Arizona Colorado Florida Iowa Maine Minnesota Oklahoma Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas
According to Grassroots Change, a national group that tracks preemption,15 Republican-controlled legislatures – and one with a Democratic majority – have adopte
d laws since 2010 that ban local requirements for paid sick days. Milwaukee voters approved a referendum for the benefit in 2008, and in 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law a measure that preempts it. Other state preemptions have prevented city regulations on plastic grocery bags, pesticides, e-cigarettes and sugary drinks. – PBS NewsHour
National
State Preemption: A Significant and Quiet Threat to Public Health in the United States
Jennifer L. Pomeranz & Mark Pertschuk. (2017). (Peer Reviewed) American Journal of Public Health. e-View Ahead of Print. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303756.
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303756
Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH, Department of Public Health Policy and Management, College of Global Public Health, New York University and Mark Pertschuk, JD of Grassroots Change have published this peer-reviewed commentary outlining how current trends in preemption are an increasing and serious threat to progress in public health and safety. The commentary was published online in late April and will be republished in the print and online editions of AJPH in June.
A judge in San Francisco on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Trump’s efforts to starve localities of federal funds when they limit their cooperation with immigration enforcement, a stinging rejection of his threats to make so-called sanctuary cities fall in line.
The judge, William H. Orrick of United States District Court, wrote that the president had overstepped his powers with his January executive order on immigration by tying billions of dollars in federal funding to immigration enforcement. Judge Orrick said only Congress could place such conditions on spending.
DOJ to sanctuary cities: Prove compliance with immigration laws or no federal funds
CNN, 4/21/2017
The Justice Department ramped up its threat to so-called “sanctuary cities” on Friday: Fork over immigration information on individuals arrested or lose federal funding.
In a series of letters sent to local government officials in major cities around the country, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Miami, the Justice Department said the jurisdictions have until June 30 to prove compliance with a federal law requiring local authorities to share citizenship or immigrant status of individuals with the Immigration and Naturalization Service if requested or risk losing funds provided in 2016 justice assistance grants.
Does Pre-emption Harm Local Democracy? (Letter to the Editor)
Lisa Graves, Center for Media and Democracy, Wall Street Journal, 4/20/2017
The forces driving these bills aren’t ordinary citizens but special interests. National groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council allow corporate lobbyists to draft model bills, including laws to bar cities from raising the minimum wage, ignoring the reality that it costs more to live in a city and the minimum wage is dramatically behind the increase in the cost of living. Pre-emption laws strip cities of their ability to reflect the views and values of their constituents and raise questions about the future of representative democracy.
State and Local Governments: Battling for Control of Workplace Laws
JD Supra, 4/19/2017
Arizona governor signs bill to preempt nonexistent gun restrictions by cities
ThinkProgress, 4/21/2017
On Wednesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill that bars cities and towns from mandating sale of so-called “smart guns”—technology that tracks a weapon or stops unauthorized users from firing it…
Anyone found guilty of violating the new law could face a jail sentence of between one year and three years and nine months, according to a fact sheet that accompanied the legislation.
Elected officials will likely have immunity if they violate the law by enacting a smart gun ordinance. But unelected city officials who enforce that ordinance could still be prosecuted, according to Alex Vidal, a legislative associate at the League of Arizona Cities and Towns
Sanctuary city bill for Colorado gets initial voice vote OK
The Gazette, 4/24/2017
The Colorado Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would allow crime victims to sue municipalities with sanctuary city policies, as well the state withholding tax money.
Senate Bill 281 still must pass a roll-call vote before moving to the House, where it faces certain death before the House Democratic majority, which killed a similar bill this session that would have allowed public officials to be arrested over sanctuary city policies.
Florida bill punishing ‘sanctuary city’ officials moves ahead in Legislature
WFTS (Tampa Bay Local CBS Affiliate), 4/25/2017
Local officials who support so-called sanctuary cities could be ousted from office if a person living in the country illegally injures or kills someone in their jurisdiction.
That penalty is under a bill (HB 697) that passed its last committee stop on Monday. It would require local officials to fully comply with federal immigration laws, including holding detainees past their sentences.
Mayor awaiting ‘good answer’ to address his concerns about new gun law
The Daily Nonpareil, 4/19/2017
Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said Tuesday he is “concerned” about some provisions of a sweeping firearms bill approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad.
Of particular concern is the impact of changes to the wording of the Iowa law that preempts local governments — defined as counties, cities and townships — from restricting or regulating firearms.
That preemption has allowed the Council Bluffs City Council and the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors to approve regulations which prohibit individuals, including those with concealed carry permits, from bringing guns into City Hall or the Pottawattamie County Courthouse.
Hundreds gather at State House to protest bill punishing sanctuary cities
Bangor Daily News, 4/20/2017
The debate over sanctuary cities ultimately drifts into legal territory. And that means there’s disagreement over what exactly a sanctuary city is, or whether it even exists. But for supporters of anti-sanctuary city bills, the issue is pretty simple.
“Make no mistake, these policies and practices have life-and-death consequences, and we’re not just talking about terrorist attacks,” says state Rep. Larry Lockman, a Republican from Amherst.
Lockman is the sponsor of a bill that would compel local governments and law enforcement to act as extensions of federal immigration authorities, to collect and share the immigration status of residents and to assist in the detaining of people who may not have received authorization to be here.
Labor, advocates urge Governor Dayton to veto preemption bill
Workday Minnesota, 4/24/2017
Senate passes bill restricting local control on wage ordinances, workplace rules
MinnPost, 4/21/2017
Dayton concerned about (but would not necessarily veto) bill to preempt local ordinances
Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 4/20/2017
House Bill 2322, which would add “firearm and ammunition components” to the list of preempted topics in Oklahoma’s current state firearms preemption statute, was defeated in the state Senate on April 25. HB 2322 would have extended preemption to all local gun “policies,” not just ordinances.
However, the Oklahoma Municipal League reports that “a new Floor Amendment has been filed for SB 6 in the House making it an omnibus firearm bill including new municipal preemption language.”
Pennsylvania Firearm Preemption Law Enforcement Bill Doomed?
The Truth About Guns Blog, 4/23/2017
A review of the history of Pennsylvania’s firearms preemption laws from a pro-gun perspective, including a failed super-preemption bill in 2014 and the current bill, HB 671.
Pennsylvania: Firearms Preemption Bill Heads to the House Floor Next Week
NRA-ILA, 4/19/2017
April 19, the House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 671 by a 20-5 vote. HB 671 is scheduled to go before the full House for consideration next week.
Sanctuary cities crackdown moves to House floor
Tallahassee Democrat, 4/24/2017
A proposal to create uniform state immigration policies and crack down on cities that don’t abide by new federal mandates passed its final committee stop Monday…
The bill would prohibit state and local government entities, including law-enforcement agencies, from having any law, policy, practice or custom that impedes law enforcement from communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency.
In Texas 2 bills that limit the rights of LGBT people are currently pending in the legislature:
HB 2899 is an express preemption bill that would block local anti-discrimination ordinances protecting LGBT people.
SB 6 would prohibit transgender people from using the bathroom matching their gender identity, thus preempting local authority to protect these rights for transgender individuals.
Gays Across America: Advocates decry legislation to block protections, bathrooms
Bay Area Reporter, 4/27/2017
Commentary: HB 2899 diminishes rights of LGBT community, local control
The Austin American-Statesman, 4/21/2017
Gov. Abbott says he wants to sign a transgender bathroom bill
The Austin American-Statesman, 4/18/2017