Mississippi Lawmakers Squash Local Food Regulation

The Mississippi House of Representatives recently passed legislation (H.B. 1182) that aims to prohibit food regulation at the local level. The bill in question would reserve to the state legislature the power to regulate consumer incentive items, implement menu and vending machine labeling rules, and set other restrictions on the sale of certain foods and beverages where not preempted by federal law.

“If you want to go eat 20 Big Macs, you can eat 20 Big Macs,” said Rep. Greg
Holloway (D-Hazlehurst), who reportedly argued that the bill would bar
municipalities from making their own laws “willy-nilly.” The state Senate has
also passed a similar measure (S.B. 2687), which must be reconciled with the
House version before proceeding to the governor. See The Associated Press,
February 14, 2013.