Overview

• The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on July 9 in Los Angeles federal court, naming Gov. Gavin Newsom, AG Rob Bonta and other state officials as defendants.
• The complaint targets AB 1437, Proposition 2 and Proposition 12, which mandate cage-free conditions and minimum space per hen for eggs sold in California.
• It asserts that the 1970 Egg Products Inspection Act grants exclusive federal authority over egg standards and pre-empts any additional state requirements.
• California leaders denounced the suit as a politicized attack and vowed to defend voter-approved animal welfare laws upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023.
• Economists and the industry point to a multiyear avian flu outbreak as the main driver of egg price spikes, disputing the administration’s claim that state rules are to blame.