Cities should be able to legislate according to communities’ needs, but outdated laws are preempting the ability to take meaningful action. Learn more about how laws from the 1960s are preventing Detroit from levying tourist taxes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Vj...

When states restrict the rights of local govs & cede authority to the federal government, they open the door to abuses of power across policy areas. Read @jordanz.bsky.social's interview with LSSC’s Katie Belanger on the dangers of abusive preemption efforts. www.progressreport.news/p/how-states...

Reform-minded prosecutors were democratically elected, and now, state lawmakers are using preemption to override them and the autonomy of the cities they represent. Read more in a new post by Cristine Soto DeBerry of @prosecutorsact.bsky.social: bit.ly/46HVzBr

Last legislative session, lawmakers continued their attacks on LGBTQ+ equality through over 100 abusive preemption bills, with the majority of the attacks focused on reducing the rights and freedoms of transgender communities. Read our full report 🏳️‍🌈⚖️ www.supportdemocracy.org/blueprintfor...

Legislation in Florida & 10 other states to create their own Departments of Government Efficiency would allow state governments to audit every action taken & dollar spent by local governments. This is a dangerous attempt to consolidate power – read more ⬇️ www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

Cutting school vaccine requirements, removing fluoride from water supplies, less coverage for COVID-19 vaccines – these are just a few of the dangerous preemptive tactics state lawmakers are using to attack public health. Get the facts in our new post: www.supportdemocracy.org/the-latest/t...

Attacks on election integrity, public health, & local authority to pass laws related to every sphere of life – we expect abusive preemption bills in these areas to continue impacting the rights + freedoms of communities in 2026. Read our full report 📝 www.supportdemocracy.org/the-latest/2...

Lawmakers in red states are using abusive preemptive tactics to target communities in blue cities. Overriding the authority of local police forces & imposing parallel judicial systems are designed to reduce local resources + accountability. Get the facts: www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Legislation in Florida & 10 other states to create their own Departments of Government Efficiency would allow state governments to audit every action taken & dollar spent by local governments. This is a dangerous attempt to consolidate power – read more ⬇️ bit.ly/41Nkba9

Communities should decide what’s best for them, but the government is trying to enforce an abusive anti-immigrant agenda – and local lawmakers across the country are helping them by pushing anti-democratic preemption laws. Get the facts in our new report: www.supportdemocracy.org/blueprintfor...

This legislative session, lawmakers continued to try to enforce their political & religious agendas on schools through abusive preemption bills that restrict DEI efforts & require the 10 Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. Full report 📝https://www.supportdemocracy.org/blueprintforautocracy

There are growing attacks on protections from so-called "conversion therapy" protections—including through abusive preemption tactics. Read more in this "Preemption Research Spotlight", by @loganscasey.bsky.social, PhD, of the Movement Advancement Project: bit.ly/45OO2jN

OUT NOW: LSSC’s end-of-session report, exploring the troubling connection between the descent into authoritarianism +state preemption trends, highlighting key trends from 2025 – like preemption that harms LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and working people: bit.ly/45ONXwv

Many workers are struggling in Detroit – and one of the key culprits is PA 105, a law that the Michigan legislature passed in 2015 banning local governments from being able to regulate wages and working conditions. New oped from Michigan @workingfamilies.org: www.detroitnews.com/story/opinio...

The far-right Heritage Foundation has for years been calling on state legislators to "take over" governance of blue cities in red states. This is textbook preemption, taking away local decision-making from the leaders who know their communities best, and we can't stand for it. bit.ly/4frsmOQ

Step forward in Ohio! An appeals court unanimously ruled the OH legislature can't preempt city govts from regulating tobacco products. It's a big win for efforts to block abusive preemption – congrats to local advocates and legal teams leading this effort. www.dispatch.com/story/news/c...

“There is this subset [of DOGE] that is encroaching into what local governments can do,” Leslie Zellers, LSSC’s legal team co-lead, told @routefifty.bsky.social in a recent interview about state-level DOGE copycats that are hurting local communities. 1/2 www.route-fifty.com/people/2025/...

Katie Belanger from our team joined @jasongarcia.bsky.social on his podcast "Seeking Rents" to give an overview of how abusive preemption hollows out home rule, robs communities of autonomy, and seizes power for state legislators. Don't miss the episode: jasongarcia.substack.com/p/your-town-...

Feroza Freeland of @abetterbalance.org shares how preemption & racial/gender justice intersect in the latest edition of our Spotlight Series. She says "A lot of our Southern communities are very diverse, but our state legislators are often primarily white men." bit.ly/3Tb7ZeA 1/3

The trend of state legislatures setting up versions of so-called DOGE is textbook abusive preemption: State actors intervening against local communities, often to block progressive actions that serve marginalized communities. More in @routefifty.bsky.social: bit.ly/3H3uy23

This new piece from our partners at @stateinnovation.org explores the impacts of abusive preemption on rural democracy. "These laws have allowed corporations to exploit land and resources and tied the hands of county or local governments." stateinnovation.org/preemption-u...

More than a dozen bills in Idaho this year attempted to abuse preemption in order to restrict the power of local governments. This piece in @idahocapitalsun.com breaks it down: idahocapitalsun.com/2025/04/14/a...

Dwayne Steward of @equalityohio.bsky.social shared in our LGBTQ+ briefing that preemption is increasingly being abused by OH lawmakers, including in "targeted legislation toward anti-DEI & anti-trans measures.” Read how this tool is being abused to harm LGBTQ+ people: bit.ly/3G2Ex7k

@bayareareporter.bsky.social covered our Reporter Briefing focused on how abusive preemption legislation hurts the LGBTQ+ community. “We’ve seen this go from a tool of balance to one that undermines democracy and local rights," said Jared Make of @abetterbalance.org: www.ebar.com/story/153635/

In 2025 there have been nearly 600 abusive preemption bills already filed in states across the country, with a particular focus on anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-DEI legislation. We've synthesized trends we're seeing so far here – spread the word: www.supportdemocracy.org/the-latest/2...

Local leaders should be able to lead on issues that matter to their community – but far too often, local policymaking is undermined by abusive preemption. Hundreds of bills seek to curtail public health authority, stifle voting rights, and advance animus against BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.

Hi there – we're the Local Solutions Support Center (LSSC), a national hub that connects, coordinates and creates efforts to counter the increasing misuse of preemption and strengthen local democracy. Please join us, and learn more at www.supportdemocracy.org.