Preemptive responses to caged legislation

House Bill 2151, introduced into the Oklahoma legislature by Rep. Don Armes, was designed to simplify the regulation of livestock producers by making the state the single-source regulator in Oklahoma.

House Bill 2151, introduced into the Oklahoma legislature by Rep. Don Armes, was designed to simplify the regulation of livestock producers by making the state the single-source regulator in Oklahoma.

The bill states, "The Legislature occupies and preempts the entire fields of legislation in this State but concerns in any way the regulation and enforcement of the care and handling of livestock to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance, or regulation by any municipality or other political subdivision of this State."

A similar motion was introduced into the Georgia House of Representatives reading "no county, municipal cooperation, consolidated government, or other political subdivision of this State shall adapt any ordinance, rule, regulation or resolution regulating crop management or animal husbandry practices." 

These initiatives are in response to California Proposition 2 which was a ballot initiative. It is presumed by some animal agriculture industry members that where animal rights and welfare activist have failed in their attempts to introduce legislation at the state level, that county and municipal action would be taken to prevent the establishment of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations including egg production facilities.

These actions in Oklahoma and Georgia should be followed in all states which do not have constitutional provisions for either statewide or countywide voter initiatives.

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