California pork industry restriction upheld by Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to a California animal welfare law that would ban the sale of pork derived from breeding pigs housed in confined spaces. The majority said the measure, known as Proposition 12, did not unlawfully regulate pork produced in other states, as the challengers claimed. The ruling protects the ability of states to enact laws aimed at protecting the health and welfare of the public even if the measures have an impact out of state. The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation sued in 2019, saying the measure violates a provision of the Constitution called the commerce clause, which has been interpreted to bar states from interfering with interstate commerce.