Preemption is a wonky term used in public policy spaces and abusive preemption in particular is a little understood concept that Southerners can’t afford to ignore. Here are five things to know about preemption in the South:
What is preemption?
Preemption occurs when a higher level of government prevents a lower level of government from acting on an issue (environmental justice, affordable housing, workers rights, voting rights, racial justice, and more). Commonly, it happens when a state government intervenes in local or municipal government action.
Abusive preemption disproportionally harms marginalized people.
While abusive preemption happens all over the country, it’s a common tactic deployed by Southern state governments. They often use preemption to block local anti-discrimination ordinances or restrict the ability to fund community-supported measures. The result is that local governments can’t act for the benefit of their residents, and the people most often harmed are people of color, working and low income people, and other marginalized groups, like the LGBTQ community.
Preemption limits tenants’ rights and affordable housing development.
We see preemption measures that impact affordable housing across the South. They often impact inclusionary zoning efforts (which is a land use policy that governments can enact to incentivize or even require there to be housing inventory available to low- and moderate-income residents). In recent years, preempting rent control measures has become common across the region, preventing municipalities from providing tenants with protection from excessive year-to-year rent increases. Local Solutions Support Center has a map of states’ preemptive housing policies here.
Preemption limits workers’ rights.
Preemption laws that affect workers, their rights, and their economic stability are everywhere, but most pervasive in the South. Many of the common measures restrict minimum wage, impact worker protections in excessive heat, restrict worker protections and benefits in municipal contracts (ie, the people who build our community’s roads and bridges), and limit the ability for communities to enact worker protections for gig economy workers, like rideshare drivers. Economic Policy Institute has a map of states’ preemptive labor policies here.
There is an antidote to preemption.
We don’t have to accept all the limitations placed on our communities through preemption. There is an option that, like preemption, most people haven’t heard about but need to know exists: Home Rule. Home Rule is the legal concept that municipalities and local governments have a right to act without state interference. Lots of these laws are pretty outdated and states have moved to limit their reach. However, learning about the protections we have is the first step to using and strengthening them. Learn more from LSSC’s Home Rule messaging guide.
The Local Budget Equity Community of Practice is working together to learn about and combat preemption in their communities. The Community of Practice is hosted in partnership with The New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. Learn more about SEAP’s Local Budget Equity work here.
