Options for Point of Sale Activities in States and Localities that are Preempted

What is Preemption?

Preemption means that the authority of one level of government to regulate an issue is limited by a higher level of government. For example, when local municipal or county governments want to pass legislation to enact or strengthen tobacco retail licensing requirements, a state law may supersede their new legislation, rendering it invalid. Similarly, a state law may be preempted by a federal law. For more details on preemption, see “Preemption in Public Health” from the Public Health Law Center.

How would a state know if they are preempted?

CDC’s State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System database
American Lung Association’s State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) database
By meeting with a legal center.

What can states or localities that are preempted at the Point of Sale do?

Meet with a legal technical assistance provider who can conduct a general scan of your local authority to determine or clarify what kind of preemption you are facing or not facing (e.g. youth access, smoke-free, retailer licensing, tobacco advertising), the scope, nuances, and where there might be gray areas.
Leverage point of sale activities to move forward on other tobacco control issues such as raising excise taxes, securing program funding, or strengthening smoke-free laws. These activities could include:
- Engaging communities in store mapping and store assessments (e.g. by using STARS, CounterTobacco.org’s Youth and Community Engagement Activities, or Counter Tools to show community members what is happening with tobacco sales and marketing at their local stores.
- Evaluating retailers for compliance under the Master Settlement Agreement, FDA Inspections, Synar, or Assurances of Voluntary Compliance (AVCs).
  - Learn more about AVCs here.
Aim for a local level policy outcome to be a voluntary resolution which requests local control or asks to reverse preemption and requests a non-preempted state level policy, such as Tobacco 21.
- For example, several county Boards of Health in North Carolina have passes such resolutions(Orange, Durham, Pitt, Cumberland, Chatham, Rutherford-Polk-McDowell, and Henderson).
Strategize using suggestions in the CDC’s article, Legal Preemption and Chronic Conditions in the section on “Navigating Preemption to Protect the Public’s Health”:
- Stand firm on legal grounds
- Find the floor of preemption and rise above it
- Re-characterize the public health objective
- Fill the inevitable gaps
- Reconsider non-regulatory solutions
Work toward undoing preemption

Undoing Preemption

Lessons from Smoke-Free Air: A 2010 CDC Report mentions that there are three methods that have been successful in rescinding preemptive provisions on local smoke-free policies. The best practices discussed include:
- Legislation – Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Oregon were able to rescind preemption as part of new legislations that restricted smoking in specific places. Louisiana and New Jersey included specific language in their legislation that explicitly gave communities the ability to create their own smoke-free policies, while Iowa and Oregon passed legislation that removed smoke-free preemption.
  - Special cases in Rhode Island and Montana involved “sunset” clauses, where preemptive polices have a date where the policy expires and the preemption was no longer valid after the expiration date.
  - Read more about repealing preemption and advancing non-preemptive language in state law
- Ballot Measure – Nevada rescinded their smoke free provision through a ballot measure in 2006, which prohibited smoking in certain public places by state law, but allowed counties, cities, and towns to adopt stricter measures, removing the barrier of preemption.
- Court Rulings – South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that state laws did not preempt local smoking restrictions, giving local communities clarity on their ability to enact smoke-free policies.
Legal Strategy Process: Legal Preemption and the Prevention of Chronic Conditions

Reversing Preemption: A Colorado Case Study

Preemption is one of the biggest challenges in tobacco control and can impede policy change. However, reversing preemption is possible! During this webinar, part of Counter Tools’ Healthy POS Webinar Series, we discuss Colorado’s experience with preemption and efforts made to advance policy within the state. Local-level case studies and the state preemption bill will be discussed to show Colorado’s path to reversing preemption as an example for others! Speakers will include:

Mandy Ivanov, Health Promotion Coordinator with Eagle County Public Health and Environment
Jodi Radke, Regional Director at the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
Jill Bednare, Tobacco Policy Initiatives Supervisor at the Colorado Department of Health and Environment
Moderator: Jackie Boards, Project Director at Counter Tools

Download the slides here and view the recording here or below: