The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief urging the California Supreme Court to hold that San Francisco’s Wireless Ordinance is preempted by state law.
The Chamber’s brief argues that the Court of Appeal’s decision imposes a misguided test for facial preemption challenges that is inconsistent with the preemption precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. Under the correct standard, a local law is preempted when state and local provisions apply different standards to the same inquiry. The brief also argues that permitting every municipality to impose its own standards on the deployment of telecommunications networks would dissuade companies from investing in new telecommunications infrastructure and significantly slow technological progress.
This brief was filed jointly with the California Chamber of Commerce, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the Bay Area Council, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Scott B. Wilkens, Matthew S. Hellman, Adam G. Unikowsky, Erica L. Ross, and Leonard R. Powell of Jenner & Block LLP served as counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.