Pushing Preemption: The Corporate Campaign to Deny Municipalities Access to the Courts

The report details a corporate campaign to implement municipal preemption laws that block local governments from accessing courts to recover climate-related damages. It identifies a 'triumvirate' of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ALEC, and NAM as the primary architects of this strategy, drawing parallels to previous industry efforts to avoid liability in the tobacco and opioid sectors. The document outlines specific legislative tactics used to stifle litigation and provides a framework for municipal leaders to recognize and repeal such preemption laws, while suggesting proactive legislative measures to protect local legal autonomy.

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, through its Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), has developed a strategic 'playbook' to reduce municipal litigation via four main strategies: limiting access to legal counsel or courts, prohibiting litigation against specific industries, modifying causes of action, and eliminating available legal forums.
• A coordinated network led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) manages the campaign, with the Chamber coordinating efforts, ALEC providing model legislation, and NAM conducting smear campaigns against advocates.
• The current campaign to block climate liability lawsuits mirrors a historical 'playbook' used by the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries to avoid accountability for the harms caused by their products through disinformation and 'tort reform'.
• Since 2019, municipal litigation preemption bills have been introduced in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Kansas, with Texas successfully passing a law (HB 2826) that grants the state attorney general veto power over municipal contracts.
• Climate liability lawsuits filed by over two dozen states and municipalities rely on evidence that oil and gas companies knew about the catastrophic effects of their products but engaged in a 'campaign of deception' to delay government action.
• The report identifies specific legislative tactics used to pass preemption laws, including rushing legislation, adding preemption language to unrelated bills, and using 'end-of-session logjams' to avoid scrutiny.
• To protect and expand local access to courts, the report recommends that state legislators extend statutes of limitations for revealed violations, enact new causes of action for localized damages, and expand available legal remedies.

APA

Sanders, E., & Zinser, L. (2022). Pushing Preemption: The Corporate Campaign to Deny Municipalities Access to the Courts. Center for Climate Integrity. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Pushing-Preemption-Report-2022.pdf

Chicago

Sanders, Emily, and Lynn Zinser. Pushing Preemption: The Corporate Campaign to Deny Municipalities Access to the Courts. Center for Climate Integrity, 2022. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Pushing-Preemption-Report-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sanders |first1=Emily |last2=Zinser |first2=Lynn |title=Pushing Preemption: The Corporate Campaign to Deny Municipalities Access to the Courts |publisher=Center for Climate Integrity |date=August 2022 |url=https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Pushing-Preemption-Report-2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sanders2022pushing, author = {Sanders, Emily and Zinser, Lynn}, title = {{Pushing Preemption: The Corporate Campaign to Deny Municipalities Access to the Courts}}, institution = {Center for Climate Integrity}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Pushing-Preemption-Report-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }