Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to review an extraordinarily troubling decision by California’s 6th District Court of Appeals that poses serious hazards to our most basic constitutional protections of free speech and association.

The California court held that paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams and two other companies be required to implement a sweeping lead paint abatement program in seven California counties and three cities. The decision would force them to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to inspect and remove paint from the interior walls, windowsills, and stairwells of private residences built before 1951.