A coalition of nearly 400 agricultural groups, led by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), is pressing congressional leaders to include a fix for California's Proposition 12 in the 2026 farm bill, arguing the state law imposes extraterritorial housing mandates on farmers across the country and is driving up pork prices for consumers.
In a letter sent April 27 to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the coalition — representing more than 5 million farm members — called on Congress to pass the House farm bill with language that would preempt state laws that regulate out-of-state livestock production practices.
California voters approved Proposition 12 in 2018, establishing minimum space requirements for breeding pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens and banning the sale of meat and eggs from animals raised in noncompliant conditions. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law in 2023 but noted that resolving the resulting interstate commerce conflicts is the responsibility of Congress, not the courts.
The coalition argues the law falls hardest on small and medium-sized operations, which have less financial capacity to retrofit barns. University studies cited in the letter estimate that constructing new Prop. 12-compliant barns can cost 25 to 40 percent more per sow than other housing styles, not including an estimated 15 percent increase in operating costs per pig caused by reduced productivity. Economists at North Dakota State University found that since Prop. 12 was implemented, prices for covered pork products in California have increased nearly 20 percent on average.
The coalition also raised concern about a growing patchwork of conflicting state mandates. A proposed measure in Oklahoma would impose housing requirements that exceed even Prop. 12's standards — meaning producers who have already converted to comply with California's law could again face noncompliance.
The call for congressional action has drawn bipartisan support. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said Prop. 12 "is not just affecting California" and threatens hog family farms in other states. Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement calling the law "not a narrow issue, nor a regional one" and urging Congress to use the farm bill as an opportunity to restore certainty to producers nationwide.
Two major veterinary organizations have also sided with producers seeking a fix. The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) sent separate letters to Congress urging support for Section 12006 of the House farm bill, which would prevent states from enforcing animal welfare, pesticide and food safety standards on agricultural products produced in other states. The AASV said the ballot initiative "does not objectively improve animal welfare and, in fact, in some cases, it may compromise animal welfare," adding that the choice between individual stalls and group pens "must be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances faced by each individual herd and farm." The AVMA warned that allowing one state to dictate husbandry requirements to others "will create a patchwork of regulations that are often not scientifically based, could impact biosecurity, and would be cost prohibitive and cumbersome for veterinarians and their producer clients to navigate."
Not all voices align with the push for preemption, however. In an April 21 letter to Johnson and Jeffries, a group of House Democrats including Reps. Jim Costa, Lateefah Simon and Zoe Lofgren called on leadership to reject any language preempting state standards like Prop. 12, arguing such provisions "would override the will of millions of Californians, disrupt a market that has already adapted, and penalize farmers and producers who have invested to comply."
The 2026 House farm bill includes the Prop. 12 preemption language under Section 12006 of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The bill is expected to face a floor vote in the coming weeks.
