The Trump administration claims California egg laws are contributing to the increasing price of eggs across the country.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on July 9 sued the state of California over the implementation of three laws that the department said add burdens to the production of eggs and poultry products across the nation.
“Bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary regulations implemented by the State of California have made the cost of everyday goods, like eggs, less affordable for Americans,” said DOJ Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
The DOJ’s suit was brought in the U.S District Court for the Central District of California against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, and Director of the California Department of Public Health Erica Pan.
The lawsuit targets three laws: Proposition (Prop) 12, Prop 2 and Assembly Bill (AB) 1437. Prop 12 was a voter initiative passed in 2018 that required specific minimum-space requirements for chickens and other livestock. Prop 2 was passed in 2008 and created animal welfare mandates for livestock, including egg-laying hens. AB 1437 went into effect in 2015 and essentially enforces Prop 2 by regulating egg quality for consumption.
The complaint alleges that California has imposed costly requirements on farmers across the country by prohibiting commonly accepted agricultural methods, which results in higher egg prices for American consumers. The DOJ said the laws oppose the Egg Products Inspection Act, which sets labeling standards for eggs and egg products and preempts state laws that impose additional regulatory burdens.
The DOJ contends the state’s egg standards do not advance consumer welfare, as California claims. “With respect to California’s most recent voter initiative imposing new standards of egg quality, Proposition 12, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has stated in its regulatory analysis that despite the initiative’s purported concern for consumer ‘health and safety,’ the egg standards ‘are not based in specific peer-reviewed published scientific literature or accepted as standards within the scientific community to reduce human food-borne illness . . . or other human or safety concerns,’” DOJ wrote in the complaint.
Regardless of the state’s intent or effect of initiatives on egg prices, DOJ said it is the government’s responsibility alone to regulate the quality, inspection and packaging of eggs. The U.S. is asking the court to strike down and block parts of California’s laws because they violate the Supremacy Clause and have raised the price of eggs and egg products for consumers.
Pushback from lawmakers
Shortly after the DOJ’s lawsuit, a group of 32 senators led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on July 14 called for the exclusion of the Food Security and Farm Protection Act in the next farm bill or in any legislation. The legislation aims to prevent states and local governments from imposing standards on agricultural products that differ from federal law or the laws of other states.
“This legislation would have a sweeping impact if passed—threatening countless state laws and opening the floodgates to unnecessary litigation,” the senators wrote in a letter to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The senators continued that the demand for products compliant with state welfare laws has been met and farmers wanting to take advantage of the market opportunity already modified their operations and made investments into being compliant. “Federal preemption of these laws would be picking the winners and losers, and would seriously harm farmers who made important investments,” the senators wrote.
Consumer watchdog applauds suit
The Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW) hailed the Trump administration’s lawsuit, saying it would nullify “onerous California regulations” driving food price increases.
CEW said it was founded to help consumers, companies and stakeholders navigate issues related to sustainability and animal welfare.
“Americans facing high food costs cannot afford to wait for years of court appeals. Congress could—and should—pass legislation tomorrow to get us there sooner,” said Jack Hubbard, CEW executive director. “Recent polling shows California voters now regret the passage of Proposition 12, and there is strong bipartisan support for a legislative fix to nullify California’s inflationary farm mandates.”
In May, the group launched a public education campaign urging Congress to stop Prop 12, encouraging voters to contact their lawmakers to pass legislation against the measure. In June, CEW released the findings of a poll that found 60% of polled voters support the state legislature modifying Prop 12 to reduce egg or pork prices. In a separate question, 44% of voters said they would not vote for Prop 12 if it were on the ballot tomorrow, and 21% said they were unsure. The poll was conducted among a sample of 458 registered voters. — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
