Legal Documents
This amicus was filed by the Campaign to Defend Local Solutions, legal scholars against preemption, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association in support of the City of Cleveland’s longstanding “Fannie Lewis” law which requires local hiring on certain large construction projects.
Toolkits
Our friends and partners at Equality Florida shared a brand-new report from the Movement Advancement Project which highlights preemption’s threat to LGBT equality and workers, wages, and immigrants. Find that report and its downloadable maps here.
Toolkits
Partnership for Working Families created an interactive map that highlights which state preempt local governments on issues including minimum wage, affordable housing, immigrants’ rights, and employee benefits, and also shows which state statutes are affected. Find it here and try it out!
Videos & Other Media
U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch, who represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District and is a champion of local control, recently filmed a video that highlighted the Campaign to Defend Local Solutions’ efforts to address preemption of common-sense local gun violence action. The video was filmed for a town hall meeting organized by CDLS.
Rep. Deutch also highlights pro-local democracy elected officials (and CDLS members) State Rep. Shevrin Jones and Coral Springs City Commissioner Dan Daley. Watch the video to learn more.
Infographics
This infographic details how previously passed, and recently proposed preemption laws negatively impact workers, families, and communities in Florida. It was on-hand at a press conference which gathered state and local elected officials and representatives from the League of Women Voters of FL, AFL-CIO of FL, SEIU FL, the Sierra Club of FL, Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, among others.
Legal Documents
This Amicus Brief in support of the City of Coral Gables fight against polystyrene regulation preemption was filed in Florida’s Third DCA. Amici include: The Campaign to Defend Local Solutions, the Surfrider Foundation, the League of Women Voters of Florida, Legal Scholars, 1000 Friends of Florida, ReThink Energy Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, Save the Manatee Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Appellant, Florida Retail Federation initially opposed the filing of this brief, but was overruled by the Court.
Legal Documents
Below is the decision from the Ohio 8th DCA ruling that Ohio HB 180 is unconstitutional. Click here to read some background of this case, and read our statement on the huge win for the City of Cleveland, here.
Research & Policy Briefs
This article analyzes the increasing use of state preemption law by conservative state leaders as a tool to rein in progressive local governments. The scope and special qualities of recent state preemption laws are explored by examining legislation preempting local fracking bans, preventing minimum wage ordinances, targeting sanctuary city policies, overturning LGBT rights ordinances, and enacting blanket preemption measures. Reasons for the recent surge of state preemption laws are suggested, and the overall effectiveness of these laws is discussed.
Research & Policy Briefs
This helpful two-pager from A Better Balance’s Defending Local Democracy Initiative lays out step by step actions organizers can take to prevent the preemption of stronger anti-discrimination laws for the LGBTQ community. Be sure to check out their Defending Local Democracy website for more resources and information.
How to Respond to State Attempts to Prohibit Local LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Laws
Toolkits
This one-pager lets you know how you can fight back against preemption laws when they’re filed in your state. Pass this along to friends and family when your community is faced with preemption and send the message that you are in the fight to #DefendLocal.
Research & Policy Briefs
A report recently released by the Economic Policy Institute examines the rising use of preemption by state legislatures to undercut local labor standards. It provides an overview of five key areas of labor and employment policy affected by preemption—including minimum wage, paid leave, fair work scheduling, prevailing wage, and project labor agreements—and details the extent and impact of such preemption practices throughout the United States. Finally, it presents ways local governments can push back against state preemption in their efforts to raise the living standards of their residents.
City governments are raising standards for working people—and state legislators are lowering them back down
Legal Documents
This Amicus Brief was filed by the Campaign to Defend Local Solutions, a group of legal scholars, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association in support of the City of Cleveland as they seek to uphold the ruling that the State of Ohio’s preemption of their local hire law was unconstitutional.
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Videos & Other Media
This episode of the Building Local Power podcast features Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum describing the Campaign to Defend Local Solutions, the assault on local governments occurring across the country, and how cities and counties are standing up to special interests and out-of-touch state legislatures.
Videos & Other Media
This video, created by ILSR, outlines what Community Broadband Networks are, and why large corporate interests don’t like them.
Infographics
The Community Network Map, created by ILSR, highlights the states that have put barriers to local broadband networks in place. In total, 19 states have put barriers in place to these networks, despite the fact that 70% of adults in the United States believe that local governments should be able to build their own high-speed networks. The Community Network Map also allows users to explore locally created broadband projects.
Research & Policy Briefs
A helpful fact sheet created by MuniNetworks.org and ILSR on the importance of protecting the ability of local governments to invest in municipal broadband networks. This includes a description of numerous ways local governments are best situated to address gaps in community broadband.
Videos & Other Media
Building Local Power podcast discussion between members of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance on the power of municipal broadband networks, how the power held in cities is integral to these projects, and the barriers put in place by cable monopolies to prevent these networks.
Research & Policy Briefs
A policy fact sheet from the Southern Poverty Law Center detailing the current state of Federal Sanctuary City Law, and facts about Sanctuary Cities. This factsheet is extremely useful in dispelling some of the myths and misinformation that have been perpetuated about “Sanctuary,” or, Welcoming Cities.
Infographics
State legislatures across the country have gone beyond preventing local governments from passing common-sense local solutions. They’ve begun silencing local voices using draconian super-preemption laws. These laws allow special interest groups to sue local governments and in some cases personally sue local officials for doing their job. These laws are designed to intimidate, bully, and chill government at the local level. This infographic highlights where these laws exist, where they have been recently proposed, and what their impacts could be to cities, counties, local officials, and taxpayers alike.
3/7/2021 UPDATE:
Since we put this infographic together, two additional states have passed forms of punitive Super-Preemption laws:
Tennessee passed HB508 which includes punitive penalties to the preemption of firearms.
Texas passed SB4 (which is currently being challenged in the Courts) that includes Super-Preemption penalties for enacting local “sanctuary cities” policies.
Toolkits
Includes preemption messaging for all audiences as well as messaging specifically for nonpartisan, conservative, or progressive audiences. Includes numerous quotes opposing preemption from elected officials and other leaders across the political spectrum.
Preemption Messaging Toolkit from VHK/AHA (2017)
Legal Documents
This ruling from the Supreme Court of Missouri upholds the City of St. Louis’ minimum wage ordinance, passed in 2015. The Court struck down a 1998 Missouri law which prohibited certain cities from passing higher minimum-wages. The ruling was based on the fact that the State law was part of legislation with multiple purposes.
Research & Policy Briefs
The goal of this memo is to educate and build awareness of many of the issues that are affected by attacks on local solutions. For this memo, CDLS compiled data from a number of organizations in Florida concerned about preemption, to highlight some of the potential costs and impacts of two extremely broad and wide-ranging bills.
2017 Preemption Report - Campaign to Defend Local Solutions
Videos & Other Media
This 4-minute video created by Fusion in 2016, does a good job of explaining the issues surrounding the trend of states silencing the voices of local communities.
"U.S. Cities are Getting Screwed"
Research & Policy Briefs
This report put out by the National League of Cities looks at what policies areas state legislatures have preempted in each state. The issue areas focused on are: minimum wage, anti-discrimination, ride sharing, tax and expenditure limitations, paid leave, home sharing, and municipal broadband. Others policy areas are discussed, as well.
City Rights in an Era of Preemption: A State-by-State Analysis
Research & Policy Briefs
Authored by Grassroots Change Director Mark Pertschuk, this paper examines the negative impact preemption can have on local policy initiatives, as well as enforcement, civic engagement, and grassroots movement building.
Assessing the Impact of Federal and State Preemption in Public Health: A Framework for Decision Makers
Research & Policy Briefs
A memo outlining the findings of a three-part approach to gaining insight to effective communication strategies for combating the rise of preemption. Research conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, and Haddow Communications.
Research & Policy Briefs
A workshop put on in partnership between Mayors Innovation Project, SEIU, and the Rockefeller Family Fund. Hosted directly before the National League of Cities Conference in Austin, TX; workshop materials include presentation slides on strategies, research, and decision-making tools. Click on the Briefing Book tab to see the materials.
Mayors Innovation Project Workshop: State Preemption of Local Authority
Research & Policy Briefs
Held in December of 2016 and hosted in partnership with State Innovation Exchange, and the Rockefeller Family Fund, this workshop examined case studies & lessons learned in the fight against preemption, research, policy and legal tools, and info on how to broaden the coalition working against preemption.
Mayors Innovation Project Workshop: Protecting Locally Enacted Health, Economic, Environmental, & Civil Rights Gains
Toolkits
Documentaries are a great way to begin conversations around issues that are important to local governments, and can be used to highlight the importance of being able to pass local solutions to local problems. This run of show is for the Newtown documentary, but should give a good sense of how to organize an effective screening.
Toolkits
This toolkit provides research-based strategies for messaging approaches to fighting against preemption. It includes steps for how to make a case against preemption, a list of dos and don’ts, a summary of interviews, and a set of recommendations.
Toolkits
This toolkit created by Grassroots Change’s Preemption Watch provides some best practices for fighting back against preemption. Click here for some other useful tools from Preemption Watch.
Preemption Watch - Best Practices: Tracking and Countering Preemption
Legal Documents
Below are the Amicus Briefs filed in support of Mayor Andrew Gillum, his Commissioner colleagues and the City of Tallahassee in the super-preemption lawsuit. The Appellate Court ultimately upheld the Trial Court’s Order in this case, ruling the elected officials and City had done no wrong, but avoided ruling on the Constitutional issue. For additional pleadings in this case send a request to info@defendlocal.com.
Legal Documents
These pleadings are from a challenge by the City of Cleveland against the State of Ohio over a bill which preempted local governments from requiring local hiring percentages on contracts. The City of Cleveland had a long-standing ordinance requiring such, and filed the challenge to declare the State law unconstitutional. The Court ruled in favor of Cleveland and local control.