Columbus, OH – On Friday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, urging the court to declare that California’s Proposition 12—which purports to regulate the pork industry within the Golden State, but in reality imposes its regulations nationwide—violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

“Not only does California’s Prop 12 violate the U.S. Constitution, but it also undermines the unique American principle of federalism,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute and a lawyer on the brief. “California’s extraterritorial regulation is incompatible with federalism and is nothing more than an attempt to impose its progressive agenda over the will and judgment of the voters in this country’s more sensible 49 other states—including Ohio.”

California’s Proposition 12 effectively imposes regulations on pork producers nationwide, forcing farmers to adopt the Golden State’s rules even when those rules prohibit activities that are specifically allowed by the laws and regulations in the farmers’ own home states. With more than 99 percent of the pork consumed in California coming from farms outside of that state, the practical effect of California’s Proposition 12 is to regulate out-of-state farmers, including those in Ohio to which The Buckeye Institute objects.

In 2009, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to establish the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to govern the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in Ohio. If upheld, California’s ill-advised Proposition 12 will override the will of Ohio voters and infringe upon the right of the Buckeye State to regulate activities which take place wholly within its own borders.

This case also has potential impact beyond agriculture—the Commerce Clause issues raised could apply to other states and industries as well.

Larry Obhof, a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, served as counsel of record for The Buckeye Institute in this case.

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UPDATE: On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of California.

Related:

Ohio Pig Farmers Didn’t Get a Vote on California’s Proposition 12
By Robert Alt, The Wall Street Journal

In Pork Case, California Tries to Impose its Laws on Other States
By Robert Alt, Bloomberg Law