eugene

The primary question this case presents is whether a city may impose more than a seven percent privilege tax on telecommunications carriers. We agree with the Court of Appeals that it may. We disagree, however, with the Court of Appeals’ decision to reach a subsidiary issue — whether the statutes governing the Public Utility Commission (PUC) preempt cities from regulating telecommunications carriers. Accordingly, we affirm the Court of Appeals decision in part and vacate it in part.

US West Communications, Inc. (US West), which is now known as Qwest, provides telecommunications services within…