Left in place is a lower court ruling that the state law is unconstitutional because it bars outside developers of federally approved regional transmission lines, which were termed “classic instruments of interstate commerce.”

The "right-to-control theory" used by federal prosecutors "cannot form the basis for a conviction under federal fraud statutes,” Justice Clarence Thomas said in the unanimous opinion, with the high court also ruling on disputes related to the controversial Mountain Valley gas pipeline and to state mandates affecting interstate commerce.