Latest news with #Proposition12
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Supreme Court rejects challenge to California's animal-welfare law
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he would have taken the case. The Iowa Pork Producers Association argued the law discriminates against out-of-state producers, a claim based on a legal standard about when state laws overly restrict interstate commerce. The Supreme Court in 2023 dismissed another challenge to California's law made by the National Pork Producers Council that likewise relied on that standard. But the Iowa pork farmers hoped that the fractured way the justices reached that 5-4 decision would give them an opening. At issue was a 2018 ballot initiative, Proposition 12, that bans the sale of pork products in California unless the sow from which the butchered pig was born was housed in at least 24 square feet of floor space. Iowa pork producers contend California gave its own farmers an unfair lead time to meet the new rules. California said it doesn't have enough pork farmers for Iowa to claim the state engaged in protectionism. And much of the out-of-state pork industry moved quickly to comply with California's rules so it could sell its products there, lawyers for the state said in filings. In the court's 2023 opinion, the justices in the majority had different reasons for dismissing that earlier challenge. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, said the law treats California and out-of-state pork farmers equally. "Companies that choose to sell products in various states must normally comply with the laws of those various states," Gorsuch wrote for the majority. "While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California merchants may sell is not on that list."
The Hill
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Kavanaugh objects as Supreme Court turns away California pig welfare law challenge
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a second bite at the apple to review California's law requiring pork sold in the state to come from pigs raised with sufficient living space. Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated he would've taken up the case, but neither he nor the majority explained their reasoning, as is typical. Two years ago, the court upheld the law in response to a challenge from national pork and farmers groups. But those groups conceded certain legal arguments, and the Iowa Pork Producers Association hoped to pick up the mantle. Passed by California voters in 2018, Proposition 12 prohibits pork sold in the state if the breeding pig had less than 24 square feet of usable floor space. Industry groups say the law effectively requires farmers nationwide to comply given California's size, and they've also criticized the standard as arbitrary. The legal challenge concerns a doctrine rooted in the Constitution's command that Congress holds the power to regulate interstate commerce. Known as the dormant Commerce Clause, the doctrine restricts states from impeding that power by discriminating purposefully against out-of-state economic interests. In the previous case, however, the challengers didn't argue that Proposition 12 discriminated against other states. They explicitly conceded the argument before the court, instead advancing more aggressive theories that the justices rejected in a fractured decision. The new case provided the court a second bite at the apple, but they declined it. The Iowa-based group advanced a discrimination claim that revolves around an earlier animal welfare measure that applies to California farmers only. That measure gave the in-state farmers six years to comply, but Proposition 12 gave out-of-state farmers less than six weeks. 'If issues of 'morality' can drive the regulation of out-of-state industry (as was supposedly the case with Proposition 12), why couldn't future regulation be based on minimum wage policies of sister States, or employees' immigration status, or any other hot-button social issue of the day? The Framers prohibited precisely this type of discriminatory and overly onerous out-of-state regulation,' the pork association wrote in its petition. The group is represented by law firms Husch Blackwell and Brick Gentry. California urged the court to turn away the challenge, saying the earlier groups conceded the argument because 'it lacks any merit.' 'Proposition 12 enacts a neutral sales restriction that treats in-state and outof-state farmers the same,' the state wrote in court filings.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Supreme Court won't hear pig farmers' challenge to California's animal-welfare law
WASHINGTON − Bacon and pork chops are not back on the menu at the Supreme Court. The high court on June 30 rejected another challenge to California's controversial animal-welfare law, two years after narrowly upholding the state's requirements on the sale of pork products. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he would have taken the case. The Iowa Pork Producers Association argued the law discriminates against out-of-state producers, a claim based on a legal standard about when state laws overly restrict interstate commerce. The Supreme Court in 2023 dismissed another challenge to California's law made by the National Pork Producers Council that likewise relied on that standard. But the Iowa pork farmers hoped that the fractured way the justices reached that 5-4 decision would give them an opening. At issue was a 2018 ballot initiative, Proposition 12, that bans the sale of pork products in California unless the sow from which the butchered pig was born was housed in at least 24 square feet of floor space. Iowa pork producers contend California gave its own farmers an unfair lead time to meet the new rules. California said it doesn't have enough pork farmers for Iowa to claim the state engaged in protectionism. And much of the out-of-state pork industry moved quickly to comply with California's rules so it could sell its products there, lawyers for the state said in filings. In the court's 2023 opinion, the justices in the majority had different reasons for dismissing that earlier challenge. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, said the law treats California and out-of-state pork farmers equally. "Companies that choose to sell products in various states must normally comply with the laws of those various states," Gorsuch wrote for the majority. "While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California merchants may sell is not on that list."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As egg prices decline, bacon heats up
Move over, eggs. There's a new expensive breakfast item in town. Bacon prices have risen almost 20% since last year, and experts say these prices may not be coming down, thanks to a confluence of market factors. Pork bacon prices in May were up 5.7% from April and 18% from May 2024, according to an analysis of grocery price data from NIQ. Bacon prices tend to swing more wildly than other grocery staples tracked by NBC News. But Jim Eadie, the founder and publisher of the pork industry publication said it's possible that bacon's new, higher costs are here to stay. 'It's just the cost of doing business,' Eadie said. 'With tariffs, wages going up, product supply and demand, the cost to produce a pig … everything combines into that inflation for bacon.' NIQ's data, collected from real checkout prices paid at stores across the country, shows that prices for a pound of bacon range significantly depending on where you live, from $4.03 in Dallas to more than $7.00 in Los Angeles. California's Proposition 12, which went into effect in 2022 and mandates minimum living requirements for farm animals, also increased pork, and thus bacon, prices, Eadie said. Egg prices, meanwhile, continued their recent decline in May, falling 6.6% from April. Prices are still up 41% over May 2024. This article was originally published on
NBC News
12-06-2025
- Business
- NBC News
As egg prices decline, bacon heats up
Move over, eggs. There's a new expensive breakfast item in town. Bacon prices have risen almost 20% since last year, and experts say these prices may not be coming down, thanks to a confluence of market factors. Pork bacon prices in May were up 5.7% from April and 18% from May 2024, according to an analysis of grocery price data from NIQ. Bacon prices tend to swing more wildly than other grocery staples tracked by NBC News. But Jim Eadie, the founder and publisher of the pork industry publication said it's possible that bacon's new, higher costs are here to stay. 'It's just the cost of doing business,' Eadie said. 'With tariffs, wages going up, product supply and demand, the cost to produce a pig … everything combines into that inflation for bacon.' NIQ's data, collected from real checkout prices paid at stores across the country, shows that prices for a pound of bacon range significantly depending on where you live, from $4.03 in Dallas to more than $7.00 in Los Angeles. California's Proposition 12, which went into effect in 2022 and mandates minimum living requirements for farm animals, also increased pork, and thus bacon, prices, Eadie said.
