AG Jeff Landry
Defending Louisiana from Unconstitutional Overreach
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry
has joined the legal challenge against California’s attempt to impose
burdensome agricultural regulations on other states.
Louisiana and twelve other states have filed a motion at
the Supreme Court of the United States to challenge a California law, which
went into effect in 2015, requiring eggs comply with California’s onerous
cage-system regulations.
“California’s regulations not only violate the Egg
Products Inspection Act and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, but
they also impose economic harm to farmers” said General Landry. “Additionally,
they have cost consumers nationwide up to $350 million.”
Joining General Landry in this petition are the
Attorneys General from Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska,
Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
“I am proud to stand with our bipartisan coalition in
fighting for farmers, consumers, and the rule of law,” added General Landry. “I
hope the Supreme Court takes up our case directly and promptly.”
“This is a state’s rights issue,” said Louisiana Department
of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M. “One state should
not dictate the policies of Louisiana's agricultural production through the
imposition of unnecessary regulation and additional import requirements.”
“These types of regulations limit the farmer’s ability
to provide a product to the consumer,” added Commissioner Strain. “If other
states follow suit, it would severely restrict the movement of food products
across state lines as each state could set parameters for production according
to individual preferences.”
In 2016, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled that six plaintiff states lacked standing to pursue similar
claims. This new filing however answers this by providing a careful economic
analysis that establishes the impact of these burdensome regulations.
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