States Are Thwarting Cities' Attempts to Govern Themselves

Publication Date: 2019-07-31

• Author:Ben Price
• Publication:Truthout

It's a fight that has played out in many industries, most famously with the tobacco industry...

This ruling may be welcome news for advocates of "floor" preemption, wherein federal and state regulations set minimum protections for citizens, allowing local governments to enhance those protections. Unfortunately, many federal regulations and state regulations impose "ceiling" preemption over municipalities. In other words, local governments are generally forbidden to enact stricter regulations than those adopted by state legislatures or Congress...