Maggie Mahoney

Maggie Mahoney

Maggie Mahoney is deputy director of the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, a network of legal centers supporting tobacco control policy change throughout the United States. Maggie coordinates the Consortium's provision of legal technical assistance, and provides direct, legal technical assistance on tobacco control issues to public health professionals and organizations, legal professionals, and advocates throughout the United States. She oversees preparation of friend-of-the court (amicus curiae) briefs in key cases; provides and coordinates litigation support to city and county attorneys, state attorneys general and legal counsel representing advocacy organizations and individual citizens; assists with development of educational materials; and provides educational and training presentations at state, regional and national conferences.

All bloggers

By Maggie Mahoney

Preemption a continuing drag on tobacco control

January 13, 2011 | No Comments

The year 2010 ended with a groan for many in the U.S. tobacco control community. On December 29, 2010, District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York struck down a pioneering New York City tobacco control law on the grounds that it was preempted by federal law. The decision demonstrates not only how preemption continues to impact innovative tobacco control efforts, but also is a testament to the broader public health community about the nature of preemption—when you think it is gone, it keeps coming back. In September 2009, the N.Y.C. Board of Health passed…

› Continue Preemption a continuing drag on tobacco control

Blog

  • Risk of Preemption in the Smoke-Free Housing Movement

    Over the last few years, the movement to promote smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing has been extremely successful.  Thousands of privately own apartment buildings have voluntarily implemented policies prohibiting or significantly restricting smoking in common areas, individual units, on patios and balconies and on the entire property.  Public housing authorities…

  • IOM Takes the Lead on Preemption

    The Institute of Medicine has addressed federal and state preemption in a new report on law and policy in public health. Among the most authoritative, and unbiased, voices in public health, the IOM has concluded that federal and state preemption should be avoided “unless there are compelling reasons to the…

  • Preempting a movement for childhood obesity prevention

    Taking a well-worn page from the playbook of the Tobacco Industry, the fast food industry is quietly, and so far successfully, eliminating local control over nutrition policy. In March, the Arizona legislature passed a preemption bill written by the Arizona Restaurant Association.  The new law, which goes into effect in July, takes away the authority…

  • Preemption threatens grassroots fire prevention movement

    About 3000 Americans die in home fires every year and thousands more are injured. Home fires are the greatest cause of fire deaths and injuries, and children under five and older adults face the highest risk. One of the great public health success stories of the past decade is the grassroots movement for…

  • Preemption should be the exception, not the rule

    There’s been bad news on the federal preemption front recently, but there’s some good news, too. Last month, the Administrative Conference of the United States published a Recommendation for the first time in fifteen years—about preemption in federal rulemaking. The Recommendation explains a Clinton-era Executive Order (that builds upon a…

› All blog posts

News

  • Regulating Guns in New Orleans: An Op-Ed

    Louisiana is one of 42 states…that prohibits any political subdivision from passing an ordinance or regulation concerning the sale, purchase, or ownership of guns that’s more restrictive than state law.

  • Cleveland files in court to keep its ban on trans fats

    Jackson was joined…by council members Phyllis Cleveland and Joe Cimperman… Cleveland, council majority leader, noted that she had voted against the trans fat ban last year…
    “But I stand here in support of our mayor and our partners,” she said… We see our city power being attacked by Columbus… [O]ur right to govern ourselves is being eroded.”

  • Environmental Groups Call for Tougher Measures in Marcellus Shale Bills

    While the industry faces a significant challenge in meeting local land use controls, there are critical site or regional considerations that cannot be effectively addressed within a state statute. The state should not grant special preemption for any one industry in this regard.

  • Mayors’ group campaigns against concealed gun bill

    NEW YORK (AP) Monday, September 12, 2011; Seattle Post-Intelligencer Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other mayors in support of gun control are speaking out against a…

  • IOM Report: Revitalizing Law and Policy

    “[U]nless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, the federal government ought not preempt state and local authority in advancing the public’s health.”

› All news articles

Resources

› Fact sheet

› Glossary

› Links

› Preemption Checklist

› Building Movements

› Movement Benefits

› IOM Presentation