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Issues - What is Local Control, Preemption? Local control is the term used to describe the objective to restore power to communities to legislate their own tobacco policies tailored to their individual needs. Currently, the state of Tennessee does not permit local governments from passing ordinances designed to decrease tobacco use and protect the public from second-hand smoke. Examples of local ordinances that are not permitted include declaring certain public places as non-smoking sites, creating a local tax on tobacco products, or increasing the fines levied against stores that sell tobacco product to minors. Local control can be restored to communities only through a repeal of the state's preemption law by the state legislature. Preemption is an action where a higher level of government (the legislature) strips authority over a specific subject matter from a lower level of government (local governments). In Tennessee , the preemption provision pertaining to tobacco ordinances is attached to the Tennessee Code Annotated Comprehensive Tobacco Control Act, Prevention of Youth Access to Tobacco. It can be found in state law at: TN CODE ANN. § 39-17-155. Talking Points • Communities throughout Tennessee should have the right to set local tobacco control policies to meet their individual community needs. • Local government officials who want to enact health policies to protect their constituents should not be prohibited from doing so by the state. • Tennesseans, including the 74 percent of adults who do not smoke, deserve the right to make decisions at a local level about the dangers of toxic secondhand smoke. • Local governments in most states, including Arkansas , Mississippi , and Texas , have the ability to protect their residents from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Local communities in Tennessee had the same rights prior to 1994 when a preemption rider was attached to strong tobacco control bill in the dwindling hours of the session. • Legislation impacting food preparation, employee personal hygiene requirements and disabled access laws have historically been implemented at the local level. • Local control would provide communities with the ability to generate much-needed revenues and keep children from smoking through local tobacco user taxes. • Repealing pre-emption would allow city and county governments to increase fines levied to retailers who sell tobacco products to minors.
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