State authority under threat: Preemption and the future of chemical safety
Protecting the health of people from toxic chemicals and incentivizing safer solutions requires strong, fairly enforced rules at every level of government, from local to state to national. States have advanced and continue to advance protections but federal actions could undermine both existing federal protections and states’ ability to act.
This analysis demonstrates that states continue to lead efforts to protect the public from toxic chemicals. However, Congress is currently considering actions that could undermine the ability of states to take action on toxic chemicals in products and strip states of their authority to regulate chemicals used in food and food packaging.
In 2026, preserving state authority is critically important, with both national and local implications. State legislators are speaking out about preemption threats. Nearly 350 state legislators urged Congress to maintain state authority on chemicals, and a bipartisan group of state legislators signaled opposition to state preemption.
