Local Government Autonomy Needs for State Constitutional Statutory, and Judicial Clarification
Local Government Autonomy Needs for State Constitutional Statutory, and Judicial Clarification . I. g: .: - -. U.S. Advisory Commission A-1 27 on Intergovernmental Relations October 1993 Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 800 K Street, NW Suite 450, South Building Washington, DC 20575 Phone: (202) 653-5640 FM: (202) 653-5429 U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local government in the United States has a rich his- (2) function-choosing the functions they perfom; (3) fis- tory. Cities, counties, towns, townships, boroughs, vil- cal-raising revenue, borrowing, and spending; and (4) lages, school districts, and a host of special purpose personnel-fixing the numbers, types, and employment districts, authorities, and commissions make up the 86,743 conditions of their employees. units of local government counted in the 1992 Census of Governments. These local governments have many differ- The most common form of home rule grants initiative ent forms and organizational structures. Variations in the to local governments. Local governments, however, are numbers and forms of local government arise from each not immune from constitutional and/or statutory limits on state’s unique political culture. these grants of initiative. State restrictions do not present Local self-government has been institutionalized in local government immunity in strongly positive terms, al- thousands of compacts, charters, special acts, statutes, lowing the courts to rule in favor of the state more often constitutional provisions, resolutions, ordinances, admin- than not. istrative rulings, and court decisions. Among these enact- Home rule is jeopardized if the state legislature is ments, state constitutional provisions are singled out for free to impose unfunded mandates on local governments.
[Show full text]