Supreme Court Ruling in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross Places Further Burdens on Small Businesses Nationwide

May 11, 2023

Supreme Court Ruling in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross Places Further Burdens on Small Businesses Nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 11, 2023) – NFIB is disappointed in today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross. Small businesses were hopeful that the Court would uphold the precedent of the Commerce Clause and prohibit California from applying a law that will burden small businesses throughout the country. NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case arguing against the Ninth Circuit’s ruling. “This Supreme Court decision will not only affect every small, family-run farm in the nation, but it changes the standard of how state governments can impose regulatory burdens on businesses and consumers outside of that state,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “Proposition 12 will have a staggering impact on pork farmers, consumers, and interstate commerce as a whole. Today’s decision sets a dangerous precedent, and small businesses will bear the consequences.” This case questioned the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12, which regulates the conduct of pork farmers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers nationwide. By upholding Proposition 12, the Supreme Court has granted the California Department of Food and Agriculture the authority to impose onerous regulations on interstate commerce. Today’s decision puts small businesses at the whim of agencies outside of the state in which they operate and subjects them to potentially burdensome and expensive requirements. The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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