Preserving State Consumer Laws
When consumers are harmed by products or services, one way corporations try to avoid accountability is through regulatory preemption. Preemption basically means that federal regulations trump state or local laws so that enforcement of local laws enacted to protect consumers are made null and void.
While there are some instances in which a federal law should override a state or local law, corporate lobbyists argue that if a regulatory agency merely sets a minimum safety standard, like requiring cars to have seat belts, corporations should be off the hook for any injuries their products cause as long as they met that minimum safety standard. In most cases, federal regulations for the financial industry and public health and safety should be the floor, not the ceiling.
States should be able to enact and enforce tougher rules for businesses that operate within their borders and more protection for their residents. But corporations prefer to invest in Washington, where they have a power center for weakening federal regulations.
Learn More About Preserving State Consumer Laws
- Fact Sheet: Why Congress Should Pass the Medical Device Safety Act
- Fact Sheet: The Significance of the Medical Device Safety Act in Light of Wyeth v. Levine
- Legal Case Documents and Articles About Preemption and Preserving State Consumer Laws
More Resources on Preserving State Consumer Laws
- Fact sheet: Opposition to Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017
- Public Citizen Statement: House GOP Lawmakers Engage in Cruel and Callous Effort to Take Away People’s Legal Rights, March 6, 2017
- Public Citizen Opposition Letter to Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017
- Group Opposition Letter to Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, February 27, 2017
- The Financial Transaction Tax, October 8, 2015
- Public Citizen Statement on Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, April 2015
- Americans for Financial Reform, April 15, 15
- Group opposition letter to Energy Star Program Integrity Act, February 27, 2015
- A Matter of Perspective, March 12, 2014
- Letter re: Chemical Safety Improvement Act (PDF), June 12, 2013
- Press Release: Wall Street Reform Must Protect Military, Civilians From Auto Dealer Financing Fraud, March 22, 2010
- Press Release: Obama Memorandum on Pre-Emption Is Good for Consumers, Will Bolster System Designed to Ensure Product Safety, May 21, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Restore Rights of Consumers to Hold Medical Device Makers Accountable, May 11, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Pass Medical Device Safety Act, Restore Patient Access to Courts, March 5, 2009
- Press Release: Supreme Court Correct to Uphold Right of Injured Patients To Sue Drug Companies, March 4, 2009
- Press Release: Congress Must Protect Used Car Buyers From Fraud, Shady Contracts, March 4, 2009
- Letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget Urging the Obama Administration to Reverse Bush Preemption Policies (PDF), January 13, 2009
- Press Release: Bills Would Restore Rights of Patients Injured By Faulty Medical Devices, June 26, 2008
- Article: US Court Decision in Riegel v. Medtronic May Be Hazardous to Patients (PDF), March 2008
- Press Release: States, Cities May Require Nutritional Labeling at Restaurants, Judge Finds, September 11, 2007
- Report: Taking the Public Trust: How a New York Real Estate Developer Is Threatening State Governments in the West (PDF), November 2006
- Press Release: Radical Land-Use Ballot Initiatives Would Endanger State Government Safeguards and Drain Local Treasuries, November 3, 2006
- Press Release: New U.S. Chamber of Commerce Poll Ranking States’ Liability Systems Is Part of a Disinformation Campaign to Restrict Consumer Rights, March 8, 2005
- Report: Tom Donohue: U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Oversees Renegade Corporations While Pushing for Limits to Corporate Accountability (PDF), February 2005
- Press Release: Chamber President Tom Donohue Has Vested Interest in Campaign to Limit Consumers’ Legal Rights as Steward of Two Scandal-Marred Companies, February 21, 2005
- Letter to Sen. Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) About How the Bill to Limit Lawsuits Against Gun Industry Violates the Constitution (PDF), July 24, 2003
- Press Release: Bill to Limit Lawsuits Against Gun Industry Violates Constitution, July 24, 2003
- Press Release: Sweeping Civil Justice Legislation is Anti-Consumer, Should Be Rejected, April 14, 2003
- Press Release: Public Citizen Urges Texas Supreme Court to Overturn Ruling That Would Strand Victims of Financial Fraud, Insulate Companies, March 17, 2003
- Press Release: With Business Immunity Bill, Consumers Pay, February 16, 2000
- Press Release: Statement by Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook Condemning the Clinton-Rockefeller-Gorton Products Liability “Wrongdoers Protection Act”, June 25, 1998