What Does the Public Think About State Government Preemption of Local Policymaking?

Abstract

State preemption of local policymaking is an increasingly used political tool and source of intergovernmental conflict. While previous studies have examined the determinants and effects of preemption, to date no study has examined citizens’ attitudes and opinions about the practice. Using two original public opinion surveys, we find that support for preemption does not seem to be politically driven as there are no discernable partisan differences and citizens are no more likely to support preemption when their party controls state government. Instead, support for preemption appears to be tied to more general feelings about state government such as trust and perceived responsiveness to citizens. Moreover, when using a survey experiment that primes respondents with a concrete example of preemption—forbidding cities from raising their minimum wage—support for preemption falls. These findings provide important context about citizens’ attitudes toward an increasingly prominent tool of state governments.