Warren Ortland

Warren Ortland

Warren Ortland, staff attorney with the Public Health Law Center, located at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, provides legal technical support to organizations working to increase the number of smoke-free multi-unit housing developments in the Twin Cities metro area, in the Greater Duluth area and in other various communities around the State of Minnesota through the SHIP program. He is also currently a co-principal investigator on a research study reviewing the impact of secondhand smoke in common interest communities, such as condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities. Warren has presented at numerous tobacco and public health conferences, including ones sponsored by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities, the National Association of City and County Health Officials, the National Association of Local Boards of Health, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. Warren is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, the Rochester Institute of Technology and William Mitchell College of Law.

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By Warren Ortland

Risk of Preemption in the Smoke-Free Housing Movement

October 18, 2011 | No Comments

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 across the country have recognized the benefits of going smoke-free—healthier properties for their residents, reduction in the risk of fire, and drastically reduced maintenance costs for non-smoking units—and have implemented smoke-free policies for some or all of their buildings. Local governments have also joined the movement. Several counties and cities…

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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 Local Public Health and 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…

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.”
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.”
Governor blocks limits on sprinkler rules
By TOM FAHEY State House Bureau Chief CONCORD — A second legislative attempt to block local fire and planning officials from setting rules on residential…
Local Laws Fighting Fat Under Siege
NY Times, June 30, 2011 By STEPHANIE STROM Several state legislatures are passing laws that prohibit municipalities and other local governments from adopting regulations aimed at…

Resources

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› Preemption Framework

› IOM Presentation