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As the coronavirus pandemic spreads and the national conversation about racial injustice deepens, local elected officials and advocates alike are asking what they can do for their communities across a range of policies. LSSC is compiling resources from our partner organizations and creating resources in collaboration with our partners. These are housed here.

Home rule – the legal structure that determines local power and how states can interfere with local decision-making – has historically provided a framework for local governance. But the last comprehensive update to home rule was in 1953, and so much has changed since then. These resources help make sense of home rule and its intersections with state preemption laws.

Preemption is often used to harm workers by limiting localities’ ability to set stronger labor standards and protections, including those related to minimum wage, paid sick time, wage theft, local hiring, pensions, and fair scheduling.

A serious and worsening housing crisis have prompted some local governments to advance housing policies that promote affordability, equity and opportunity. Many state governments, however, continue to block these policies from taking effect.

Many Americans became conscious about preemption during the COVID-19 pandemic, when state and local governments had very public disputes over masks, vaccines, and stay-at-home orders. Prior to the pandemic, states also interfered with public health in other ways.

Schools are at the heart of our local communities, but over the last year we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in state efforts to control schools.  This includes interfering with at-home learning resulting from the pandemic and censorship of what can be discussed in classrooms. Many states have passed legislation to censor discussion of LGBTQ people; climate change; and the role discrimination and racism has played in our history.

Cities and municipalities have the right to enact local policies that protect their communities, including those that recognize the human dignity of immigrants. But some state lawmakers are enacting preemption laws that make it difficult for cities to offer immigrants sanctuary status. Prior to the pandemic – anti-sanctuary cities and anti-immigrant bills were the most commonly introduced preemption bills. 

Too often, corporations lobby lawmakers to pass laws limiting municipal control of technology in an effort to maximize their short-term revenues. These include the 20 states that block or ban municipal broadband networks, the 44 states that ban local regulation of ride-sharing networks, and the 23 states that have banned local control over 5G technology. 

Embracing clean and renewable energies is one of the best ways many communities can do their part to curb climate change. But the oil and gas industry have lobbied hard and successfully to pass state laws that undermine environmental protection laws. These resources explore environmental protections, including gas, energy, and fracking.

Most Americans can agree that for democracy to work for everyone, it must include everyone. That’s especially true locally. But recently we’ve seen state legislatures moving to curb the long-fought for, hard-won right to vote. New policies that prohibit same-day voter registration, block ranked-choice voting, and more are moving through legislatures and sometimes becoming law, deliberately create barriers that make it harder for BIPOC Americans, immigrants, and others to register and vote. 

State legislatures have attempted to take control of local budget decisions and processes – particularly as it relates to local control of police budgets.  This sets a dangerous precedent, and it ignores the differing needs of every community. Investments in policing, education, housing, and mental health services all impact public safety and well-being. The level of investments varies community by community – and that’s one of the reasons local budget control matters.

Cities and municipalities are often where some of the strongest civil rights protections are enacted, including those related to LGBTQ people. Increasingly, however, state legislatures are seeking to uphold inequitable systems by blocking local LGBTQ protections and limiting access to healthcare or curriculum related to LGBTQ people.

Municipalities are increasingly being stripped of their ability to regulate firearms and protect their community members.  More than 40 states limit local authority to regulate guns or ammunition.

These resources explore preemption as it relates to racial justice and efforts to dismantle white supremacy.