Utah Supports National Pork Producers Against Unconstitutional Massachusetts Law

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH-Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined 21 attorneys general on an amicus brief in Triumph Foods v. Campbell at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The filing, which was led by the State of Iowa, makes the argument that Massachusetts is unconstitutionally regulating the transportation of pork where the livestock were not raised according to its highly burdensome regulations.

The case originated after Massachusetts approved a ballot measure in 2016 that sought to phase out certain methods of animal confinement. The plaintiffs-a coalition of pork producers from outside of Massachusetts-contend the Act would penalize their operations through highly oppressive regulations, which Massachusetts purports to apply to pork even merely transported through its territory. The States allege that Question 3 of the Act and accompanying regulations "will deny market access to out-of-state pork farmers and processors unless their farming practices comply with Massachusetts's dictates." The attorneys general argue that Question 3 would "set the stage for states' racing to the bottom, harm agricultural states and consumers, [and] violate the Constitution."

Joining Utah and Iowa on the brief were the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Read the brief here.