Prop 12 just plain wrong

Iowa and California are very different places — and that’s a good thing.

While California families pay upward of 13.3 percent in state income tax, Iowans enjoy substantially lower and fairer tax rates.

California boasts the most expensive real estate market in the nation, with an average home price of roughly $737,000. In Iowa, affordability is paramount. The average home price in our state is roughly $168,000.

In California, the unemployment rate stands at 4.5 percent; second highest in the nation. Thanks to our low taxes and pro-growth policies, the unemployment rate in Iowa is only 2.7 percent; one of the lowest in the country.

The list goes on and on, but it’s clear that Iowa and California have vastly different governing philosophies and, therefore, different policy outcomes.

For this reason and many more, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold California’s Proposition 12 — which imposes the will of Californians on Iowa families and farmers — is burdensome, invasive and just plain wrong.

In 2018, California voters — many of whom have never stepped foot on a farm or even traveled to the Midwest — approved Proposition 12, which banned the sale of any veal, pork or egg products in the state of California that did not comply with their ridiculous and arbitrary regulations.

I regret that this outcome — sanctioned by the Supreme Court — will have crippling effects on our families, producers, economy and interstate commerce.

According to research conducted by the University of California, Davis, Californians — who account for 15 percent of U.S. pork consumption — will face higher pork prices to the tune of $320 million because of Proposition 12. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Higher pork prices will not only impact California families; every family across the country will experience sticker shock at the grocery store thanks to California’s misguided regulations. This is particularly devastating to middle- and low-income families who rely on affordable, nutritious eggs and pork to feed their children and weather the impacts of record inflation.

Proposition 12 could also cause small, family-owned pig farms to close for good.

Nationwide, the National Pork Producers Council estimates that this ballot initiative will cost pork producers $3,500 per sow, which will undoubtedly squeeze profit margins as hog prices continue their alarming downward trajectory, hitting our small producers the hardest.

Additionally, a study commissioned by the University of Minnesota determines that the cost of renovating and building compliant barns and pens will fall anywhere between $1.9 billion and $3.2 billion.

Simply put, this decision spells disaster for Iowa producers, especially our family farms, who are facing a 46 percent increase in farm input costs since 2013, declining pork prices, increasing operating and building costs, and rising interest rates.

Finally, this decision opens the floodgates for states to regulate commerce well outside their borders. By allowing California residents to impose their policy preferences on Iowa farmers about beef, pork and egg production, what would stop other states from following suit and forcing their viewpoints — on everything from tax reform to education policy — on Iowa?

I fear that this outcome will complicate and interfere with interstate commerce between individual states, severely impacting economic activity and rural livelihoods.

In the context of federalism, states are often referred to as “laboratories of democracy” where policy ideas are shaped, implemented and either succeed or fail. Proposition 12 is a failed experiment from a failed laboratory. Iowa producers shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of this costly and counterproductive negligence.

This op-ed was originally published in the Northwest Iowa Review on July 10, 2023.