PR Newswire, 8/29/2017“Preemption of public health policies, and specifically SSB taxes, undermines local control, challenges the financial stability of local governments, and extinguishes grassroots movements. SSB taxes do not interfere with federally-funded national programs or put efficient interstate activity at risk; thus, there is a dearth of legal or historic precedent to justify Congress preempting them,” said Jennifer L. Pomeranz, assistant professor and interim chair, Public Health Policy and Management at NYU CGPH. “Advocates and state and local policymakers should be vigilant to preserve their powers to tax and safeguard the population’s health,” she said.Can the Federal Government Preempt State Taxes on Sugary Beverages?
The Food Institute Blog, 8/30/2017
REPORT: Predominantly White State Legislatures Are Blocking Laws That Benefit Black Workers
Color Lines, 8/30/2017
State interference in city minimum wage laws stems from a larger Jim Crow legacy of blocking economic policies that primarily benefit communities of color…
“Preemption is portrayed as a struggle between political parties, but state interference in city minimum wage laws stems from a larger Jim Crow legacy of blocking economic policies that primarily benefit communities of color,” Nikki Fortunato Bas, Partnership for Working Families executive director, said in an emailed statement. “Both Democratic and Republican governors have approved preemption laws, but in most cases, it’s predominantly White legislatures overturning municipal laws passed by majority Black cities.”
Big Ag Gets Ag-Gag Envy, Helps Bring In ‘Seed-Preemption’ Laws Across The US
TechDirt, 8/30/2017
With little notice, more than two dozen state legislatures have passed “seed-preemption laws” designed to block counties and cities from adopting their own rules on the use of seeds, including bans on GMOs. Opponents say that there’s nothing more fundamental than a seed, and that now, in many parts of the country, decisions about what can be grown have been taken out of local control and put solely in the hands of the state.
SF asks judge to permanently block effort to cut sanctuary cities’ funds
San Francisco Gate, 8/30/2017
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a motion on Wednesday urging a federal judge to declare the Trump administration’s efforts to cut off funding for sanctuary jurisdictions unconstitutional…
The motion filed Wednesday asks the judge to issue a final ruling in the case declaring the order an unconstitutional overstepping of the executive branch’s authority. In his decision to temporarily block the order from taking effect, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick III ruled that only Congress had the power to place such conditions for receiving federal funds on local governments.