State and Local Control of the Food Environment
Introduction
State governments have broad authority to impact the food environment. As discussed in Chapter 2, the United States Constitution reserves for the states those powers that are not exclusively granted to the federal government. State governments act pursuant to their police power to enact laws and regulations to protect, preserve, and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of their popula- tions.[1] Through this police power, states may support population interests at the expense of individual interests through various legal mechanisms, including zoning land, licensing persons, and directly regulating retailers, products, and services. States also have the power to tax and spend and to disseminate health warnings and information. All of these powers confer on states a substantial ability to influence diverse aspects of the food environment.
The Constitution does not refer to local governments. States originally created local governments to perform administrative duties for the state, such as property assessment.[2] These duties expanded in the early part of the 1900s. Today there are over 89,000 local governments[3] with varying degrees of authority. The state government determines the extent to which a local government has the power to structure its own government, exercise functional powers of local control, engage in financial activities such as taxation, and employ personnel.[4]
Unless indicated otherwise, this chapter refers to state governments’ authority to include local governments to the extent that the state permits the local government to act in the manner described. Because local governments have a diverse range of responsibilities, it is not possible to categorically describe their authorities or limitations.
- [1] L. O. Gostin. Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: University ofCalifornia Press; 2008, pp. 92-93.
- [2] National League of Cities. Local Governments.http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-structures/local-us-governments
- [3] U.S. Census Bureau. Census Bureau Reports There Are 89,004 Local Governments in theUnited States, August 30, 2012. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/governments/cb12-161.html
- [4] National League of Cities. Local Government Authority. http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-powers/local-government-authority
