Innovative Congressional Minimum Standards Preemption Statutes

by Joseph F. Zimmerman

Overview

Congress possesses broad regulatory powers, including the power of complete or partial preemption of state and local regulatory powers. Congress rarely enacted preemption statutes before the twentieth century, but since the 1960s such interventions have grown significantly in number, now totaling over seven hundred, and have transformed the nature of the American federal system. In Innovative Congressional Minimum Standards Preemption Statutes, Joseph F. Zimmerman provides the background and history of this critical transformation, classifying the forms these federal interventions have taken, with a focus on statutes dealing with such environmental issues as water and air quality, restoration of surface-mined areas, and still other areas that, collectively, have produced a revolution in relations between Congress and the states. Contrary to public perceptions of preemption being one-sided and heavy-handed, Zimmerman details the many variations present in these statutes that accommodate state and local interests, allowing for administrative and policy flexibility, and a generally cooperative relationship between states and localities and federal administrative agencies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438460994
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	658 KB

About the Author

Joseph F. Zimmerman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Albany, State University of New York. His many books include Unifying the Nation: Article IV of the United States Constitution; The Initiative, Second Edition: Citizen Lawmaking; and Interstate Water Compacts: Intergovernmental Efforts to Manage America's Water Resources, all published by SUNY Press.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. The Nature of Preemption

2. Minimum National Water-Quality and Drinking-Water Standards Preemption

3. Minimum National Air-Quality Standards Preemption

4. Maximum State Regulatory Standards and Regulatory Authority Turn-Back Statutes

5. State-Friendly Preemption Statutes

6. Contingent Preemption Statutes

7. Innovative Congressional Preemption Statutes: An Evaluation

Notes
Bibliography
Index