Quote of the week:
NYC’s announcement last week that it’ll begin enforcing menu labeling May 22 sparked the ire of the National Restaurant Association. “Just as we feared, city and state governments are taking advantage of the federal menu labeling delay,” said Cicely Simpson, executive vice president of government affairs at NRA…
“Federal preemption on menu labeling is the law of the land”
– Morning Agriculture, Politico, May 25, 2017
National
State Liquor Laws Preempt Local Municipalities from Restricting Operating Hours
JD Supra, 6/19/2017
The State liquor law preempts local municipalities from restricting hours of operation for businesses selling alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption. Accordingly, local municipalities should use caution when imposing conditions upon establishments regulated by the State Liquor Authority and would be wise to consider alternative ways to manage late hours accompanied by public imbibing.
Regulatory Wrap-Up: Where state and national policy impact retail
Chain Store Age, 6/19/2017
Detailed coverage of federal and state paid leave preemption, among other policy topics of interest to industry.
California will wait for FDA on menu labeling
Politico, 5/25/2017
CALIFORNIA WILL WAIT FOR FDA ON MENU LABELING: New York City may be rolling ahead with enforcing menu labeling after the Trump administration pulled the plug on a federal rule that was supposed to take effect earlier this month, but California says it’s going to wait for FDA…
NYC’s announcement last week that it’ll begin enforcing menu labeling May 22 sparked the ire of the National Restaurant Association. “Just as we feared, city and state governments are taking advantage of the federal menu labeling delay,” said Cicely Simpson, executive vice president of government affairs at NRA, in an email to [Morning Agriculture] last week.
“Federal preemption on menu labeling is the law of the land,” Simpson said. “The one year delay of implementation does not negate that preemption therefore New York City’s announcement is in violation of federal law.”
AL joins 9 states to support block of sanctuary city funding
WSFA (Central AL NBC Affiliate), 6/16/2017
Alabama has joined a 10-state coalition that backs an executive order by President Donald Trump that would block federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities”, according to Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office…
The coalition submitted a 19-page amicus brief Friday that argues the lawsuits challenging the president’s order are “premature and undermine the president’s immigration enforcement authority.”
Other states in the coalition include Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Factory Farm Reforms
Food & Water Watch, 6/13/2017
An analysis of the strategies and tactics of the factory farm industry (also known as industrial agricultural or concentrated animal feeding operations), which include preemption of state and local authority.
City vs. State: The Story So Far
CityLab, 7/13/2017
Corporate Lobbies Attack the Public Interest in State Capitols
Truthout, 6/8/2017
State Preemption: Taking Away “Home Rule” on Plastic Pollution
Surfrider Foundation, 6/9/2017
The threat of removal of local control is looming large in the United States, and it is very easy to see in the context of plastic pollution battles. Just last week, the Governor of the State of Minnesota signed an omnibus budget bill that included a preemption provision to strip away the right of local municipalities to pass single-use bag regulation…
This is the sad story of statewide preemption, where already ten states have passed some sort of local plastic pollution preemption, including Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Wisconsin in addition to Minnesota. Some of these preemption measures cover bag bans, specifically, like Minnesota, and other state laws are more broad so as to take aim at any local regulation of “auxiliary containers” which could be interpreted to mean bags, foam foodware, and other single-use containers.
San Francisco’s Heart Isn’t in State, Local Preemption
Broadcasting & Cable, 6/16/2017
The city of San Francisco says there is no justification for the FCC to preempt state and local “authority” over the deployment of wireline facilities.
That came in comments on the FCC’s notice of inquiry asking how it should go about speeding wired broadband deployment, including whether preemption should be in play. The comments were due this week.
Lafayette officials to probe more local control over oil, gas pipelines
The Daily Camera, 6/6/2017
Lafayette City Council members could push for more local control over where and how oil and gas pipelines operate within their borders in the coming months…
Following a presentation from Josh Joswick, a community organizer with the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, council members mused about drafting legislation on how to regulate existing wells within the city.
Michigan local leaders’ views on state preemption and how to share policy authority
Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (University of Michigan), 6/2017
This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding concerns over state government preemption of local decision making and preferred areas of shared and separate policy authority between local and state government. The findings in this report are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Fall 2016 wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS).
Bills that prohibit sanctuary cities get OK from House panel
Detroit Free Press, 6/7/2017
Despite hearing overwhelming opposition to bills that would prohibit communities from enacting ordinances that would identify the town as a sanctuary city unwilling to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Republicans in the House Local Government committee approved moving the legislation to the full House of Representatives.
Over two days of hearings, the committee heard from immigrant activists and city and law enforcement officials all opposed to the legislation.
Michigan sanctuary city legislation causing confusion
WOOD TV (Grand Rapids), 6/12/2017
University of Michigan campus gun ban upheld by Court of Appeals
MLive, 6/7/2017
The University of Michigan’s campus gun ban has been upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In a 2-1 opinion, the court said a 2001 ban making all properties owned, leased or controlled by the university weapons-free doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution.
Missouri’s 2nd special session sets up another fight over cities’ ability to self-govern
KBIA (Missouri NPR Affiliate), 6/11/2017
When it goes into its second special session Monday, the Missouri General Assembly will focus on a frequent — and arguably, favorite — target: local control.
On issues ranging from gun rights to anti-discrimination regulations, Republican leaders have made it clear that they believe there should be a consistent law across Missouri. That’s why since 2007, they’ve approved bills to bar communities from enacting stricter gun laws, overturned Kansas City’s higher minimum wage (there’s an action pending against St. Louis’ higher wage, too), and tossed out Columbia’s plastic bag ban.
Senate to consider bill banning plastic bag fees by cities
Philadelphia Tribune, 6/6/2017
The State Senate plans to consider a measure passed by the House that would prohibit Pennsylvania cities, counties, townships and boroughs from imposing a ban, fee, tax or surcharge on single-use plastic bags at retail stores.
Does Harrisburg have to disclose names, addresses of donors to legal defense fund for gun lawsuits?
PennLive, 6/7/2017
Does Harrisburg have to disclose the names and home addresses of people who donated to a legal defense fund in 2015?
That was the issue before the Commonwealth Court Wednesday as judges heard an appeal of the state’s Office of Open Records decision ordering the city to release the information.
Joshua Prince, a gun rights attorney who filed a lawsuit against the city in January 2015 over its gun ordinances, requested the list of donors one week after city officials announced they had started a “Protect Harrisburg” fund to help them fight gun ordinance lawsuits…
Prince previously wrote on his blog that he wanted donors prosecuted on grounds that they are conspiring with the city to violate the state’s preemption on gun laws. City officials have said, however that their ordinances are legal and that state preemption is a civil matter.
Nashville’s halt on fairgrounds gun shows upheld by appeals court
The Tennessean, 6/15/2017
A gun show operator has lost his case before the Tennessee Court of Appeals, which on Thursday sided with Metro as it continues to enforce new safety measures that led to the recent halt of gun shows at the city-owned Fairgrounds Nashville.
Court of Appeals Judge Brandon O. Gibson upheld last July’s decision from Davidson County Chancellor Carol McCoy, who dismissed a lawsuit challenging the fairgrounds gun show rules from plaintiffs David Goodman of Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Shows and the Tennessee Firearms Association.
Abbott proposal would nullify city rules on distracted driving
The Texas Tribune, 6/15/2017
Last month, Texas became the 47th state to pass a statewide texting-while-driving ban. Now, with a special legislative session approaching, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing for legislation that could roll back stricter mobile phone laws already in place in more than three dozen Texas cities.
Complaining of a “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas,” Abbott called last week for a measure that would pre-empt local ordinances that go beyond the statewide texting ban.
The ban, signed into law last week and set to take effect Sept. 1, pre-empts only local regulations relating to a driver’s ability to “read, write, or send an electronic message.” The broader pre-emption Abbott favors would block local governments from “any regulation of mobile devices in vehicles,” effectively nullifying tougher cellphone regulations in about 40 Texas cities — including Austin, San Antonio and El Paso — where drivers are required to use hands-free devices for phone calls.
‘Bathroom bill’ likely to pass, King says
Weatherford Democrat, 6/16/2017
Straus rejects bathroom bill
Dallas Voice, 6/15/2017
Texas Governor Revives Stalled Transgender Bathroom Bill
The New York Times, 6/6/2017
Gov. Greg Abbott reignited one of the most divisive issues in Texas politics on Tuesday, calling lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session of the Legislature in part to consider a bill that would reinforce the state’s effort to regulate bathroom use by transgender people in public buildings…
The original bathroom bill was much tougher in restricting which bathrooms transgender people could use in government buildings. The new bill, House Bill 2899, is far less detailed and sweeping, and it would take effect in September if it passes.
It would effectively ban local regulation of discrimination. The bill would prohibit cities, counties and school districts from passing anti-discrimination measures to protect any class of people already protected under state law. And it would nullify existing policies in San Antonio, Dallas and other cities that allow transgender people to use the public bathroom that matches their gender identity. [Emphasis added]
EDITORIAL: Calling Texas special session is ‘assault’ on local governance
The Monitor, 6/11/2017
Texas Cities Caught in the Crossfire of Sanctuary Fight
Foreign Policy, 6/15/2017
What the passage of ‘sanctuary cities’ bill says about the state of Texas politics
Dallas News, 6/9/2017
Dallas Joins Lawsuit Over Sanctuary Cities Bill
Governing, 6/8/2017
These three articles give coverage of the on-going legal battle and social debate around sanctuary cities since the passage, last month, of the anti-sanctuary city bill signed by Governor Abbot.