May 22, 2017
WLRN News, May 19, 2017- More than a decade after the Florida Supreme Court opened the floodgates for lawsuits against tobacco companies, an Atlanta-based appeals court this week rejected arguments that could have helped shield cigarette makers in legal battles about smoking-related illnesses and deaths. The full 11th U.S. Circuit …
May 12, 2017
Jennifer L. PomeranzJD, MPH, and Mark PertschukJD State and local governments traditionally protect the health and safety of their populations more strenuously than does the federal government. Preemption, when a higher level of government restricts or withdraws the authority of a lower level of government to act on a …
April 12, 2017
Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble… – US Constitution, Amendment 1 Opponents of grassroots movements have a new policy strategy in addition to preemption – laws punishing participation in rallies, protests, marches, and other …
March 23, 2017
The Oak Ridger Ben Pounds March 22, 2017- Currently, the city of Oak Ridge cannot regulate smoking in public parks. But that may change. Oak Ridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution at its most recent meeting, which requests that the state of Tennessee “repeal any preemption of local control …
March 2, 2017
The Grassroots Change Preemption Map now covers two new issues: LGBTQ Discrimination & Residential Fire Sprinklers. Our original six issues have all been updated with new preemption laws from the 2016 legislative sessions. Discrimination: Three states preempt local LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws (A fourth preemptive law, in Mississippi, was overturned and is on …