Federal judge rules Maui County ban on GMO crops invalid
Source: Associated Press
Federal judge rules Maui County ban on GMO crops invalid
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press | June 30, 2015 | Updated: June 30, 2015 7:36pm
HONOLULU (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Maui County ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered crops is pre-empted by federal and state law and invalid.
The county's ordinance creating the prohibition exceeded the county's authority, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway said in her ruling.
The county, which is a major center for research on genetically engineered crops, will abide by the decision, spokesman Rod Antone said. Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co. unit Agrigenetics Inc. both have research farms in the county.
The judge stressed that her ruling addresses only the legal question of county authority. "No portion of this ruling says anything about whether GE organisms are good or bad or about whether the court thinks the substance of the ordinance would be beneficial to the county," she said.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Federal-judge-rules-Maui-County-ban-on-GMO-crops-6359281.php
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... with this court ruling, or probably down the road with an ISDS court ruling after TPP has been passed! 
These GMO bans just started to go in effect this month at least in Jackson County now...
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/jackson_countys_gmo_ban_taking.html
Sounds like Josephine County has more concern with the effect of this ruling, since there's more of a question of timing of when this was put on the ballot verus when the state claimed authority to regulate seeds, etc.
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
Victoria,
Just mere weeks after a U.S. Federal Court resoundingly rejected industry’s challenge to Jackson County’s prohibition on genetically engineered crops, Monsanto's front group and allies in Oregon have re-launched a push in the Oregon Legislature to pass a bill that would require counties like Jackson or even Oregon state agencies to pay GE growers for lost land values allegedly caused by any local or state regulation of GE crops.
While House Bill 3212 had appeared to be dead in the water two weeks ago, Rep. Brian Clem is now trying to get the Monsanto giveaway back from the dead by moving it into another bill (HB 2509) in the waning hours of the Legislature.
We have great news Victoria.
Representative Clem's push in the Oregon Legislature to pass a bill that would require counties like Jackson--or even Oregon state agencies--to pay GE growers for lost land values allegedly caused by any local or state regulation of GE crops has failed! Thanks to your emails and phone calls, Rep. Clem's dangerous amendments were dropped from the bill yesterday.
Thank you, as always, for your tremendous support. It is because of your quick response, passion, and action that this bill--like so many others we've taken on together--has been defeated.
- Center for Food Safety
But with the TPP...
