New Chapter in Pandemic Policy Playbook Explores Preemption, Equity, and the Pandemic

This week the Network for Public Health Law worked with public health law partners to produce a new report, Assessing Legal Responses to COVID-19. The report includes analysis and insight from 50 national experts on U.S. policy as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Network writes, “This new report offers policy recommendations on 35 wide-ranging topics, including pandemic preparedness, access to health care, voter health and safety, protections for essential workers, food insecurity and immigration policy. Designed to advise leaders at the federal, state and local level, the report presents a timely examination of policy challenges and opportunities in light of the pandemic.”

One chapter in the resource, “Preemption, Public Health, and Equity in the Time of COVID-19,” was written by Kim Haddow of Local Solutions Support Center; Derek Carr of ChangeLab Solutions; Benjamin D. Winig of ThinkForward Strategies; and Sabrina Adler of ChangeLab Solutions. The chapter (Chapter 9, page 76) explores preemption and the pandemic.

The abstract for the chapter reads, “ Preemption is a legal doctrine that allows a higher level of government to limit or eliminate the power of a lower level of government to regulate a specific issue. As governments seek to address the myriad health, social, and economic consequences of COVID-19, an effective response requires coordination between state and local governments. Unfortunately, for many localities, the misuse of state preemption over the last decade has increased state and local government friction and weakened or abolished local governments’ ability to adopt the health- and equity-promoting policies necessary to respond to and recover from this crisis. The broad misuse of preemption has left localities without the legal authority and policy tools needed to respond to the pandemic. Existing state preemption of paid sick leave, municipal broadband, and equitable housing policies, for example, forced local governments to start from behind. Moreover, many state executive orders issued in response to COVID-19 outlawed local efforts to enact stronger policies to protect the health and wellbeing of communities. And, preemption in the time of COVID-19 has exacerbated the health and economic inequities affecting people of color, low-wage workers, and women. Conflict between state and local governments has cost lives, delayed effective responses, and created confusion that continues to undermine public health efforts. The new coronavirus pandemic has made it clear that the overwhelming majority of state preemption occurring today harms public health efforts and worsens health inequities. The crisis also has underscored the need to reform and rebalance the relationship between states and local governments.”