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Jesse J. Richardson, Jr. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Meghan Zimmerman Gough Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Robert Puentes The Brookings Institution A Discussion Paper Prepared for The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy January 2003
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION C ENTER ON U RBAN AND METROPOLITAN POLICY SUMMARY OF R ECENT P UBLICATIONS *DISCUSSION PAPERS /R ESEARCH BRIEFS2002 Growth in the Heartland: Challenges and Opportunities for Missouri Vacant-Property Policy and Practice: Baltimore and Philadelphia Calling 211: Enhancing the Washington Regions Safety Net After 9/11 Holding the Line: Urban Containment in the United States Beyond Merger: A Competitive Vision for the Regional City of Louisville The Importance of Place in Welfare Reform: Common Challenges for Central Cities and Remote Rural Areas Banking on Technology: Expanding Financial Markets and Economic Opportunity Transportation Oriented Development: Moving from Rhetoric to Reality Signs of Life: The Growth of the Biotechnology Centers in the U.S. Transitional Jobs: A Next Step in Welfare to Work Policy Valuing Americas First Suburbs: A Policy Agenda for Older Suburbs in the Midwest Open Space Protection: Conservation Meets Growth Management Housing Strategies to Strengthen Welfare Policy and Support Working Families Creating a Scorecard for the CRA Service Test: Strengthening Banking Services Under the Community Reinvestment Act The Link Between Growth Management and Housing Affordability: The Academic Evidence What Cities Need from Welfare Reform Reauthorization Growth Without Growth: An Alternative Economic Development Goal for Metropolitan Areas The Potential Impacts of Recession and Terrorism on U.S. Cities 2001 The State of Minority Access to Home Mortgage Lending: A Profile of the New York Metropolitan Area Do Federal Funds Better Support Cities or Suburbs? A Spatial Analysis of Federal Spending in the Chicago Metropolis
What Cities Need from Welfare Reform Reauthorization Tracking the Progress of Welfare Reform Quickly: A Model for Measuring Neighborhood Health and Change Expanding Affordable Housing Through Inclusionary Zoning: Lessons from the Washington Metropolitan Area Bigger, Faster. . . But Better? How Changes in the Financial Services Industry Affect Small Business Lending in Urban Areas Moving Up, Filtering Down: Metropolitan Housing Dynamics and Public Policy Exposing Urban Legends: The Real Purchasing Power of Central City Neighborhoods The Impact of Changes in Multifamily Housing Finance on Older Urban Areas Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices The Implications of Changing U.S. Demographics for Housing Choice and Location in Cities Lost in the Balance: How State Policies Affect the Fiscal Health of Cities Sprawl Hits the Wall: Confronting the Realities of Metropolitan Los Angeles Growth at the Ballot Box: Electing the Shape of Communities in November 2000
T REND S URVEYS2003 Boomers and Seniors in the Suburbs: Aging Patterns in Census 2000 Rewarding Work Through the Tax Code: The Power and Potential of the Earned Income Tax Credit in 27 Cities and Rural Areas 2002 Modest Progress: The Narrowing Spatial Mismatch Between Blacks and Jobs in the 1990s Smart Growth: The Future of the American Metropolis Seizing City Assets: Ten Steps to Urban Land Reform Living on the Edge: Decentralization Within Cities in the 1990s Timing Out: Long-Term Welfare Caseloads in Large Cities and Counties A Decade of Mixed Blessings: Urban and Suburban Poverty in Census 2000 Latino Growth in Metropolitan America: Changing Patterns, New Locations Demographic Change in Medium-Sized Cities: Evidence from the 2000 Census
The Price of Paying Taxes: How Tax Preparation and Refund Loan Fees Erode the Benefits of the EITC The Importance of Housing Benefits to Housing Success Left Behind in the Labor Market: Recent Employment Trends Among Young Black Men City Families and Suburban Singles: An Emerging Household Story from Census 2000 2001 Suburbs and the Census: Patterns of Growth and Decline Rewarding Work: The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit in Chicago The Segregation Tax: The Cost of Racial Segregation to Black Homeowners Place, Race and Work: The Dynamics of Welfare Reform in Metropolitan Detroit Rewarding Work: The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit Envisioning a Future Washington Tech and Tolerance: The Importance of Diversity in the New Economy Meeting the Demand: Hiring Patterns of Welfare Recipients in Four Metropolitan Areas City Growth and the 2000 Census: Which Places Grew, and Why Downtown Rebound Racial Change in the Nations Largest Cities: Evidence from the 2000 Census The World in a Zip Code: Greater Washington, D.C. as a New Region of Immigration Racial Segregation in the 2000 Census: Promising News High Tech Specialization: A Comparison of High Technology Centers Vacant Land in Cities: An Urban Resource
FORTHCOMINGFueling Transportation Finance: A Gas Tax Primer and Policy Implications The State Role in Urban Land Redevelopment* Copies of these and previous Brookings urban center publications are available on the web site, www.brookings.edu/urban, or by calling the center at (202) 797-6270.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy would like to thank the Fannie Mae Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for their support of our work on metropolitan growth dynamics. The center's Metropolitan Initiative aims to better understand the mix of market, demographic, and policy trends that contribute to the growth and development patterns we see in metropolitan areas nationwide and to identify where possible, options for reform. The authors gratefully acknowledge additional support for this project received from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech): Department of Urban Affairs and Planning The Metropolitan Institute Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Program for Community Vitality McNair Scholars Program The authors also thank Joshua Schwartz, graduate research assistant in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and Crystal Lamb, McNair Scholar, Virginia Tech for their research and other contributions to this work. The authors further acknowledge the helpful comments and review from: Diane Zahm, associate professor, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech R. Michael Chandler, professor and extension specialist, Department and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech Theodore Feitshans, extension specialist, Department of Agricultural and Applied conomics, North Carolina State University Elizabeth Humphrey, executive director, Growth Management Leadership Alliance David J. Kovacs, AICP, Director for Policy and Legislation, Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association (VAPA).
The views expressed in this discussion paper are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the trustees, officers, or staff members of the Brookings Institution.
IS HOME RULE THE ANSWER? CLARIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF DILLON'S RULE ON GROWTH MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARYDoes Dillons Rule, a little-known judicial doctrine named for a 19th-century Iowa Supreme Court justice, preclude robust local action to curb sprawl? Local leaders in numerous states say it does, and often they look to their state governments for relief. These leaders contend they are handcuffed by Dillons Rule, a strict interpretation of state laws that allows localities to possess only such powers as are specifically delegated to them by state law. They often yearn for greater "home rule" authority, which they feel would expand their authority to respond to the myriad challenges posed by suburban growth. Are they right? This discussion paper takes a close look at the important debate surrounding Dillons Rule and home rule, particularly as it pertains to ongoing debates about growth management. In doing so, the paper observes that rampant confusion persists among many local and state government officials, constituency groups, and interested voters about the true nature of Dillons Rule, which states are actually governed by it, and what it means. At the same time, the paper notes that this confusion has led to exaggerated depictions of home rule as the antidote to Dillons Rule, and the key to better growth management. Drawing from the best available legal literature and case law, the study examines the definition and use of both Dillon's Rule and home rule and, for the first time, categorizes all 50 states by their overall interpretation of the state and local relationship. After that, the discussion probes common misperceptions about the two rules, and seeks to dispel them. To that end, the paper finds that: 1. Thirty-nine states employ Dillon's Rule to define the power of local governments. Of those 39 states, 31 apply the rule to all municipalities and eight (such as California, Illinois, and Tennessee) appear to use the rule for only certain municipalities. Ten states do not adhere to the Dillon Rule at all. And yet, Dillon's Rule and home rule states are not polar opposites. No state reserves all power to itself, and none devolves all of its authority to localities. Virtually every local government possesses some degree of local autonomy and every state legislature retains some degree of control over local governments. 2. Dillon's Rule neither prohibits nor hinders growth management. In fact, contrary to conventional wisdom, many Dillon Rule states maintain model growth management systems. Maryland, Washington, and Wisconsin, for example, have all implemented strong programs that give local and county governments the tools and incentives to manage or channel growtheven though Dillons Rule prevails in each state. At the same time, Oregona nonDillon state with one of the nations strongest home rule traditionssustains the nations strongest state-mandated growth management regime. In short, a states adherence to
Dillons Rule in no way precludes strong action to deal with growth-related challenges. In such states, legislatures retain the power to grant localities broad freedom to engage in growth management. Conversely, legislatures in home rule states can pass laws that restrict municipalities from engaging in exclusionary practices or other activities that appear to undermine important state objectives. 3. However, strong local autonomy can complicate regional collaboration. In practice, the contention that states should afford local governments more autonomy in order to enable them to manage growth conflicts with the notion that local governments acting independently may actually hinder, rather than further, effective growth management. Regional approaches lie at the heart of successful growth management. Effective growth management almost always requires adherence to a set of broad principles designed to accommodate growth and fundamentally affect region-scale metropolitan growth dynamics. By contrast, local governments generally act in a parochial manner, or lack the geographic breadth or ability to manage growth on a meaningful scale. To that extent, additional home rule probably offers no panacea for growth management challenges. And to the extent it contributes to greater fragmentation and localism it probably hinders problem solving. 4. In sum, localitiesrather than blaming Dillons Rule for the shortcomings of growth managementneed to reexamine their own regulations (which set the rules of the development game) and urge states to take a leadership role. Local rulessuch as zoning, comprehensive plans, subdivision regulations, and infrastructure investmentsplay a powerful role in addressing metropolitan growth challenges. For their part, states should take the lead in promoting and implementing progressive growth management efforts through infrastructure, land use, tax, and other investment policiesthat give localities the tools and incentives they need to grow in ways that are healthy at both the regional and statewide levels. In the end, neither local leaders nor state legislators should be deluded. Dillons Rule in no way lets them off the hook. The creation of thoughtful, effective strategies for managing growth depends largely on local and state will to do thatnot on the presence or absence of Dillons Rule.
TABLE OF CONTENTSI. II. Introduction.1 Background: The Genesis of Dillons Rule and Home Rule..3 A. B. Dillons Rule..7 Home Rule.9 1. Definitions of Home Rule10 2. Judicial Limitations on Home Rule12 C. III. IV. Arguments For and Against Dillons Rule and Home Rule..13 Fifty-State Review of Dillons Rule17 Dillons Rule and Growth Management22 A. B. C. D. V. Effective Growth Management: Basic Principles22 Dillons Rule and Local Autonomy25 Dillons Rule and Intergovernmental Cooperation.28 Local Government Autonomy and Growth Management.30 State Examples: Maryland, Oregon, and Virginia..31 Conclusion.34 References.36 Appendix A: Fifty-State Summary of Local Authority and Supporting Notes...41 Appendix B: State Statutes for State Level Growth Management Efforts47
IS HOME RULE THE ANSWER? CLARIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF DILLONS RULE ON GROWTH MANAGEMENT I. INTRODUCTIONDebates about local governments' ability to manage growth in and around their jurisdictions vary from state to state and inevitably involve mention of "home rule" and Dillon's Rule. Most states grant some type of authority to local governments to rule themselves. Dillon's Rule (named for a 19th-century Iowa Supreme Court judge) guides courts in interpreting the states grants of authority. Under Dillon's Rule, local governments possess only those powers specifically delegated to them by state law, or fairly implied from expressly granted powers. Dillon's Rule relates to the ultra vires1 doctrine. This doctrine states that "political subdivisions hold only those powers expressly conferred by charter or law and no other powers" (Zimmerman 1995). If a court finds that an act of a local government is ultra vires, the local government lacks authority to engage in the act. This ancient doctrine still applies today. Indeed, most writers, government officials and laypersons classify a state as either a Dillon Rule state or a home rule state. Under this categorization, prevailing sentiment assumes that Dillon's Rule entails weak local governments and strong state government oversight, while home rule connotes great freedom for local governments with little interference from the state. This supposed divide looms especially large in growth management debates because the most important of local powers is arguably land use authority (Briffault 1990) and many approaches to managing growth assume local control of land use. In this vein, local governments frequently blame Dillon's Rule for sprawling development patterns, claiming they lack the necessary authority to stop it. Meanwhile, many efforts to advance "growth management" advocate expanding local government autonomy. For example, Elazar (1998) notes a recent upsurge in the interest in home rule that Krane, Rigos, and Hill (2001) attribute, in part, to the increasingly intense policy debates surrounding urban sprawl and metropolitan decentralization. And yet, it turns out that substantial confusion runs through these discussions. To be blunt, substantial confusion persists about Dillons Rule, home rule, and the relevant laws and court rulings that shape local government. Indeed, it turns out that the seemingly fundamental opposition of Dillons Rule and home rule incorrectly describes the structure and substance of the relationship between state and local governments. It is these common misperceptions that the present assessment of Dillons Rule, home rule, and growth management seek to dispel. To that end, the discussion that follows begins with a summary of the history and definition of Dillon's Rule and home rule. The paper then briefly1
Literally, beyond the power". Refers to an action that transcends authority, usually used in connection with corporations or corporate officers actions in excess of the corporate charter.
examines the advantages and disadvantages of Dillon's Rule on a general level. Next, the paper assesses the use of Dillon's Rule in state courts across the country. This unprecedented survey fills a void by conclusively categorizing each state with respect to Dillon's Rule and providing supporting citations for each state. Finally, the paper examines the controversy surrounding the use of Dillon's Rule and its impact on local government autonomy and growth management. A brief conclusion and recommendations follow at the end.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 87,453 local governments exist in the U.S., including 39,044 general purpose governments (3,043 counties; 19,372 municipalities; and 16,629 towns or townships); 13,726 school districts; and 34,683 special districts that provide specialized services either not offered or not performed by existing governments.
source of the power fails to clearly delineate the scope then courts must resort to rules of interpretation to guide their decisions. In these cases, the state constitution provides the most authoritative source of the rule of interpretation, representing the "will of the people." If the state constitution fails to address the issue, the task falls to the state legislature. If neither the state constitution nor state law sets the standard, as is most commonly the case, state courts themselves determine how the courts will interpret grants of authority. If the courts formulate the rule, the highest state court holds the ultimate authority in the matter. However, an amendment to the state constitution or an act by the state legislature may always overrule the courts with respect to interpreting grants of authority. (See Figure 1.)
Basic Undisputed Legal Principle Local governments are creatures of the state. States exercise total hegemony over local governments.
Home Rule Local governments are granted authority over matters of purely local concern.
How should courts interpret grants of authority from the state to local governments?
Liberal construction
YESDoes state constitution set out standard of review? Use standard set out in constitution
cccConstitutionStrict construction
YESDoes state legislature set out standard of review? Use standard set out by state
Liberal Construction
Strict construction
Liberal constitution
Two basic choices for the rule of interpretation exist: (1) Strictly read such grants of authority, assuming that the local government does not have the power unless clearly granted; or (2) liberally translate such grants, assuming that the local government holds the power unless clearly denied. The first option, strict construction, came to be known as "Dillon's Rule" because Judge John Dillon of Iowa first articulated the principle in a state court case in 1865. (A fuller discussion of Dillon's Rule follows.) By contrast, in states given to more liberal rules of interpretation, state constitutional provisions or state law mandate that courts interpret grants of authority from states to local governments expansively.3 It is important to note that a particular state may apply different rules to different types of municipalities. In addition, the different rules in a particular state may derive from different sources. For example, the state constitution may mandate liberal construction for grants of authority to cities, while remaining silent on counties. The legislature may pass a statute requiring use of a liberal rule of interpretation for counties, even as the courts hold Dillon's Rule appropriate with respect to towns. Further, although the concept of home rule arose as a direct response to the perceived shortcomings of Dillon's Rule, the two doctrines often coexist within the same state. Although one form of home rule may reverse Dillon's Rule by mandating liberal interpretation of state grants of authority to local government, other forms address the fundamental legal relationships between state and local governments. These latter forms of home rule attempt to carve out areas of autonomy for local governments, with mixed results at best. Although Dillon's Rule builds upon the clearly established and irrefutable legal principle of local government subordination to the state, widespread political and academic controversy continues to surround the rules. This controversy, we contend, stems largely from the uncontroverted legal principle that municipalities exist as creatures of the state under the unfettered control of the state.4 Critics of Dillon's Rule describe its presumptions as a "yoke" under which local governments must "struggle" (Albuquerque 1998), and advocate a move toward greater autonomy for local governments in the United States. Gere (1982) conveys his disdain in a particularly vivid fashion, portraying Dillon's Rule as a "straitjacket" on local governments and calling the doctrine "rigid and
Some forms of home rule attempt to give local governments greater autonomy through direct grants of authority as opposed to addressing the issue of interpretation. It should be noted that Dillons Rule originally applied only to municipal corporations, and even then, only to cities, since the term municipal corporation" suggests a legal arrangement resulting from a charter granted by the state legislature. (Counties and other local governments often lack charters and therefore legally exist as arms of the state government.) Although the distinction between municipal corporations and other forms of local government often carries with it important legal ramifications, the distinction generally makes no difference with respect to the application of Dillons Rule. Therefore, this paper uses local government," municipality," municipal corporation," and locality" interchangeably to refer to cities, towns, counties, townships, boroughs and any other form of local government in the United States.
inflexible." According to Gere, the doctrine has affected "a widespread impact upon the American community and urban landscape and has permanently colored the nature of state-local relations in each of the fifty states." He further describes the principle as "overwhelmingly weighted in favor of supreme state authority and control." Gere's passionate critiques paint Dillon's Rule as Dracula-like, sucking all autonomy from local governments.5 As an alternative to Dillon's Rule, meanwhile, critics promote "home rule," citing economic efficiency, democratic principles, and the virtues of localism. Home rule essentially refers to the ability of a local government to manage local affairs without oversight from the state legislature. In this respect, virtually every local government possesses some degree of home rule authority. However, the term "home rule" has acquired an almost talismanic aura over the years and often, inaccurately, connotes almost total freedom of local governments from state control. In view of these nuances, a full understanding of either Dillon's Rule or home rule requires a complete explanation of both. This paper therefore begins by defining and briefly tracing the history of each doctrine.
Dillon's Rule
The history of Dillon's Rule begins in the 19th century when state constitutions gave local governments representation in state legislatures. These local government representatives ensured that municipality interests were promoted andpermitted a wide range of pursuits that resembled private activity. For example, some local governments aggressively pursued railroad companies to ensure that the railroad would pass through their town. In the mid-19th century, debate over the degree of local government autonomy emerged following widespread corruption in municipalities. This corruption manifested itself in two forms: (1) the patronage-based awarding of utility franchises; and, (2) the deliberate creation and extinguishment of municipalities to avoid accumulated debt. These actions prompted litigation in various state courts over the role played by local governments in economic activities. Judge John F. Dillon of Iowa was the nation's premier authority on municipal law during this period of widespread municipal corruption. Descriptions of Dillon convey a man deeply troubled by not only the corruption, but more fundamentally by local government involvement in private economic activityespecially promotion of the railroad industry. Local governments often trampled private property rights when they pursued railroad facilities, stations, and lines in an early display of competition for economic development. This conflict between private property rights and local government pursuit of revenue also troubled Dillon.
In 2001, Jay Fisette, the former chair of the Arlington County (VA) Board summed up this frustration when he complained, "We have to go to the General Assembly for pretty much everything except to brush our teeth in the morning" (Washington Business Journal 2001).
He summarized the undisputed view of the relationship between the state government and local governments in City of Clinton v. Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad in 1868. Municipal corporations owe their origin to, and derive their powers and rights wholly from, the legislature. It breathes into them the breath of life, without which they cannot exist. As it creates, so it may destroy. If it may destroy, it may abridge and controlWe know of no limitation on this right so far as the corporations themselves are concerned. They are, so to phrase it, the mere tenants at will of the legislature. Dillon's decision in Clark v. City of Des Moines (1865) first set forth the rule of statutory construction that would later be named for him.6 It is a general and undisputed proposition of law that a municipal corporation possesses and can exercise the following powers and no others: First, those granted in express words; second, those necessarily or fairly implied in or incident to the powers expressly granted; third, those essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation, not simply convenient, but indispensable. Any fair, reasonable doubt concerning the existence of the power is resolved by the courts against the corporation, and the power is denied. The Clark case involved the issuance of bonds or promissory notes by the City of Des Moines that were not authorized by the state legislature. The receiving party sold the bonds to a bona fide purchaser and the city refused to honor them. Judge Dillon relied on his rule of statutory construction to hold that the city lacked authority to issue the bonds in the first place. Therefore, the holder of the bonds could not compel payment by the city.7 In 1873, Judge Dillon included this rule in his seminal treatise, Commentaries on the Law of Municipal Corporations. Most state courts quickly adopted the rule. Many courts still use Dillon's Rule to assist in interpreting laws passed by the legislature, charters or state constitutional provisions that give local governments authority. The judicial branch carries out the important task of interpreting legislative intent with respect to all laws. If the legislature clearly expresses its intent, the courts need not interpret it at all. However, as is often the case, if the legislature leaves unclear issues or unanswered questions in its formulation of law, the courts must unravel the intent of the lawmakers. Courts may neither legislate nor formulate policy. In this role, courts merely ascertain and implement legislative intent. To achieve this task, courts employ a number of "rules of statutory construction." A rule of statutory construction provides guiding principles to assist the courts in correctly interpreting legislative intent. Generally, these tenets take form in court decisions that judges adopt and carry6
Dillons Rule actually traces its roots to a much earlier time. In Stetson v. Kemp, 13 Mass. 272 (1816), the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that towns are creatures of the legislature" and may exercise only the powers expressly granted to them." The irony in this case is that the use of Dillons Rule benefited the city by allowing it to avoid the bond obligation. However, the long term effect was to put local governments (and potential purchasers of their bonds) on notice of the fact that they could not engage in any activities without the authorization of the state legislature.
forward to future cases. Less frequently, rules of statutory construction originate in state constitutions or state laws. Dillon's Rule is just one of the many rules of statutory construction employed by courts. In particular, some state courts use Dillon's Rule as a guide when interpreting grants of authority from the state legislature to local governments. Most characterize Dillon's Rule as a rule of "strict" construction that gives as little power as can be reasonably intimated by the state legislature's grant of authority (e.g. Owens 2000). Others argue that the history of Dillon's Rule dictates "fair and reasonable" construction of grants of power to local governments (U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 1993). However, regardless of one's view of Dillon's Rule, the state legislature, absent a state constitutional provision, holds the authority to eliminate the use and effect of Dillon's Rule. Dillon's Rule becomes confused where the state legislature either passes a law dictating the standard of interpretation or avoids interpretation issues by stating a clear intent in the enabling legislation. Courts apply Dillon's Rule only where the legislature fails to clearly articulate legislative intent (Southern Contractors, Inc. v. Loudon County Board of Education). In all of this, it is important to understand that Dillon's Rule does not counsel the legislature relative to the powers of local governments. The state legislature may act as it wishes and be as restrictive or liberal as it chooses. For example, if a state legislature wishes for courts to liberally construe a certain grant of authority, the legislature may mandate liberal construction within the grant of the authority. In addition, if the state legislature desires to grant local governments broad authority, the legislators may draft the statute to clearly convey broad authority. Such actions take any discretion away from the state courts.
Home Rule
At the same moment Judge Dillon was laying out his rule of statutory construction, udge Thomas M. Cooley of the Michigan Supreme Court presented a diametrically opposed view of state delegations of authority to local governments in his concurring opinion in People v. Hurlburt (1871). The court in that case invalidated a state law that purported to appoint members of the newly created board of public works for the City of Detroit. The court found that a provision in the state constitution only allowed the state legislature to decide whether the members would be elected by the local citizens or appointed by the local government. In his concurring opinion, Cooley asserted the belief that local governments hold the inherent right of local self-governance. Cooley conceded that judicial decisions and law writers of the time "generally assert[ed]" that the state created and held total control over local governments. However, in his view, "[s]uch maxims of government are seldom true in any more than a general sense; they never are and never can be literally accepted in practice" (People v. Hurlburt). Cooley felt that citizens contemplated certain limitations on state authority over local governments and that these generally accepted limitations formed implied limits that should be given legal protection.88
The Supreme Courts of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Texas adopted Cooley's view at various times during
Ten years after setting out the Cooley doctrine Cooley seemed to retreat from his earlier position when he stated "[t]here is a principle of law that municipal powers are to be strictly interpreted and it is a just and wise rule" (City of Port Huron v. McCall). Even so, however, Cooley did attempt to limit Dillon's Rule, writing, "[b]ut when a power is conferred which in its exercise concerns only the municipality, and can wrong or injure no one, there is not the slightest reason for any strict or literal interpretation with a view of narrowing its construction." In response to the effects of Dillon's Rule, and energized by the Cooley Doctrine, states began enacting constitutional amendments to protect the autonomy of local governments. Early efforts commonly prohibited the state legislature from passing special legislation giving a specific power to a particular locality. This provision sought to promote local autonomy by forcing the legislature to grant powers to all local governments, instead of just a select few. Today, state legislatures commonly circumvent the prohibition on special legislation through a myriad of state statutes. For example, these laws may enable "cities with a population of between 21,000 and 23,000 lying in a county with a population of between 45,000 and 48,000" to engage in certain activity when, in fact, only one specific or intended city fits such a statutory definition. The home rule movement began in earnest when Missouri adopted a constitutional home rule provision in 1875. Several statesCalifornia (1879), Washington (1889), Minnesota (1896), Colorado (1902), Virginia (1902), Oregon (1906), Oklahoma (1907), Michigan (1908), Arizona (1912), Ohio (1912), Nebraska (1912), and Texas (1912)followed suit by establishing constitutional authority for use of a locally drafted charter to be ratified by local voters or the city council (Krane, Rigos, and Hill 2001). In this fashion, the movement originally responded to the limitations on local government authority imposed by the undisputed constitutional principal of total state control of local governments, and not Dillon's Rule. These provisions attempted to give local governments broad authority to legislate and allow local governments to control local matters unimpeded by the state legislature (Briffault 1990). A later form of home rule attempts to address the perceived limitations on local government powers posed by Dillon's Rule by mandating liberal interpretations of state grants of authority to local governments.1. Definitions of Home Rule
The Chicago Home Rule Commission once commented that "there is perhaps no term in the literature of political science or law which is more susceptible to misconception and variety of meaning than home rule'" (Chicago Home Rule Commission 1954). Confusion arises, at least in part, from the term's dual role as both a political motto and a legal doctrine (Sandalow 1964). Most generally, "home rule" refers to a state constitutional provision or legislative action that provides a city or county government with a greater measure of self-government (Black 1990). Home rulethe 19th century (U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 1981). However, more than a century later, it seems that "[c]ontrary to general opinion and to practice largely the doctrine of an existence of an inherent right of local self-government or home rule does not at present exist, and according to some authorities never did exist in this country" (McQuillen 1966).
involves two components: (1) the power of local government to manage "local" affairs; and, (2) the ability of local government to avoid interference from the state (Timmons 1993). Krane, Rigos, and Hill (2001) present a definition of the "ideal" of home rule as "the ability of a local government to act and make policy in all areas that have not been designated to be of statewide interest through general law, state constitutional provisions, or initiatives and referenda." They add that home rule must include more than just a degree of autonomy, local discretion, or authority. The local government must possess the capacity to perform. Local elected officials must also be accountable to their own citizens and not merely state officials with respect to matters of statewide concern. Three basic classification systems exist with respect to home rule. The first classifies types of home rule by the way the grant of authority operates ("operational categorization"). This results in two types of home rule. One involves the granting of authority to local governments to act in certain areas without legislative authority. The other reflects limitations on the state legislature's authority to regulate particular enumerated municipal affairs (Welch 1999). A second classification system distinguishes among different types of home rule according to structure of the grant ("structural categorization") (Mead 1997; Krane, Rigos, and Hill 2001). The first type, imperium in imperio (a sovereign state within a sovereign state) attempts to emulate the relationship between state governments and the federal government under the U.S. Constitution. Under this model, local governments hold exclusive authority to legislate with respect to local concerns. The second type of structure, called "legislative" home rule (sometimes referred to as a "devolution of powers" model) merely transposes the presumption of Dillon's Rule. Legislative home rule grants local governments all authority that the state legislature may delegate, unless the state legislature restricts or denies certain powers or functions.9 Like Dillon's Rule, however, local governments operating under legislative home rule remain subject to the ultimate authority of the state legislature. The third type of classification bases the distinction on the source of the authority (Welch 1999). Legal scholars often classify home rule based upon its source. If derived from a provision in the state constitution, home rule is deemed "constitutional." If the home rule authority arises from legislative provisions, it is deemed "legislative." Constitutional home rule stands at a higher level than legislative home rule, because the state legislature may not revoke or amend the authority granted by a constitutional provision (McQuillin 1966). In contrast, the state legislature holds the power to alter, amend, or abrogate legislative home rule at any time. The authors propose another, more relevant, classification. Grants of home rule authority may be distinguished based upon whether the provision addresses the legal principle of state hegemony over local governments or the judicial interpretation of state grants of authority to local
Operational categorization and structural categorization may merely be different labels for the same distinctions. The literature fails to clearly describe and distinguish the two.
governments. Regardless of the classification or type of home rule, no grants of authority rise to the level of the Cooley doctrine. They either set limits on the authority of the local governments or define those areas where the state legislature may not intrude upon local authority (Novak 2000). Within the great variety of home rule provisions, one principle consistently emerges: State legislatures retain control over local governments.2. Judicial Limitations on Home Rule
If a state constitution or state statute grants home rule authority, local governments next encounter judicial hurdles. Local governments and citizens often turn to the courts to interpret the scope of home rule grants. Traditionally, courts review home rule provisions skeptically and seem to make efforts to limit the scope of the provisions. This treatment likely results from the courts' acceptance of, and desire to adhere to, the accepted legal superiority of states. Courts typically overturn municipal ordinances if: (1) the ordinance relates to a "statewide" matter, as opposed to a matter of local concern; (2) the ordinance conflicts with a state statute; (3) state legislation expressly preempts the local ordinance; or, (4) state legislation impliedly preempts the local ordinance (See, e.g., State of Utah v. Hutchinson (1980); Goodall v. Humboldt County (1998); and Abdalla and Becker 1998). In addition, Dillon's Rule may be employed to limit grants of home rule authority. Courts struggle to demarcate the line between matters of "purely local concern," which form the exclusive province of local legislation under home rule, and matters of statewide concern, which fall under the control of the state legislature (McQuillin 1966). As Briffault (1990) observes, "the difficulties state courts experience in defining exclusive areas of local interest erode the legal protection of autonomy." The line between purely local matters and those of statewide concern also vexes state legislatures when they attempt to ascertain the areas of legislation over which they retain control. A "troubling diversity of opinion" exists as to whether land-use regulations, planning, and zoning qualify as purely local matters (Vaubel 1991). For example, Krane, Rigos, and Hill (2001) reference a table showing "zoning" as a function where the "local interest is paramount," while classifying "city and regional planning" as an area where "concurrent jurisdiction [is] necessary." Indeed, planning and zoning issues prove particularly difficult to classify. When a municipal ordinance permits that which a state statute prohibits or if a local ordinance prohibits that which a state statute requires, then the local ordinance conflictswith the state statute (Welch 1999; Sebree 1989). In that case, the state statute prevails and the local ordinance is invalid. Express preemption occurs when the state legislature directly declares its intent to preclude local control to achieve broader state interests in a particular area (Sebree 1989; Nolon 1993). Where state regulation so thoroughly and pervasively covers a subject as to completely occupy the field and where the subject requires uniform statewide treatment, the state legislature implicitly preempts local regulation of that subject.
Courts use another method to rein in home rule. Contrary to popular belief and even some scholarly writings (Weeks and Hardy 1984; Albuquerque 1998), Dillon's Rule often coexists coextensively with home rule. Many state courts use Dillon's Rule to interpret state delegation of home rule authority to local governments. Consequently, some view Dillon's Rule as "largely responsible for erosion of home rule" (U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 1962). These judicial restraints lead many commentators to lament the often deceptive notion that home rule translates to greater local government autonomy.10 Frug (1980) concludes that local government autonomy has not been affected significantly by home rule efforts. However, home rule doctrines were never intended to completely free local governments from state legislative control. The true purpose of home rule authority is to allow local governments to operate more efficiently (Nolon 1993). C. Arguments For and Against Dillon's Rule and Home Rule
Numerous arguments have been propounded about the virtues and problems of both Dillons Rule and home rule. What follows lays out those virtues and debits, as outlined by others. In brief, strong arguments exist on both sides of each doctrine. At the same time, a measure of caution is called for in reviewing these contentions. In general, the literature treats Dillon's Rule and home rule as polar opposites with respect to local government autonomy and assumes that either one or the other exists in a state. But both of these assumptions are incorrect. The two doctrines often coexist with one another and neither implies any particular degree of local government autonomy. For that reason, the format of the following comparison seeks not to reinforce the false dichotomy between the two rules, but to merely provide a convenient review of the issues.
For instance, Sebree (1989) deems home rule in Washington state illusory". Likewise, Smith (1996) contends that the courts have emasculated" home rule in Wyoming, while Kirshnitz fears home rule in New York may be reduced to a form of words and little else" ( 2000). Equally concerned was the concurring opinion in Jacobberger v. Terry (211 Neb. 878, 320 N.W.2d 903 [1982]), which held that home rule provisions in Nebraska have slowly been dying as the judicial hatchet has chopped away the life support system." See also, Goodell v. Humboldt County and the legal scholarship the decision prompted.
Legislators often prefer to award new powers to only a few local governments at first, so as to "test" the new powers. If the grant of power proves successful, then the legislature may grant the power to all local governments. State-level control ensures greater uniformity, which facilitates economic growth by assuring companies that requirements such as business licenses and methods of taxation will be consistent throughout the state. State legislators often feel that Dillon's Rule results in efficient and fair governance. Some believe Dillon's Rule benefits local government officials by allowing them to use the rule as an excuse to not do things that the public wants (which may also raise taxes, which the public does not want). States possess more technical expertise and often operate at a more appropriate level for policymaking than local governments. Local actions often result in regional or statewide impacts. State oversight may prevent exclusionary and provincial actions by local governments. Dillon's Rule provides certainty to local governments. If power is denied whenever doubtful, litigation will be kept at a minimum in legislative affairs.
Dillon's Rule shackles local officials and prevents them from quickly reacting to unique local problems with specially tailored local responses. Dillon's Rule prevents progressive local governments from going beyond the status quo in delivering services in an efficient and high quality manner, and forces uniform mediocrity. Dillon's Rule forces local government officials or their hired lobbyists to periodically trek to state capitals to beseech state legislators to grant more authority. This process appears to be wasteful and inefficient. "This rule sends local governments to state legislatures seeking grants of additional powers; it causes local officials to doubt their power; and it stops local government programs from developing fully." (U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 1962). State legislatures often impose unfunded mandates on local governments. These mandates force local governments to provide certain services but fail to provide a revenue source to offset the costs of the services. State government units and legislatures lack knowledge of unique local conditions. States "one size fits all" solutions may serve no local governments well. Many commentators assail the lack of certainty involved in Dillon's Rule (Gillette 1991; Virginia Law Review Association 1982). Local governments must speculate as to whether the courts will strike down a particular ordinance as a violation or infringement of Dillon's Rule.
An interesting aspect of this literature is the frequent contention that Dillon's Rule produces a lot of uncertainty among local government officials. A minority of scholars correctly disputes this claim. In fact, Dillon's Rule actually introduces certainty into an often-murky home rule situation. One indication of this results from a Westlaw search of state court cases from 1944 to June 2002 that used the phrase "Dillon's Rule" or the "Dillon Rule." Only 194 cases contained one of these terms during this time period. In sharp contrast, 7,498 state court cases used the term "home rule" over the same time period. Granted, many courts recite Dillons Rule verbatim or in a closely parallel form without explicitly labeling it. Nevertheless, this search indicates a remarkably low number of cases considering the application of Dillon's Rule, and a far larger relative number addressing home rule. The implication: The multitude and difficulty of issues raised by home rule lead to many more cases in state courts interpreting home rule than Dillon's Rule.
the rule for only certain municipalities (Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee). Ten states shun the use of Dillon's Rule completely (Alaska, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah). Conflicting authority makes the issue uncertain in Florida. A review of the data reveals no clear geographic or regional trends with respect to the use of Dillon's Rule. States using Dillon's Rule are found scattered throughout the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, as are states using more liberal rules of construction. The states using Dillon's Rule for only certain types of municipalities appear to be generally clustered in the Midwest and South-central states. However, in general, judicial attitudes as well as constitutional and legislative priorities, not regional trends, influence adoption of Dillon's Rule. A cursory review of the case law also reveals no other clear trends except maintenance of the status quo. A state supreme court last rejected Dillon's Rule in 1980 when the Supreme Court of Utah abolished Dillon's Rule in State of Utah v. Hutchinson. The court called Dillon's Rule "archaic, unrealistic, and unresponsive to the current needs of both state and local governments." The court further opined that "[a]dequate protection against abuse of power or interference with legitimate statewide interests is provided by the electorate, state supervisory control, and judicial review."
However, on May 6, 2002, the Tennessee Supreme Court reaffirmed Dillon's Rule in a case where the defendant urged its elimination. While acknowledging criticism of the rule from "many legal commentators and some courts," the Tennessee Supreme Court found that Dillon's Rule was "[f]ar from being an irrational interpretive canon, [instead] the doctrine of strict, but reasonable, construction of delegations of state legislative power seeks only to give effect to the practical nature of local governmental authority in Tennessee" (Southern Contractors, Inc. v. Loudon County Board of Education). A recent Iowa Supreme Court decision in Goodell v. Humboldt County illustrates the difficulties of classifying states with respect to use of Dillon's Rule and caused much debate in the legal community.11 The 1998 decision involved the challenge by livestock producers of four local ordinances regulating confined livestock operations. The livestock producers claimed that the state legislature preempted the ordinances and that regulation of confined livestock operations form a matter of statewide concern. Humboldt County argued that the ordinances fell within its home rule authority. Article III, section 38A of the Iowa Constitution grants counties the power "to determine their local affairs and government," but only to the extent those determinations are not "inconsistent with the laws of the general assembly." Local governments and state governments may regulate the same subject matter under this provision. However, the local ordinance may be more stringent, but not less stringent, than the state provision. The Iowa Supreme Court found that the regulation of livestock operations within a certain county constitutes a matter of local concern. Further, the Iowa legislature had not expressly preempted the ordinances and the state regulation was not so extensive as to preempt local regulation. However, the Humboldt County ordinances "do far more than merely set more stringent standards to regulate confinement operations. These ordinances revise the state regulatory scheme and, by doing so, become irreconcilable with state law" (Goodell). Thus, the court struck down the local ordinances as inconsistent with state law. Justice Harris and Justice Snell both filed dissenting opinions in the Iowa case. Both opinions decried the evisceration of home rule and apparent resurrection of Dillon's Rule. Justice Snell wrote: "Whether the Dillon rule has been excavated from the grave or preemption has re-emerged under the new name of inconsistency, or inconsistency has swallowed the law permitting higher and more stringent standards, the majority has drained the vitality from home rule. Little is left to local government that could withstand the avarice of an inconsistency meaning so pervasive." He went on to write: "Land contours, soil types, drainage efficiencies, population centers, rain levels, even air currents, vary from locale to locale. Characterizing a subject as having statewide importance does
The case also generated a large number of scholarly legal journal articles (Abdalla and Becker 1998; Bower 2000; Laufenburg 1998; Welch 1999). All but one of these articles (Novak 2000), lament the resurrection of Dillons Rule in Iowa.
not lessen the impact of problems encountered locally. That is the message embraced by the citizens of Iowa in adopting the home rule amendment." (Goodell, Justice Snell, dissenting). Regardless of whether the Iowa Supreme Court decided Goodell correctly, the case illustrates the basic principle that the state legislature ultimately controls the actions taken by local governments in its domain. Exceptions exist to this rule, particularly with respect to constitutional grants of home rule authority. However, courts strain to draw fine lines between, for example, matters of statewide concern and local concern, or inconsistent or consistent state statutes and local ordinances. The resulting legal doctrines often blur the line between Dillon's Rule and judicial interpretations of the contours of home rule, thus further complicating classification of each state based on its use of Dillon's Rule. The jurisprudence of North Carolina also presents a stark example of the difficulties in ascertaining the status of Dillon's Rule in a particular state. North Carolina Statutes sections 153A412 and 160A-413, adopted in 1973 and 1971, respectively, clearly abolish Dillon's Rule and mandate a more liberal interpretation of grants of authority to local governments in North Carolina, at least with respect to certain grants of power. However, the North Carolina Appellate Court,14 in Carteret County v. United Contractors of Kinston (1995) applied "[t]he well-settled rule in [North Carolina] governing the permissible scope of municipal or county actions," in a case involving a grant of authority clearly encompassed by the statutory abolition of Dillon's Rule. A year earlier, in Homebuilders Association of Charlotte, Inc. v. City of Charlotte, the North Carolina Supreme Court rejected application of Dillon's Rule and stated that it is clear that statutory provisions "shall be broadly construed and that grants of power shall be construed to include any additional and supplementary powers that are reasonably necessary or expedient to carry them into execution and effect." The Court regarded the statutes as " as a legislative mandateto construe in a broad fashion the provisions and grants of power.' " Most recently, in Smith Chapel Baptist Church v. City of Durham, the North Carolina Supreme Court arguably reversed field and reverted to Dillon's Rule. In this case, Justice Frye, who wrote the majority opinion in the Homebuilders Ass'n case, filed a dissenting opinion. In the dissent, Justice Frye described Dillon's Rule as "now defunct" in North Carolina and accused the majority of reviving the doctrine. The majority opinion in Smith Chapel Baptist Church relies on the plain12
It is the policy of the General Assembly that the counties of this state should have adequate authority to exercise the powers, rights, duties, functions, privileges, and immunities conferred upon them by law. To this end, the provisions of this chapter and of local acts shall be broadly construed and grants of power shall be construed to include any powers that are reasonably expedient to the exercise of the power." It is the policy of the General Assembly that the cities of this state should have adequate authority to execute the powers, duties, privileges, and immunities conferred upon them by law. To this end, the provisions of this chapter and of city charters shall be broadly construed and grants of power shall be construed to include any additional and supplementary powers that are reasonably necessary or expedient to carry them into execution and effect: Provided, that the exercise of such additional or supplementary powers shall not be contrary to state or federal law or to the public policy of this state" Note that the North Carolina Appellate Court is the intermediate court of appeals in that state. The North Carolina Supreme Court is the states high court and, thus, superior to the Appellate Court.
language of the statute. Therefore, the majority did not have to resort to any rules of interpretation. The majority may, however, have couched the opinion in that manner to evade the application of the more liberal rule of construction. The authors draw only one clear conclusion from the North Carolina jurisprudence: Dillon's Rule and home rule perplex even North Carolina appellate court justices. A similar situation exists in West Virginia. The West Virginia legislature passed a law in 1969 abolishing Dillon's Rule, at least as it pertained to certain grants of power. However, the courts virtually ignored the provision until 1991, when the West Virginia Supreme Court recognized the statute and applied a liberal rule of construction (McAllister v. Nelson). Since 1991, the West Virginia Supreme Court has alternated between applying Dillon's Rule and the statutory rule, seemingly at random (Lorensen).
Although no universally accepted definition of growth management exists, Nelson and others (2002) have recently defined it as the deliberate and integrated use of the planning, regulatory, and
fiscal authority of state and local governments to influence the pattern of growth and development in order to meet projected needs. Growth management strategies are sometimes mischaracterized as those used by localities to prevent growth in an area. However, growth management more accurately accommodates current development and anticipates future development requirements while maintaining community qualities and interests. An important distinction exists between anticipating growth, and "crisis management" in response to growth (Porter 1997). Ideally growth management planning should prepare for growth and development rather than react to it. Accordingly, the implementation of growth management plans should occur well in advance of the emergence of problems associated with growth. As such, growth management can be described as a deliberate effort on the part of different levels of government and multiple governments at the same level to achieve a balance between development and its potential social, economic, and physical effects. At any rate, the most significant growth management efforts in the United States have generally been implemented at the regional or statewide level. Within the past few decades, several states have enacted statutes that call for comprehensive regional or statewide planning for growth management, including Hawaii, Vermont, Florida, Oregon, New Jersey, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Washington, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Maryland. From these existing state statutes, the authors distill eight basic principles of growth management: comprehensive planning, consistency, coordination, concurrency, cooperation, containment, collaboration, and carrots. Although strategies may differ between various regional and statewide planning procedures, these eight fundamental principles undergird the success of regional or state-level growth management efforts.15 The comprehensive plan represents the foundation of every growth management strategy. A public document adopted locally and/or statewide, it acts as the tool that drives orderly development, usually within a twenty-year time frame. The comprehensive plan forms the foundation of the effort to anticipate and manage many factors of growth, including the rate, timing, type and location of development, as well as elements such as land use, housing, transportation and, with increasing frequency, economic development, parks and recreation and neighborhood plans. All states with a growth management statute require a local comprehensive plan. Many state statutes also include a state comprehensive plan that forms the centerpiece of growth management efforts within the state. Effective growth management requires that local comprehensive plans and statewide plans are consistent across localities and among different levels of government. Internal consistency connotes uniformity among the different components of the comprehensive plan, in order to avoid discrepancies or contradictions in the plan. External consistency refers to compatibility between the local comprehensive plan and its implementation strategy. Ideally, this concept links land-use planning with zoning and/or subdivision ordinances, as well as
For selected specific state statute citations for these growth management principles, see Appendix B.
the multitude of other implementation tools. For example, Wisconsin's consistency doctrine requires that any land use decision be consistent with the local government comprehensive plan.16 Horizontal consistency calls for agreement between adjacent local government landuse plans as a way to avoid negative impacts from neighboring jurisdictions. Vertical consistency results from synchronization between local, regional, and state land-use planning (DeGrove and Metzger 1993). Growth management efforts also ideally seek to promote intergovernmental coordination among the different local, regional, and state governments. Coordination occurs among local governments as a way to efficiently integrate the planning efforts of each. In addition, efforts at the regional and state level must be coordinated with local government actions, as well as other actions of other regional and state agencies to achieve regional goals. Coordination on all levels addresses potential issues with incompatible land-use planning. Pennsylvania's Growing Smarter Initiative amends the state's Municipal Planning Code to permit and encourage more coordinated planning at the local level. Related is the issue of cooperation. Cooperation promotes participation and interaction among local governments and between local, regional and statewide agencies. This tool seeks to incorporate consideration of local decisions in a regional or statewide framework. Involvement of all levels of government concerning planning goals and objectives helps build effective and efficient growth management strategies. Concurrency demands that adequate public facilities and services be available before or soon after development occurs to accommodate or absorb the additional development impacts. This tool channels development to areas that have the capacity to provide sufficient infrastructure and helps avoid development stresses on inadequate infrastructure such as roads and highways. Florida's concurrency requirements warrant special consideration because the provisions apply not only to larger regional projects, but to every development project reviewed by a local government. Containment attempts to restrict the spatial pattern of development to certain areas. Geographically, containment supports development within a certain boundary, and essentially discourages development beyond the boundary (Nelson and Duncan 1995). Containment is not limited to land-use regulations but includes a wide variety of tools such as public ownership of land and policies regarding the timing and sequencing of public infrastructure. In 1973, Oregon established a Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt state development goals, to which the local government must adhere. The most prominent aspect of Oregon's program is creation of "urban growth boundaries" around the urbanized city. The urban growth boundary "contains" land suitable for urban development for a twenty year time period (Pendall 2002). Collaboration involves public participation and input into the planning process. This approach encourages active participation by a broad constituency of interests, including local, regional, and statewide agencies as well as conservationists, landowners, and various
No state mandate exists, however, so localities can avoid having a comprehensive plan.
other stakeholders. Collaboration and shared ownership ideally mends fragmented decisions and builds common growth management goals (McKinney and Harmon 2002). Carrots, or incentives, provide rewards (usually monetary) to communities that comply with state plans or ideals. Carrots include motivation in the form of financial and technical assistance earned by complying localities. On the other hand, disincentives may include loss of local eligibility for state infrastructure grants and loans, or loss of sales, liquor, and gas tax revenues. These negative consequences fall upon local governments that decline to further state objectives.
Some states, such as Vermont, combine comprehensive planning, coordination, and carrots in one provision.17 Under the Vermont provisions, if local governments coordinate their comprehensive plans, then state agencies must adhere to the local plans. Without the state requirement to do so, state agency actions need not comply with local plans. Such incentives effectively prod local governments to coordinate and, consequently, plan more comprehensively.
The commonly held assumption that states should afford local governments more autonomy in order to enable them to manage growth conflicts with the notion that local governments acting independently may actually hinder, rather than further, effective growth management. Many commentators maintain that effective management of rapid population growth requires the increased level of local government autonomy that presumably results from home rule (Sebree 1989; Mckenzie 2000; Allen 2002). Relaxation or elimination of Dillon's Rule, some assert, advances the goal of effective growth management by giving local governments more autonomy (Sebree 1989). But this in large part misses the point. As we have seen, the extent of local government autonomy depends not upon whether a state court employs Dillon's Rule but rather on the propensity of the state legislature to endow local governments with autonomy. If the state legislature expresses clear intent to grant broad discretion to local governments, Dillon's Rule poses no roadblock. In some home rule states, the legislature has passed a multitude of laws prohibiting municipalities from engaging a wide variety of practices. That approach hampers municipalities more than Dillon's Rule. The legislature holds the power to expand or contract local government autonomy and to repeal Dillon's Rule. Existing literature supports this concept. In 1982, USACIR conducted the most comprehensive study of local government autonomy. This study ranks states on overall degree of local discretionary authority from an examination of state constitutions and statutes, court decisions, law review and journal articles and reports on state-local relations. In addition, the study relied on surveys of selected individuals in each state, including governors, attorneys general, and municipal league representatives.17
Vermont Growth Management Act (Act 200 of 1988) Title 24 Vermont Statutes Annotated, Chapter 117.
A composite index, (see Table 3) constructed from indices that measured local government autonomy in specified areas, sought to measure the relative standing of local government autonomy in the fifty states. The specific indices measured structural, functional, fiscal, and personnel authority of local government units. The study segregated data for counties, cities, towns and townships within each state. Based on the composite index, some very interesting findings emerge that clash with conventional wisdom. For example, Virginia ranked 8 th in the degree of discretionary authority enjoyed by its localities despite the fact that Virginia courts arguably apply Dillon's Rule more stringently than any in the country. In fact, of the top 10 states, ranked in descending order of local discretionary authority, seven use Dillon's Rule in all circumstances. Only Oregon and Alaska fail to apply Dillon's Rule. (Louisiana uses Dillon's Rule only with respect to certain localities.)
States in bold are not Dillon's Rule states. Source: U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. 1981. "Measuring Local Discretionary Authority." USAICR, M-131. Washington.
The table shows that Dillon's Rule states rank quite randomly across the table in terms of local discretionary authority and suggests the rule does not necessarily result in less local control. Indeed, two strongholds of growth management activity can be found in Dillon's Rule states on either side of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area: On one side of the Potomac River, Arlington County, VA has taken advantage of the enormous public investment in rail transit and implemented one of the most successful transitoriented development plans in the nation. Through comprehensive planning and zoning, cooperation with the regional transit agency, and collaboration throughout the planning process, Arlington devised a strategy to concentrate development around the rail transit stations, which now house 95 percent of the county's office space (about 30 million square feet). Arlington has also used carrots to incentivize affordable housing production in these areas. These efforts have been credited with helping to mitigate growth pressures throughout the region.18 On the other side of the river, Montgomery County, MD adheres to growth management principles in order to preserve agricultural land by offering density bonuses elsewhere in the county (carrots) and to shape the pace of growth through an adequate public facilities ordinance (concurrency). Montgomery County has also developed more than 10,000 affordable housing units through a 30-year old inclusionary housing program and provides a series of incentives to support their goal of high-density development around transit stations (consistency). (Porter 1997). Together, the much-praised efforts of Arlington and Montgomery counties furnish two prominent examples of strong local action to manage growth in states that employ Dillon's Rule. To be sure, one reason these localities are so successful is that they are large jurisdictions that, in some respects, act as quasi-regional governments. Montgomery County has about 900,000 people and is about 500 square miles in land size. Smaller jurisdictions with comparable attitudes towards growth management may not be able to implement effective policies simply because they do not have the geographic or population size to contend with region-scale forces. Nevertheless, the fact remains that successful action to manage growth remain eminently possible even where Dillons Rule prevails.
Intergovernmental cooperation forms a special point of concern with respect to Dillon's Rule and growth management and provides a vital component to any successful growth management effort. Some commentators opine that Dillon's Rule prevents local governments from cooperating with each other because states fail to authorize cooperation (Frug 1999). Others lament that the lack of true local home rule prevents regional approaches to sprawl and other regional issues, and further place the blame on this failure to cooperate on state legislatures not providing the local governments authority to address regional issues cooperatively (Krane, Rigos, and Hill 2001).
However, as Gillette (2001) notes, this criticism rings hollow. Most states grant local governments home rule authority. In these jurisdictions, courts generally sustain interlocal agreements challenged as not purely of local concern. Broad legislative authorization for intergovernmental cooperation exists in forty-two states (USACIR 1993). For example, Virginias Commission on Local Government (2001) lists numerous ways in which local governments in that state may cooperate with each other specifically to address growth and development issues. Among these are:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Economic growth sharing agreements Sharing of constitutional officers Sharing of ministerial and executive officers Joint exercise of powers Economic development Specific authority for joint functional activities Libraries Social services 6. 7. Joint planning commissions Joint authorities Redevelopment and housing authority Transportation district Local transportation improvement district Industrial development authority Public recreational facilities authority Park authority 8. 9. Joint enterprise zones Regional transportation program Construction and operation of toll roads and parking facilities Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority 11. Joint schools, school facilities, and superintendents Joint and regional schools 12. Provision of services by planning district commission 13. Consolidation of local governments 14. Partial consolidation 15. Reversion to town status 16. Regional governments
Also in Virginia, in 1992 the Governor's Advisory Commission on the Dillon Rule and Local Government noted that incentives from the state, particularly fiscal incentives, could encourage cooperation among local governments. The Commission advised that the cost savings from regional solutions would offset the cost of the fiscal incentives. Presently, local governments, whether located in Dillon's Rule jurisdictions or otherwise, generally do lack incentives to cooperate
regionally. It is this lack of incentives that explains the paucity of intergovernmental cooperation, not the presence of Dillon's Rule.
Two major factors support the assertion that local governments generally lack the ability to manage growth effectively. First, growth and its stresses tend to occur at a regional scale that exceeds that of local governments. Second, institutional factors prompt local governments to pursue insular goals that often defeat statewide or regional aims. These local goals often undercut or directly conflict with the overall welfare of the state and region. A recent Brookings Institution report examined over 500 state and local ballot initiatives dealing with growth and land use in 2000. Of the 94 initiatives dealing directly with methods to regulate development, 89 (95 percent) involved "local unilateral growth management" (Myers and Puentes 2002). However, the report finds that these efforts often miss the mark. The reason: Regional growth patterns are determined by broad forces generally well beyond the purview of local governments. Local land preservation efforts are similarly misdirected. Without a regional land-use plan, development prevented in one area simply relocates to other jurisdictions or into unincorporated areas (Orfield 2002). When that happens, the area receiving the growth likely gains residents with less political power and possesses less fiscal capacity to handle the growth than the community that avoided the development. At the most basic level, then, local governments rarely possess adequate land to manage growth on a "meaningful scale" (Kelly 1993). By contrast, larger regions or entire states possess broader areas of control, so they can effectively address growth issues. What is more, the attempt of one locality to "manage" growth frequently entails the imposition of negative externalities on adjacent localities. In this respect. the imposition (directly or indirectly) of growth "controls" to slow or stop the influx of new residents to one community frequently keeps only local benefits in mind and ignores the possible costs that other communities might bear as a consequence (Nelson and others 2002). Such spillover impacts on nearby localities and the region can include economic stresses resulting from the demand for additional infrastructure, social costs, and continuous sprawling patterns of development. Ironically, these types of externalities often spur adjacent jurisdictions to implement a growth limiting programs that continue the cycle. Such shifting of the burden of growth to nearby communities is a hallmark of ineffective growth control and poor planning from a regional perspective. Over the past few decades, uncoordinated local approaches to growth management have consistently failed to adequately respond to changes in development patterns within regions. For example, local zoning ordinances imposing size and density restrictions on development often significantly impact regional housing markets (Virginia Law Review 1982). Local governments have
incentives to seek to preserve community character, often a code phrase for expensive homes inhabited by the wealthy, regardless of cost to other communities (Briffault 1990). Localities still use land use and zoning policies to segregate minorities and low-income residentsor exclude them altogether (Pendall 2000). Lastly, local governments also hold the power to impose local taxes and therefore seek land uses that maximize revenues (high value property, retail businesses or high income housing) and minimize expenditures for public services. (Orfield 2002). Frequently growth management strategies that only consider the local effects do not solve the local problems and further contribute to regional problems. Local growth moratoriums such as those implemented in Petaluma, California and Boulder County, Colorado illustrate the difficulty. Petaluma faced rapid suburbanization from nearby San Francisco. By attempting to restrict growth through a limitation on allotted building permits, the city essentially created housing demand and thus a housing shortage in Santa Rosa, a town located on the outskirts of the area. Growth limits used in Petaluma placed pressure on Santa Rosa to accommodate a drastic population increase. As expected, the growth burden stressed the existing infrastructure in Santa Rosa (Downs 1994). Boulder County, CO, for its part, attempts to manage growth using a combination of growth management principles. This combination of tools that prevent growth on the edge of Boulder has pushed development burdens to satellite cities. Consequently, these localities have endured high growth rates that have been directly attributed to Boulder's attempt to severely restrict growth. This effect is common, especially when the jurisdiction of one locality overlaps the jurisdictions of another locality (Kelly 1993). The fragmented, locally driven system of land use planning in and around Boulder has ensured that while one city pursued aggressive growth policies regional cooperation remained lacking (Pendall 2002).19 In sum, the literature concludes that effective growth management occurs at the regional level and involves state oversight and initiative. Since Dillon's Rule neither expands nor limits local government autonomy, much concern about the rule appears misdirected. Dillon's Rule probably does not influence growth management efforts. And to the extent it does the consistency and certainty it engenders likely benefit such efforts.
These two examples should be contrasted with Arlington and Montgomery Counties which sought to accommodate, rather than repel, growth by channeling it into high density areas.
The first pairing compares Oregon and Maryland. Oregon maintains one of the nation's first growth management systemsone regarded by many as the most effective in the country. Although Oregon courts reject Dillon's Rule and interpret state grants of local authority liberally, Oregon's growth management plan ranks second only to Hawaii's with respect to the degree of state regulatory control. Top-down administration exemplifies Oregon's plan. However, academic studies assert that local governments in Oregon possess more autonomy than any other in the United States (U. S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations 1982). Courts in Maryland, on the other hand, consistently employ Dillon's Rule to strictly construe grants of governmental authority. Like Oregon, however, Maryland administers a widely renowned growth management plan. Maryland's plan represents one of the newest growth management strategiesa bottom-up process, focusing on local governmental control. Although the plan is too recent to assess, many state and local governments now seek to emulate elements of Maryland's plan. Clearly, the timing of the different plans (1973 for Oregon and 1998 for Maryland), the political philosophies of the two states, and the states respective traditions of local government control over land use explain the stark contrasts between the two states approaches. Looking only at the absence or presence of Dillon's Rule, after all, an inexperienced observor would predict that Maryland would have employed a more regulatory approach, while Oregon would have relied more on incentives to local governments. However, the chosen paths are exactly opposite expectation. Which is to say: The states stances on Dillon's Rule and home rule have exerted little or no influence on their styles of growth management. A comparison of Maryland and Virginia yields similar conclusions. Like Maryland, Virginia courts use Dillon's Rule. In fact, Virginia may adhere to Dillon's Rule more rigorously than any other state. And yet, Virginia spurns any state exposition or oversight of growth management and the legislature consistently refuses to grant local governments more autonomy to pursue local growth restrictions. What explains the differing approaches of Maryland and Virginia to growth issues? Political and philosophical differences explain much of the contrast. Former Virginia Governor James Gilmore went so far as to ridicule Maryland's smart growth program in the 1990s, maintaining that Virginia would continue to pursue "economic growth." Maryland, meanwhile, had began to address growth issues with a transfer of development rights program and other means as far back as the 1970s. Growth management is now a tradition and way of life in that state. Virginia, by contrast, hues to a traditional emphasis on property rights. This proclivity remains to this day. Another difference is that the Maryland state government provides substantially more direct infrastructure and public facilities funds to localities than does Virginia. As a result, Maryland has more influence over where such funding goes, making an important impact on growth policies. Virginia provides some funding (for example, for transportation and higher education facilities) but
much less to localities, which must often rely upon general obligation bonds to finance infrastructure needs. Finally, Maryland consists of just 24 separate land use authority jurisdictions (23 counties and the City of Baltimore). Each municipality controls, on average, approximately 512 square miles. Virginia, by comparison, encompasses 40 cities, 94 counties, and 196 towns (or a total of 320 local governments), each with the ability to control land use. Each locality contains, on average, approximately 132 square miles (although towns and cities are generally much smaller than counties), meaning that Virginias far more numerous local governments each control a far smaller land area than do Maryland governments. Although both states employ Dillon's Rule, fundamentally different structures in each state mandate radically different approaches to growth. In summary, Oregon and Maryland each boast successful growth management plans, but employ different rules and use radically different approaches. Maryland and Virginia, meanwhile, each embrace Dillons Rule, yet maintain diametrically opposed stances. Virginia generally favors property rights and uses Dillon's Rule. Maryland also uses the rule but stresses managed growth.
V. C ONCLUSIONIn conclusion, a careful review of the evidence suggests that attributions of growth management failure to Dillon's Rule (or a lack of home rule) reflect an overly simplistic understanding of Dillon's Rule, home rule, and growth management. Such a view relies on the faulty assumption that more local government autonomy leads to more effective growth management. Both theory and practice suggest the opposite. Ultimately, each state legislature bears responsibility for the allocation of authority between state and local governmentsand in large part determines landuse outcomes. More importantly, effective growth management requires adherence to a set of broad principles designed to accommodate growth rather than limit or ration itas is often the case in the name of growth management on the local level. Dillon's Rule neither prohibits nor hinders adherence to each of these growth management principles. Dillon's Rule, in a word, probably has almost no affect on growth management activity. However, if Dillon's Rule does have an impact, it (at least theoretically) appears to be positive. By providing some certainty that local governments may engage only in the actions clearly allowed to them by the state legislature, Dillon's Rule may promote consistency, which advances sound regional and statewide growth management. On the other hand, increased local autonomy, which does not necessarily follow from abolishing or relaxating Dillon's Rule, promotes fragmented and uncoordinated growth management. Such a regime results in sprawl. This paper leaves many issues unaddressed. One involves whether different state courts employ Dillon's Rule in different ways. This variable may influence the effect of Dillon's Rule on growth management and other issues. In addition, opponents of Dillon's Rule and opponents of home rule each allege that the other imposes more uncertainty20 Detailed examination of Dillon's Rule and home rule jurisprudence may shed light on that debate, as well as uncover differences in applications of the two doctrines to particular local governmental powers, such as land use and zoning. An in depth examination of the interplay between Dillon's Rule and home rule in states that employ both doctrines may also yield interesting insights. Additionally, detailed study of different types of home rule authority and the impacts of each on local government and growth management could aid in understanding differences between states and regions. Finally, the interplay of state growth management statutes and local government autonomy needs further examination. If repeal of Dillon's rules fails to cure the nation's sprawl ills, what steps may be taken to improve growth management? First, state legislatures must take a leadership role. Although state boundaries provide arbitrary lines, state legislatures control how and at what level growth management will occur. Legislatures also provide the forum to reform state and local tax systems and other incentives and disincentives that promote sprawl.
Recall that home rule and Dillons Rule are not mutually exclusive. The form of this debate is, therefore, incorrect. The issue does not entail either Dillons Rule or home rule.
Which is not to say local governments decisions do not matter. While the state government has authority over legally subordinate local governments, the latter do play a key role in any growth management iniatiative. Growth management occurs along a continuum and does not have to be a top-down state effort. Indeed, many states are moving along the path of growth management incrementally by providing appropriate incentives and disincentives at the state level. Local governments know local conditions and should hold a certain level of self-governance. However, local governments must recognize that even actions that appear to be strictly of a local concern impact people and jurisdictions beyond their borders. In view of all this, localitiesrather than looking to the state capital for more autonomy need to re-examine their own regulations, many of which play an important role in setting the rules of the development game. States, for their part, should take the lead role in encouraging progressive, creative growth management efforts, rather than resisting them.
REFERENCESAlexander, Frank S. 2000. "Inherent Tensions Between Home Rule and Regional Planning." 35 Wake Forest Law Review 539. Abdalla, Charles W. and Becker, John C. 1998. "Jurisdictional Boundaries: Who Should Make the Rules of the Regulatory Game?" 3 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 7. Albuquerque, Manuela. 1998. "California and Dillon: The Times They Are A-Changing." 25 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 187. American Jurisprudence 2nd, Vol. 56, Municipal Corporations, Counties and other Political Subdivisions, Sections 1-492; KF65 A5x 1962 v.56 Aronson, J. Richard and John L. Jilley. 1998. Financing State and Local Governments. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Balin, Herbert M. 1994. "The Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act - A Model of Compromise between Home Rule and State Intervention in Land Use Control" 66 New York State Bar Journal 43. Banovetz, James M. ed. 1984. "Small Cities and Counties: A Guide to Managing Services." International City Management Association. Washington. Black, Henry Campbell. 1990. Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul: West Publishing Co. Bosselman, Fred and David Callies. 1971. The Quiet Revolution in Land Use Control, a report prepared for the Council on Environmental Quality: United States Government Printing Office. Bower, Jennifer K. 2000. "Hogs and Their Keepers: Rethinking Local Power on the Iowa Countryside." 4 Great Plains Natural Resources Journal 261. Briffault, Richard. 1990. "Our Localism: Part IThe Structure of Local Government Law." 90 Columbia Law Review 72. _____________, 1991. "Home Rule, Majority Rule, and Dillon's Rule." 67 Chicago-Kent College of Law Review 1011 Buzbee, William W. 1999. "Urban Sprawl, Federalism, and the Problem of Institutional Complexity." 68 Fordham Law Review 57 Calthorpe, Peter, and William Fulton. 2001. The Regional City: Planning For The End Of Sprawl. Washington: Island Press. Chicago Home Rule Commission. 1954. "Modernizing a City Government." Chicago. Commission on Local Government. 2001. "Alternative Approaches to Interlocal Concerns." Commonwealth of Virginia. Cowan, Joel H. 2001. "Land Use Planning: Home Rule vs. Regional Impact." 17 Georgia State University Law Review 1013. Dillon, John. 1911. Commentaries on the Law of Municipal Corporations Boston: Little, Brown. Downs, Anthony. 2000. "Dealing Effectively With Fast Growth." Policy Brief 67. Washington: Brookings Institution. Elazar, Daniel J. 1998. "State-Local Relations: Union and Home Rule." In Governing Partners: State-Local Relations in the United States. Boulder: Westview Press. Ferguson, Charles B. 2000. "Hamlets: Expanding the Fair Share Doctrine Under Strict Home Rule Constitutions." 49 Emory Law Journal 255.
Frug, Gerald E. 1980. "The City as a Legal Concept." 93 Harvard Law Review 1059. Gargan, John J. 1997. "Local Government Governing Capacity: Challenges for the New Century." In Handbook of Local Government Administration. New York: Marcel Dekker. Gere, Edwin A. Jr. 1982. "Dillon's Rule and the Cooley Doctrine: Reflections of the Political Culture." Journal of Urban History 8(3): 271- 296. Gillette, Clayton P. 2001. "Regionalization and Interlocal Bargains," 76 New York University Law Review 190. _______________ . 1991. "In Partial Praise of Dillon's Rule, or Can Public Choice Theory Justify Local Government Law?" 67 Chicago-Kent College of Law Review 959. Gold, Steven D. 1989. "Reforming State-Local Relations: A Practical Guide." Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures. Head, III, Thomas R. 2000. "Local Regulation of Animal Feeding Operations: Concerns, Limits, and Options." 6 Environmental Lawyer 503. Kehoe II, G. Roth. 1995. "City of New Orleans v. Board of Commissioners: The Louisiana Supreme Court Frees New Orleans from the Shackles of Dillon's Rule." 69 Tulane Law Review 809. Kirshnitz, Eliot J. 2000. "City of New York v. State of New York: The New York State Court of Appeals, in Declaring the Repeal of the Commuter Tax Unconstitutional, Strikes Another Blow Against Constitutional Home Rule in New York." 74 St. John's Law Review 935. Laufenberg, Scott D. 1998. "The Struggle of Cities to Implement the Safe Drinking Water Act in the Context of Intergovernmental Relations." 3 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 495. Liner, E. Blaine 1989. "Sorting Out State-Local Relations." In A Decade of Devolution: Perspectives on State-Local Relations. Washington: Urban Institute Press. Loresen, Willard D. 1995. "Rethinking the West Virginia Municipal Code of 1969." 97 West Virginia Law Review 653. Mead, Timothy D. 1997. "Federalism and State Law: Legal Factors Constraining and Facilitation Local Initiatives." In Handbook of Local Government Administration, New York: Marcel Dekker. MacDonald, Austin. 1936. American City Government and Administration. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers. Mckenzie, Sandra Craig. 2000. "Home Rule in a Nutshell." 48 University of Kansas Law Review 1005. McKinney, Matthew, and Will Harmon. 2002. "Land Use Planning and Growth Management in the American West." Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Cambridge. McQuillin, Eugene. 1966. The Law Of Municipal Corporations. Chicago: Callaghan. Myers, Phyllis, and Robert Puentes. 2001. "Growth at the Ballot Box: Electing the Shape of Communities in November 2000." Washington: Brookings Institution. Nelson, Arthur C. and others. 2002. "The Link Between Growth Management And Housing Affordability: The Academic Evidence." Washington: Brookings Institution. Nelson, Arthur C., and James B. Duncan. 1995. "Growth Management Principles and Practices." American Planning Association. Chicago. Nice, David C. 1998. "The Intergovernmental Setting of State-Local Relations." In R. Hanson, Governing Partners: State-Local Relations in the United States. Boulder: Westview Press.
Nolon, John R. 1993. "The Erosion of Home Rule Through the Emergence of State Interests in Land Use Control." 10 Pace Environmental Law Review 497. Novak, Christopher. 2000. "Agriculture's New Environmental Battleground: The Preemption of County Livestock Regulations." 5 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 429. Orfield, Myron. 2002. American Metropolitcs: The New Suburban Reality. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Owens, David W. 2000. "Sustainable Growth: Evaluating Smart Growth Efforts in the Southeast." 35 Wake Forest Law Review 671. Pendall, Rolf, Jonathan Martin, and William Fulton. 2002. "Holding The Line: Urban Containment In The United States." Washington: Brookings Institution. Pendall, Rolf. 2000. "Local Land Use Regulation and the Chain of Exclusion." Journal of the American Planning Association 66 (2): 125, 135 Porter, Douglas. 1997. Managing Growth in America's Communities. Washington: Island Press. Rusk, David. 1999. Inside Game, Outside Game: Winning Strategies for Saving Urban America. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Rosselli, Christopher M. 2001. "Standards for Smart Growth: Searching for Limits on Agency Discretion and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority," 26 Georgia Law Review 247. Salant, Tanis J. 1989. "County Government Structure: A State by State Report." National Association of Counties. Washington. Sandalow, Terrance. 1964. "The Limits of Municipal Power Under Home Rule: A Role for the Courts." 48 Minnesota Law Review 643. Scheidler, Sam F. 1973. "Survey of Iowa Law: Implementation of Constitutional Home Rule in Iowa." 22 Drake Law Review 294. Sebree, Michael Monroe Kellogg. 1989. "One Century of Constitutional Home Rule: A Progress Report?" 64 Washington Law Review 155. Smith, Harry R. 1962. "Home Rule for Iowa?" Institute of Public Affairs of the State University of Iowa. Iowa City. Smith, Timothy S. 1996. "No Home on the Range for Home Rule." 31 Land & Water Law Review 791. Tiebout, Charles M. 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures." Journal of Political Economy 64(5): 416-426. Timmons, Michele, Judy Grant, Teri Popp, Heidi Westby. 1993. "County Home Rule Comes to Minnesota." 19 William Mitchell Law Review 811. U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. 1981. "Measuring Local Discretionary Authority." USAICR, M-131. Washington. ________. 1993a. "Local Government Autonomy: Needs for State Constitutional, Statutory, and Judicial Clarification." USACIR, A-127. Washington. ________. 1993b "State Laws Governing Local Government Structure and Administration." USACIR, M-186. Washington. U.S. Census Bureau. 1999. "1997 Census of Governments: Volume 1, Government Organization." U.S. Department of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration. GC97(1)-1. Washington.
Vaubel, George D. 1991. "Toward Principles of State Restraint Upon the Exercise of Municipal Power in Home Rule." 20 Stetson Law Review 845. Virginia Law Review Association. 1982. "Twenty-sixth Annual Survey of Developments in Virginia, 1980-1981." 68 Virginia Law Review 459. Washington Business Journal. 2001. "Getting Connected." Vol. 19 . No. 47. Weeks, J. Devereux, and Paul T. Hardy. 1984. "The Legal Aspects of Local Government." In James M. Banovetz, ed., Small Cities and Counties: A Guide to Managing. International City Management Association. Washington. Welch, Jill. 1998. "Home Rule Doctrine and State PreemptionThe Iowa Supreme Court Resurrects Dillon's Rule and Blurs the Line Between Implied Preemption and Inconsistency, Goodell v. Humboldt County. 575 N.W.2D 486, Iowa 1998." 30 Rutgers Law Journal 1548. Voursney de, Robert M. 1992. "The Dillon Rule in Virginia: What's Broken? What Needs to be Fixed?" University of Virginia Newsletter. 68 (7). Zimmerman, Joseph F. 1995. State-Local Relations: A Partnership Approach. New York: Westport Praeger Publishers. _________. 1991. "State Dominance or Local Autonomy." In The Politics of Subnational Governance. Washington: University Press of America.
CASES CITEDAtkins v. Kansas, 191 U.S. 207 1903. Bigs v. City of Wichita, 271 Kan.455, 2001. Carteret County v. United Contractors of Kinston, 120 N.C. App. 336, 462 S.E.2d 816 1995. City of Clinton v. Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad Co., 24 Iowa 455 1868. City of New Orleans v. Board of Directors of Louisiana State Museum, 709 So.2d 1008, La. App 4 cir. 1998. City of Port Huron v McCall, 46 Mich 565, 573, 10 NE 23 1881. City of Trenton v. New Jersey, 262 U.S. 182 1923. Community Communication Co. v. Boulder, 455 U.S. 40 1982. D.W. Flowe & Sons, Inc. v. Christopher Construction Co., 326 S.C. 17, 1997. Goodell v. Humboldt County, 575 N.W.2d 486, Iowa 1998. Homebuilders Ass'n of Charlotte, Inc. v. City of Charlotte, 336 N.C. 37, 442 S.E.2d 45 1994. McAllister v. Nelson, 411 S.E.2d 456 W.Va. 1991. People v. Hurlburt, 24 Mich. 44 1871. People ex rel. Ryan v. Village of Hanover , 311 Ill. App-3d 515, 243 Ill. Dec 823, 724 N.E.2d 132, Ill. App- 1 Dist. 1999. Premium Standard Farms, Inc. v. Lincoln Township of Putnam County, 946 S.W.2d 234, 1997. Smith Chapel Baptist Church v. City of Durham, 517 S.E.2d 874 N.C., 1999. Southern Contractors, Inc. v. Loudon County Board of Education, 58 S.W.3d 706, Tenn. 2001. The State of Utah v. William L. Hutchison, 624 P.2d 1116, Dec. 1980.
Stetson v. Kemp, 13 Mass. 272 1816. Trust No. 1105 v. People ex rel. Little, 2002 WL 539120, Ill. 2002.
J. Michael Allen, "Alabama Constitutional Reform", 53 Alabama Law Review 1 Article X, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution abrogates Dillon's Rule for all municipalities. Liberati v. Bristol Bay Borough, 584 P.2d 1115 (Alaska, 1978). City of Scottsdale v. Superior Court, 103 Ariz. 204, 439 P.2d 290 (1968). Stilley v. Henson, 28 S.W.3d 274 (Ark., 2000); Cosgrove v. City of West Memphis, 938 S.W.2d 827 (Ark.,1997). In 1971 the state passed a Home Rule Act that purportedly freed Arkansas cities from the rigors of the so-called Dillon Rule, which was said to severelcircumscribe municipal power. Dictum in Paragould Cablevision Inc. v. City of Paragould, 305 Ark. 476, 809 S.W.2d 688, Util. L. Rep. P 26,093 (1991) states that Arkansas' home rule statute amounts to "limited home rule" (referring to the fact that the provision is not contained in the state constitution) and does not address ultra vires acts by municipalities. The dictum suggests that the Arkansas Supreme Court will continue to use Dillon's Rule to construe grants of authority under home rule provisions. The earlier case of Tompos v. City of Fayetteville, 280 Ark. 435, 658 S.W.2d 404 (1983) suggests that home rule abrogates Dillon's Rule. Charter cities enjoy broad home rule powers with no Dillon's Rule limitations. However, California courts employ Dillon's Rule to interpret the authority of counties and general law cities (Albuquerque; Mezzetta th v. City of American Canyon, 78 Cal.App.4 1087, 93 Cal.Rptr.2d 292 (2000); Irwin v. City of Manhattan Beach, 415 P.2d 769 (Cal. 1966). Colorado courts use Dillon's Rule with respect to statutory cities and towns, and all counties. Board of County Commissioners v. Love, 470 P.2d 861 (Colo. 1970). City of Sheridan v. City of Englewood, 609 P.2d 108 (Colo. 1980). Article XX, Section 6 of the Colorado Constitution (giving charter home rule authority to cities and towns) altered the relationship created by Dillon's Rule in Colorado (for charter cities and towns). Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 27 v. City and County of Denver, 926 P.2d 582 (Colo., 1996). Taxpayers Ass'n v. Board of Selectmen of Town of Windham, 662 A.2d 1281 (Conn., 1995) State ex rel. Dept. of Transp. v. Penn Central Corp., 445 A.2d 939 (Del.Super.,1982). Barry v. Garcia, 573 So.2d 932 (Fla.App. 3 Dist.,1991).
Yes: For statutory cities and towns, all counties. Yes Yes UNCLEAR: Yes No
Connecticut Delaware
No No
YES Article VIII, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution rejects Dillon's Rule. City of Boca Raton v. State, 595 So.2d 25, 17 Fla. L. Weekly S142 Fla., Feb 27, 1992 City of Atlanta v. McKinney, 454 S.E.2d 517 (1995) used Dillon's Rule almost verbatim to construe
Dillon's Rule?
Notes municipal home rule authority. In re Pacific Oil Transp. Co., 17 Haw. 575 (Haw.Terr., 1906) Sun Valley Co. v. City of Sun Valley, 109 Idaho 424, 708 P.2d 147 (1985), O'Bryant v. City of Idaho Falls, 78 Idaho 313, 303 P.2d 672 (1956). Illinois used Dillon's Rule to construe grants of authority to non-home rule municipalities, but Dillon's Rule is abrogated for home rule municipalities. Northern Illinois Home Builders Association, Inc. v. City of St. Charles, 297 Ill. App. 3d 730, 697 N.E. 2d 442, 231 Ill.Dec. 888 (2d District 1988). Village of Wauconda v. Hutton, 291 Ill.App.3d 1058, 684 N.E.2d 1364, 226 Ill.Dec. 161 (2d Dist. 1997). "Dillon's Rule of strictly construing legislative grants of authority to local governmental units has been abrogated by section 10 of Article VII of the 1970 Constitution [of Illinois] when local governments voluntarily cooperate to share services on a partnership or joint venture basis." County of Wabash v. Partee, 241 Ill.App.3d 59, 181 Ill.Dec. 601, 608 N.E.2d 674 (Ill. App. 5 Dist., 1993). About 10 percent of municipalities and only one county have home rule. The remainder are subject to Dillon's Rule (Krane, Rigos, and Hill, 128). Osborne v. State, 439 N.E.2d 677 (Ind.App. 1 Dist., 1982). Dillon's Rule does not apply to other municipalities (Ind.Code 36-1-3-2, 36-1-3-3, 36-1-3-4 and 36-1-3-5). An article of the Iowa Constitution rejected Dillon's Rule. City of Clinton v. Sheridan, 530 N.E.2d 690 (1995). However, the Iowa Supreme Court's opinion in Goodall v. Humboldt County, 575 N.W.2d 486 (Iowa, 1998) raises doubt in some minds as to whether Dillon's Rule has been resurrected in Iowa. Applies only to the 304 school districts, 1360 townships, and 1369 special districts (Mckenzie, 2000). The 627 cities and 105 counties in Kansas enjoy home rule power (Mckenzie, 2000). "Home rule abolished the Dillon Rule' under which cities were considered creatures of the legislature and could only exercise that authority conferred by statute" (Bigs v. City of Wichita, 23 P.2d 855, 863 (Kan. 2001)) Krane, Rigos and Hill, 166. City of Bowling Green v. T & E Elec. Contractors, Inc., 602 S.W.2d 434 (Ky., 1980). Hardin County v. Jost, 897 S.W. 592 (Ky. App. 1995) appears to use Dillon's Rule. Powers of pre-1974 charter municipalities are apparently still interpreted under Dillon's Rule. Polk v. Edwards, 626 So.2d 1128 (La. 1993). Charters of post-1974 charter municipalities are liberally construed. State v. Fin and Feather Club, 316 A.2d 351 (Me., 1974). Tidewater/Havre de Grace, Inc. v. Mayor and City Council of Havre de Grace, 98 Md. App.218, 632 A.2d 509 (1993).
Hawaii Idaho
Yes Yes
Indiana Iowa
Yes townships only No Yes Not for cities and counties Yes Yes For pre-1974 charter municipalities Yes Yes
No YES YES
Notes Home Rule Amendments of 1966. However, Dillon's Rule is used when construing powers granted to quasi-municipalities. Cohen v. Board of Water Com'rs, Fire Dist. No. 1, South Hadley, 411 Mass. 744, 585 N.E.2d 737 (1992) (construing powers granted to a board of water commissioners). Cornerstone Investments, Inc. v. Cannon Tp., 585 N.W.2d 41 (Mich.App., 1998). Municipal corporations are created by state law. See, e.g., Minn.St. 410.04. Legislative authority is conferred upon them by the constitution and the laws of the state and, as to matters of municipal concern they have all the legislative power possessed by the Legislature of the state, save as such power is expressly or impliedly withheld. Northern States Power Co. v. City of Oakdale, 588 N.W.2d 534 (Minn.App., 1999); citing Park v. City of Duluth, 134 Minn. 296, 298, 159 N.W. 627, 628 (1916). City of St. Paul v. Whidby, 295 Minn. 129, 203 N.W.2d 823 (Minn., 1972) Hemphill Const. Company, Inc. v. City of Laurel, 760 So.2d 720 (Miss., 2000) The majority in State ex rel. St. Louis Housing Authority v. Gaertner, 695 S.W.2d 460 (Mo.,1985) applies Dillon's Rule. The dissenting opinion argues that Missouri Constitution Article VI, Section 19(a) repeals Dillon's Rule. Not applied to cities, towns or counties. Article XI, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution repeals Dillon's Rule. Granite County v. Komberec, 245 Mont. 252, 800 P.2d 166 (1990) (rejecting an argument that Dillon's Rule should apply to counties, even though the state constitution's language referencing counties sounds suspiciously like Dillon's Rule). Fitzke v. City of Hastings, 582 N.W.2d 301 (Neb., 1998). City of Reno v. Saibini, 429 P.2d 559 (Nev., 1967). Simonsen v. Town of Derry, 765 A.2d 1033 (N.H., 2000) Municipalities have only powers that are expressly granted to them by legislature and such as are necessarily implied or incidental thereto. Municipalities possess not only the powers granted them in express terms but also those incidental to those powers expressly conferred so long as they are not prohibited by the Constitution or by law. N.J.S.A. Const. Art. 4, 7, par. 11. Legislative Home Rule essentially overrules Dillon's Rule. Gross v. Ocean Tp., 445 A.2d 435 (N.J. Super. A.D., 1982). Under Article X, Section 6(D) of the New Mexico Constitution, "[a] municipality ... may exercise all legislative powers and perform all functions not expressly denied by general law or charter." This Court has held that "any New Mexico law that clearly intends to preempt a governmental area should be sufficient without necessarily stating that affected municipalities must comply and cannot operate to the contrary." American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico v. City of Albuquerque, 128 N.M. 315, 992 P.2d
Massachusetts Michigan
No Yes
Mississippi Missouri
No No No No
New Jersey
New Mexico
Notes 866, 1999-NMSC-044 (1999) Village of Webster v. Town of Webster, 705 N.Y.S.2d 774 (N.Y.A.D. 4 Dept., 2000). N.Y. Const., Art. IX, 3[c] expressly repudiates the prevailing rule (Dillon's rule) mandating strict judicial construction, but only for powers granted under Article IX of the N.Y. Const. Article IX includes a Bill of Rights for Local Governments. However, "[L]awmaking authority of a municipal corporation, which is a political subdivision of the State, can be exercised only to the extent it has been delegated by the State." Albany Area Builders Association v. Town of Guilderland, 74 N.Y.2d 372, 547 N.Y.S.2d 627, 546 N.E.2d 920 (1989) (Kaye, J.); see also, City of New York v. State of New York , 76 N.Y.2d 479, 561 N.Y.S.2d 154, 562 N.E.2d 118 (1990). Case law is confused, to say the least. However, the authors interpret North Carolina Statutes sections 153A-4and 160A-4 as dictating liberal construction of powers granted under Chapters 153A and 160A of the North Carolina Statutes. Other grants of authority are apparently still subject to Dillon's Rule. See, e.g., Carteret County v. United Contractors of Kinston, 120 N.C. App. 336, 462 S.E.2d 816 (1995) Homebuilders Ass'n of Charlotte, Inc. v. City of Charlotte, 336 N.C. 37, 442 S.E.2d 45 (1994). City of Bismarck v. Fettig, 601 N.W.2d 247 (N.D., 1999) Northern Ohio Patrolmen's Benev. Assn v. City of Parma, 61 Ohio St.2d 375, 402 N.E.2d 519, 15 O.O.3d 450 (1980). Morland Development Co., Inc. v. City of Tulsa, 596 P.2d 1255, 1979 OK 96 (1979). Rorick v. Dalles City, 12 P.2d 762 (Or., 1932) When power is given to municipality by statute, everything necessary to make it effectual is given by implication. Naylor v. Township of Hellam, 773 A.2d 770 (Pa.,2001); McHenry v. Clark , 87 Pa. D. & C. 348, 1954 WL 4408 (Pa.Com.Pl. 1954). Dancliff Realty Corp. v. Miller, 225 A.2d 52 (R.I., 1966) Municipal corporation does not have power by implication which would be contrary to express grant. Article VIII, section 17 of the South Carolina Constitution provides that "all laws concerning local government shall be liberally construed in their favor. Powers, duties, and responsibilities granted local government subdivisions by this Constitution and by law shall include those fairly implied and not prohibited by this Constitution." The provision seeks to abrogate restrictions on the exercise of local
New York
North Carolina
Yes No Yes No
No No No YES
South Carolina
Notes autonomy such as Dillon's Rule and effectively abolished Dillon's Rule. D.W. Flowe & Sons, Inc. v. Christopher Constr. Co., 326 S.C. 17, 482 S.E.2d 558 (1997).
South Dakota
Yes: Strict construction, but no specific reference to the language of Dillon's Rule.
Pennington County v. State, ex rel.Unified Judicial System, 641 N.W.2d 127 (S.D., 2002). "[A municipality] has only such powers as are expressly conferred upon it by statute and such as may be reasonably implied from those expressly granted."
Southern Contractors, Inc. v. Loudon County Board of Education, 58 S.W.3d 706 (Tenn. 2001). "As in many jurisdictions throughout the nation, Dillon's Rule has been applied in this state for more than a century to determine the scope of local government authority." (Ibid, at page 710). "the Rule has been consistently applied to all forms of local government, including those of cities, counties, and special districts." (Ibid, at page 711). However, Dillon's Rule not applied to home rule municipalities (Southern Contractors). See Tenn. Const. Article XI, Section 9. Texas River Barges v. City of San Antonio, 21 S.W.3d 347 (Tex. App. San Antonio, 2000). The Utah Supreme Court emphatically abandoned Dillon's Rule in State of Utah v. Hutchinson, 624 P.2d 1116 (Utah, 1980). Vermont has "consistently adhered to the so-called Dillon's rule that a municipality has only those powers and functions specifically authorized by the legislature, and such additional functions as may be incident, subordinate or necessary to the exercise thereof." Petition of Ball Mountain Dam Hydroelectric Project, 154 Vt. 189, 576 A.2d 124, 119 P.U.R.4th 575 (1990). Brennan Woods Ltd. Partnership v. Town of Williston, 2001 WL 1173475 (Vt., 2001) Winchester v. Redmond, 93 Va. 711 (1896), Virginia is a stalwart Dillon's Rule State. Washington State Courts use Dillon's Rule to construe Home Rule grants of authority. Tacoma v. Taxpayers of the City of Tacoma, 108 Wash. 2d 679, 743 P.2d 793 (1987). Sundquist Homes, Inc. v. Snohomish County Public Utility Dist. No. 1, 997 P.2d 915 (Wash., 2000) Municipal authorities cannot exercise powers except those expressly granted, or those necessarily implied from granted powers. Calabrese v. City of Charleston, 515 S.E.2d 814 (W.Va.,1999). The West Virginia Supreme Court has continued to apply Dillon's Rule despite language in West Virginia Code Section 8-1-7 that directs liberal construction of at least certain grants of authority.
Texas Utah
Yes No
West Virginia
Notes Willow Creek Ranch, L.L.C. v. Town of Shelby, 611 N.W.2d 693 (Wis.,2000). Municipal bodies have only such powers as are expressly conferred upon them by the legislature or are necessarily implied from the powers conferred. However, Wisc. St.. section 62.04 provides that powers granted under the general charter law are liberally construed. Coulter v. City of Rawlins, 662 P.2d 888 (Wyo.,1983) A municipality is not necessarily limited to those powers expressly conferred, but may also exercise powers fairly and necessarily implied from grant contained in statute or constitutional provision. (Citing McQuillen).
ConsistencyWisconsin Statutes Section 66.0295(6); Vermont Statutes Chapter 117 Section 4345a(5); Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.800, 2b; Florida Statutes Section 163.3194 (1)(b); Maryland Code Ann. Sections 5-7B-03(g)(2), 15-9A-05(c)(5)(ii); New Jersey Statutes Ann. Sections 52:18A201(b)(1), 52:18A-202(b); General Laws of Rhode Island Ann. Section 45-22.2-5(4)(b); Oregon Statutes Section 197.195(1); Tennessee Code Ann. Section 6-58-107; Maine Revised Statutes Ann. Section 4326(4)).
CoordinationWisconsin Statutes section 66.0295(3); Vermont Statutes Chapter 117 Section: 4347; Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.800 (a); Florida Statutes 163.3177 (4)(a); Maryland Code Ann. 5-9A05(c)(5)(iii); New Jersey Statutes Ann. Section 52:18A-199 (c); General Laws of Rhode Island Ann. Section 45-22.2-7(d); Oregon Statutes Section 197.180(3)(b); Tennessee Code Ann. Section 6-58104(a)(1); Maine Revised Statutes Ann. Chapter 187 Section 4326(4); Code of Georgia Section 508-32(a)(4),
CooperationWisconsin Statutes Section 66.0295(7)(g); Vermont Statutes Chapter 117 Section 4345a (1); Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.210; Florida Statutes Section 163.3204; Maryland Code Ann. Section 5-9A-05(c)(6); New Jersey Statutes Ann. Section 52:18A-199 (c); General Laws of Rhode Island Ann. Section 45-22.2-7; Oregon Statutes Section 197.180(3)(d); Tennessee Code Ann. Section 6-58-113; Code of Georgia Section 50-8-35 (a)(8)
ConcurrencyVermont Statutes Chapter 117 Section: 4384 (c); Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.070 (6); Florida Statutes 163.3177(10)(h), 163.3180 (2000); Maryland Code Ann. Section 5-7B-04(b); Oregon Statutes Section 197.752(1); Tennessee Code Ann. Section 6-58-104(2))
ContainmentWashington Statutes Section 36.70A.800, 2b; Oregon Statutes Section 197.296(2)
CollaborationWisconsin Statutes Section 66.0295(4); Vermont Statutes Chapter 117 Section 4384 (a); Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.035; Florida Statutes Sections 163.3181(1), 163.3181(2); Maryland Code Ann. Section 5-9A-05(e)(1); New Jersey Statutes Ann. Sections 52:18A-202(a), 52:18A-202(b); General Laws of Rhode Island Ann. Section 45-22.2-8(3)(b); Oregon Statutes Section 197.160(a); Tennessee Code Ann. 6-58-114(a); Code of Georgia Section 50-8-35 (a)(7)
CarrotsWisconsin Statutes Section 16.965, Vermont Statutes Chapter 117 Sections 4346(a), 4346(b);Washington Statutes Section 36.70A.340; Florida Statutes Sections 163.3167(3), 163.3167(6); Maryland Code Ann. Section 5-7B-03(d)(2)(ii); New Jersey Statutes Ann. Section 52:18A-204; General Laws of Rhode Island Ann. Sections 45-22.2-11, 45-22.2-13; Oregon Statutes Section 197.335; Tennessee Code Ann. Sections 6-58-109(a), 6-58-109(b), 6-58-109(c)