NFIB has filed an amicus brief in the case National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors v. Leah Feldon, et al., at the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The brief challenges Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law, arguing that it imposes regulatory burdens on producers outside of Oregon.
Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, stated, “Oregon’s EPR regime goes beyond the authority granted to states in the Constitution by attempting to regulate businesses outside of Oregon. Allowing one state to impose significant burdens on producers outside of its borders will negatively impact any small business that does commerce in the region, both by increasing compliance costs for those businesses and by interfering with interstate commerce.”
The brief presents three main arguments: first, that Oregon’s EPR statute constitutes unconstitutional extraterritorial regulation by attempting to govern producers not located within the state; second, that the EPR law would not withstand review under the Supreme Court's decision in Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc.; and third, that delegating regulatory authority to a private entity intensifies the negative impacts of the statute.
NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center advocates for small business owners’ rights in courts across the country. The organization is currently involved in more than 40 cases at various levels of federal and state courts as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court.
