Koster's Egg Suit Against California Gets Cracking, Now Has Five Allied States

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s effort to protect Missouri's egg producers from stiffer California mandates is getting support from five states that have joined Missouri’s suit.

The five states are Nebraska, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Iowa. Combined with Missouri, the six states “produce more than 20 billion eggs per year, 10 percent of which are sold to California consumers,” Koster’s staff said.

Several Missouri farm groups have been in an uproar over California's restrictions, which go into effect in 2015. They claim the stiffer rules would unnecessarily increase costs, and lead to higher egg prices for consumers.

Koster filed suit several weeks ago on behalf of Missouri egg producers. The suit, filed in federal court, argues that California’s restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution’s “commerce clause,’’ which bars any individual state from enacting laws that deal with conduct “wholly outside its borders.”

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/kosters-egg-suit-against-california-gets-cracking-now-has-five-allied-states