Preemption means that a higher level of government (e.g., federal or state government) may limit or eliminate the power of a lower level of government (e.g., state or local government) to regulate a specific issue. While preemption is a neutral concept, preemptive laws have increasingly been used to thwart local communities’ ability to promote public health and advance equity.
In a new webinar presented by the Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, and ChangeLab Solutions, viewers are introduced to the roles of various levels of government in public health policymaking and the ways that preemption is interfering with local democratic processes, both in the United States and abroad.
Preemptive laws have increasingly been used to thwart local communities’ ability to promote public health and advance equity.
This comprehensive webinar begins with keynote remarks by Dr. Jewel Mullen, a ChangeLab Solutions board member, followed by three panel discussions. The first panel explores recent trends in preemption, their origins, and how they relate to the advancement of health equity. The second panel considers transnational perspectives and discusses how public health authority is allocated between levels of government in other regions. The third panel examines preemption in the context of harm reduction efforts.
Presenters
Keynote: Jewel Mullen, associate dean for health equity, Dell Medical School; board member, ChangeLab Solutions
Introduction: Meryl Chertoff, executive director, Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law; adjunct professor of law, Georgetown Law; board member, ChangeLab Solutions
Panelists
- Sabrina Adler, vice president of law, ChangeLab Solutions
- Rick Su, professor of law, University of North Carolina School of Law
- Kim Haddow, founder, Local Solutions Support Center
- Renu Singh, faculty member and research fellow, Bocconi University
- Marie-Louise Aren, principal law research officer, Nigerian Law Reform Commission
- Felix Knüpling, vice president of programs, Forum of Federations
- Sonia Canzater, adjunct professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center; associate director, Infectious Diseases Initiative, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
- Jennifer Oliva, associate dean for faculty research & development and director of the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law, Seton Hall Law
- Zachary Talbott, president and CEO, Talbott Legacy Centers
6/7/2022