State Preemption Bills: Passed and Pending – A Mid-Session Snapshot
Over 20 percent of state legislatures have already adjourned their 2021 sessions and by early June most will be out of session. At this point, clear and disturbing trends can be identified. This year, state lawmakers introduced a history making number of preemption laws that limit local lawmaking, weaken local democracy, and block local policies intended to advance economic and racial inequity. Many of these preemption bills have already been signed into law and more will be enacted in the waning weeks of legislative sessions.
The Local Solutions Support Center and our partners have been tracking state preemption laws, particularly new preemption laws written in response to the events of 2020 – the pandemic, the intensification of the social justice movement and the election. These new preemption laws have been crafted to limit - and in many cases, punish – local efforts to address these issues. In addition, we have seen the emergence of bills that make voting harder, target transgender children and ban the teaching of history that centers Black lives and experiences in schoolrooms.
Below is a snapshot, a still frame of where legislative activity on some policies stand as of Monday, April 26, 2021. This snapshot identifies states where these bills have been enacted or are pending. In some states, multiple bills addressing the same issues have been introduced, but that is not reflected in this data.
Limits on Local Public Health Authority
In the wake of local public health orders designed to protect the public from the pandemic, many state legislatures have passed or are considering bills that limit the power and independence of local public health departments and officers. Most of these bills insist on legislative/state sign-off on orders issued by local public health experts.
Updated April 23: To date, six states have passed laws limiting public health authority. Arizona, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia. An Indiana bill has been sent to the governor.
Public health preemption bills are still pending in: Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas
Sources: American Heart Association, Local Solutions Support Center
Anti-Protestor Bills
These bills redefine what constitutes a protest, criminalize involvement and force localities to respond of face funding cuts and/or civil action.
Updated April 23: Enacted in five states: Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Anti-protestor bills are still pending in: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin
Sources: International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Local Solutions Support Center
Police Funding/Municipal Budgeting
These bills limit the ability of local governments to control their own budgets, restricting their ability to cut or shift funding among departments. Many of these bills include requirements for state approval of local budget changes and penalties for local governments that defy this preemption.
Updated April 23: Enacted in Florida and sent to the Governor in Georgia.
Bills designed to limit the ability of local governments to control their own budgets are still pending in: Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas
Source: Local Solutions Support Center
Voting Laws
In response to the 2020 election and baseless allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities, state lawmakers have introduced a shocking number of bills to curb the vote. According to the Brennan Center, as of March 24, legislators have introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states. The bills mentioned below specifically limit or target local election authority.
Five bills restricting voting have already been signed into law. The new laws enacted in Georgia and Iowa include provisions that limit and undermine the power of local officials.
At least 55 restrictive bills in 24 states are moving through legislatures: 29 have passed at least one chamber Several of these pending bills – including bills in Arizona and Texas – also limit the power of local election officials.
In addition, some of these pending bills, for example bills in Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin, contain new criminal penalties targeting local election officials, including felony charges, fines, and funding cuts.
Source: The Brennan Center
Bans on Transgender Athletes
These laws would bar transgender students from participating in sports according to their gender identity and punish local school boards that fail to comply.
Updated April 23: Five states have passed laws banning transgender students from participating in sports according to their gender identity: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho,* Mississippi and Tennessee. The North Dakota bill has been vetoed by the governor. A similar bill was vetoed in South Dakota, but two executive orders put in place by the governor have basically the same effect.
Anti-transgender athletics bills are still pending in: Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin
Sources: ACLU, Freedom for All Americans/Equality Federation
*A preliminary injunction has blocked this law from being enforced
Bans on Medical Care for Transgender Youth
These bills would deny gender-affirming medical care and treatment to transgender youth.
Updated April 23: Enacted in Arkansas
Pending: Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
Source: Freedom for All Americans/Equality Federation
Natural Gas Hookup Bans
These bills block cities and counties from trying to ban natural gas hookups as part of any local plan to reduce their carbon emissions.
Updated April 23: to date, seven states have passed bills preempting natural gas hookups have been signed into law: Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi Utah and Wyoming. The bill in Florida has been sent to the governor.
Natural gas preemption bills are still pending in: Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, Local Solutions Support Center
Sanctuary City/Anti-Immigration
For several sessions, state lawmakers have been advancing laws that require localities to comply with federal immigration authorities and that bar localities from offering immigrants sanctuary.
Updated April 23: Enacted: Montana
Bills that outlaw sanctuary cities or require local officials to comply with federal immigration authorities are still pending in: Arizona, Connecticut, North Carolina/North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Source: Local Solutions Support Center
Employment Regulations
For the past decade, state lawmakers have looked to bar local laws that improve the conditions of employment in their cities, including laws that would raise the minimum wage, provide the opportunity to earn paid sick days, promote fair scheduling and other policies intended to advance economic equity. That trend has continued in 2021.
Updated April 23: To date, no states have passed laws limiting local authority to regulate employment benefits or other conditions of employment.
Two states, Florida and Texas, have bills pending that would prohibit localities from regulating professions already licensed by the state.
Four states, Texas, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, have bill pending that would prohibit local regulation of employment benefits. Texas also has another bill pending that would prohibit local paid sick leave ordinances.
Maine has a bill pending that would preempt local hazard pay requirements.
Source: Local Solutions Support Center
Housing
The loss of jobs and income caused by the pandemic meant many Americans could not pay their rent or mortgage and revealed the broad control states already exercised over local housing, eviction and zoning policies. While there has been some effort to repeal state preemption of rent control, states continued this session to restrict local housing policies.
Updated April 23: Montana has passed a bill that prohibits local inclusionary housing policies. The Indiana Legislature passed a bill—over the Governor’s veto—that prohibits local regulation of landlord/tenant relations.
A bill that would preempt local source of income nondiscrimination ordinances is pending in Iowa.
Two states, Minnesota and Texas, have bills that would limit local zoning authority.
Bills pending in Illinois and Pennsylvania would preempt local rent control.
Source: Local Solutions Support Center
Core Municipal Authority
Over the past decade, state lawmakers have increasingly taken control of what were traditionally core local powers – including local authority over elections, zoning, lobbying and lawsuits. This trend continued and expanded this session.
Three state legislatures are considering bills that would stop cities, counties and towns from lobbying legislatures: Florida, Minnesota, and Texas.
Three state have bills pending that would limit or discourage municipal litigation. In Arizona and Florida these bills would give the state Attorney General the power to initiate civil suits, approve contracts with outside attorneys and approve contingency fee arrangements. In Texas, the bill basically punishes localities for challenging state preemption.
A bill pending in Florida would prohibit local campaign finance laws.
Three states, Florida, Indiana and Texas, have bills pending that would limit local authority over building designs and products.
Florida lawmakers are considering close to 70 preemption bills, including many that claim for the states powers that have traditionally belonged to city councils, including
Code Enforcement, District School Board Salaries, and Tree Trimming.
Source: Local Solutions Support Center
School Curricula
Just as the United States is beginning to come to terms with its racist past and acknowledge that structures in place have kept BIPOC from advancing toward economic and social equity, eight states have introduced legislation that would make it harder for teachers to talk about race, diversity and discrimination in their classrooms.
Five states, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri and South Dakota, introduced bills that bans teaching curriculum based on the New York Times 1619 Project, which aims to reframe American history by putting the legacy of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at its center. If enacted, these bills would cut funding to K-12 schools and colleges that provide lessons derived from the 1619 Project. Only the Missouri bill is still pending.
Also pending is an Iowa bill which prohibits "divisive” or racist concepts in diversity training. In Idaho, state lawmakers refused to fund teacher salaries unless a provision was added barring schools from offering social justice education.
Source: Local Solutions Support Center