Government Regulation -- 2020



Nat'l Pork Producers Council & Amer. Farm Bureau Fed. v. Ross, et al.   (S.D. Cal)

Challenging California's improper efforts to regulate the national pork market

The MCLA filed an amicus brief urging the Southern District of California to reject the state of California’s motion to dismiss the National Pork Producers Council and American Farm Bureau Federation’s challenge to a California ballot initiative that regulates the conduct of farmers, manufacturers, and producers nationwide. Proposition 12 bans the sale of imported pork and veal in California unless farmers and producers outside of California meet strict animal confinement standards set by California voters. The NAM, joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Food Manufacturing Institute, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the National Mining Association argued in the brief that Proposition 12 violates the Commerce Clause by regulating conduct beyond California’s borders, impinging on other states’ sovereign authority to legislate within their own jurisdictions, and, substantially burdening out-of-state pork producers absent a sufficient and legitimate local interest. This litigation is important to all manufacturers because if upheld, Proposition 12 may embolden other states to regulate out-of-state conduct, resulting in a complex web of inconsistent and competing extraterritorial regulations in the agriculture and food industries, and beyond. Unfortunately, the court granted the State's motion.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (March 6, 2020)