Indiana files brief opposing California livestock law

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has filed an amicus brief with 14 other state attorneys general supporting a lawsuit by two national farm groups against the state of California.

In 2018, California voters approved a proposition that set animal confinement rules for livestock, specifically calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens.

Proposition 12 blocks market access to farmers who don’t follow the rules, including farmers from other states.

Hill says the law is unconstitutional towards Hoosier farmers and prohibits commerce by forcing other states to follow the California policy.

“States have a sovereign interest in preserving their authority to set policy for their own farmers,” Hill said.

The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation are asking the federal district court to prevent California’s sales ban from being enforced.