Nevada Public Service Commission/Railroad Commission

State regulation of railroads began in the eastern states in the pre-Civil War era. The regulatory movement spread to the other regions of the country, especially the Midwest, in the 1870s. State laws created railroad commissions whose main purpose was to set the rates that railroads were to charge for shipping and passengers. The commissions were also empowered to prohibit unfair practices such as rebates to favored shippers, free passes to public officials, and discrimination in long-haul/short-haul rates.

In Munn v. Illinois (1877) the United States Supreme Court upheld the principle of state regulation of railroads and other businesses "clothed with a public interest." Subsequent decisions placed limits on state regulatory power. Federal regulation came in 1887 with the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act, which established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Despite court-imposed restrictions on state regulation, and the entrance of the federal government into the regulatory field, the states continued to have considerable power to monitor railroad rates and practices. State and federal regulatory power grew to include other common carriers, telephones, telegraphs, express companies, and pipelines.

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