Arizona Restaurateur Challenges Department of Agriculture's Cage-Free Egg Mandate, Citing Separation of Powers
Longtime Tucson restaurateur Grant Krueger is challenging a rule implemented by the Arizona Department of Agriculture that mandates, with limited exceptions, that all eggs sold in the state must come from cage-free hens. Krueger, whose restaurants purchase thousands of eggs weekly and operate on thin margins, argues that this mandate, which the Department of Agriculture itself estimated could increase consumer egg costs, was enacted without proper authority. The Goldwater Institute and Pacific Legal Foundation, representing Krueger, contend that the Arizona Legislature, not an administrative agency, holds the power to create such laws. They argue that the Department of Agriculture overstepped its bounds, violating a state statute that prohibits agencies from making rules not specifically authorized by law, and infringing upon the Arizona Constitution's nondelegation doctrine, which reserves policy-making to the Legislature.
