Are there negative consequences for state preemption laws? Indiana group wants lawmakers to take a closer look

An Indiana group wants the state to take a closer look at preemption laws. 

Those laws often stop local governments from instituting city and county-level policies. 

The Indiana Coalition for Human Services released a report arguing that preemption laws are having a cumulative impact on communities across Indiana. 

The coalition pointed to laws, sometimes known as ‘no more stringent than’ laws, that limit how local governments can regulate wages, housing, and the environment. 

Earlier this year, Gov. Mike Braun released an executive order stating that Indiana would not adopt any environmental regulations stricter than existing federal requirements. 

The year before that, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a law overruling local government ordinances around the sale of dogs out of pet stores. 

Both moves preempt how local governments are able to operate. 

Kim Irwin is with the Indiana Coalition for Human Services. She said the group wants to raise awareness around preemption.

“It undermines the ability of local communities to do what's best for them, and it often is directly overturning, again, local regulations that have been put in place in the best interest of communities,” she said. 

The group’s report outlines a number of other state laws limiting what local governments can do. One law prohibits cities from raising their local minimum wage, another limits the regulation of short-term rental housing, such as Airbnb, and yet another law prohibits local governments from instituting a firearm buyback program. 

Andrew Bradley is the President of the Coalition. He said restricting local action across a wide range of issues can have a negative health impact. 

“Indiana has not really been taking a systemic look at what are the overall health outcomes of each individual preemption choice,” he said. “We are hopeful that there is a more thoughtful process, and we're considering how each individual decision affects the health of all Hoosiers.”

Bradley said there are a number of bills that utilize preemption already proposed for the upcoming session. One of those includes a bill to prohibit local regulation of cryptocurrency. 

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org