Letting Businesses Sue Cities Is Florida s New Preemption Idea
Florida s track record of blocking local ordinances ranging broadly from minimum wages to bans on plastic bags makes it a preemption bellwether in the eyes of some public policy advocates.
Now, Sunshine State lawmakers are close to outsourcing the preemption job by letting businesses sue local governments seeking payment over regulations that cost them money. That sweeping measure needs only the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to become law.
Workplace law is one of a handful of wide-reaching policy areas that states frequently set as off-limits for city and county regulation. Often, it s Republican-majority state legislatures enacting laws to preempt the more Democratic-leaning local governments from passing ordinances that might cost businesses, such as paid sick leave or employee scheduling measures, but Democratic-majority legislatures are no strangers to passing preemptive measures either.
Half of all states preempt local minimum wages, although Colorado made the rare move of rolling back a preemption in 2019 to let Denver pass its own $15-plus minimum wage.
Still, the Florida legislation, the GOP-sponsored SB 620, is likely the first of its kind, according to opponents and the bill sponsor alike. Rather than telling local governments what they can t do, it would empower businesses to sue for damages if a newly passed or amended local ordinance causes or is expected to cause a decrease in their profits by 15% or more letting the business potentially win up to seven years of future profits paid out of local tax dollars.
I like this idea. Good for plaintiffs’ lawyers, bad for regulators. Unusual combination, but it could work.