field preemption

Field preemption occurs when a higher level of government, such as the federal government, sets specific rules or regulations in an area of law, and these federal rules take precedence over state or local laws in that same area. This means that if the federal government has occupied a particular field—like environmental standards or banking regulations—states cannot create their own conflicting rules. Essentially, the federal law “preempts” or overrides state laws to ensure consistency across the country in that specific domain.