When horse-drawn carriages and horse-drawn carriages pass by Detroit City Hall in Detroit, Michigan. … [+]
This is the second in a series of posts about whether and how state governments should prevent local governments from taking policies that could negatively impact housing supply.
Before it was fully established, the Dillon Rule was challenged by a judgment and brief by Michigan Judge Thomas Cooley. In 1871, Cooley wrote a concurrence letter to the Michigan Supreme Court's decision, which served as a blueprint for a different view of state-local relations, and which led to states like Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Texas all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. adopted by the courts. The states settled the issue in Trenton v. New Jersey.
Cooley's argument in that judgment is commonly cited as follows: Former rel people.Leroy vs Hurlbut This book is worth reading in the context of sorting out the various ongoing debates about preemption rights and whether Congress should intervene more aggressively to block certain local policies. Cooley develops a wide range of arguments and references to propose and defend the idea that local control is one of the “founding principles of American free institutions.”
Cooley clearly accepts Dillon's rules.
“Now, judicial decisions and law makers generally say that when it comes to legislative decisions, the state creates local governments, gives them functions like corporate activities, and entrusts them with such responsibilities. I have to admit that it claims to be there and it’s going to look great.”
Cooley relates the rights established for individuals and their protection as analogous to the rights to be established for local governments. He cites Alexis de Tocqueville's observations in Democracy in America about important differences between governance systems here and elsewhere.
“De Tocqueville spoke of our system of local government as an American system, and compared it to the idea of centralization in France, under whose influence constitutional freedoms had hitherto proved impossible. A forced contrast. “American Democracy,'' Chapter 5.''
He goes on to refer to Francis Lieber's seminal Civil Liberties and Self-Government, noting that: teeth. “
Cooley argues that what Americans consider their fundamental rights was essentially an abuse of local government and the Stuart family in England, a violation of the English concept of common law as established by the founders. His contention is that it is tied to a deliberate structure of “checks and balances” established in response to the And American planners pushed back when it seceded from Britain under King George III.
If there had been a Cooley Rule, “States may form local institutions according to their policy or expedient considerations; , the state can form local institutions.''But local governments [a] A question of absolute rights. And the state cannot take it away. ”
Dillon and Cooley today
The debate about whether and how states should limit local autonomy is neither distant nor arcane. In today's policy debates about how to address housing demand, a central concern is whether local governments are making restrictive land use and zoning decisions that weaken the ability of developers and builders to supply housing. , what to do when scarcity and price increases occur. rent. Politically, organizations and associations at the national and local levels, such as the National League of Cities, have been very active in opposing Congressional efforts to prevent local governments from enacting policies or adding requirements. Defenders of local government argue that:
“In the late 1800s, the ability of local governments to respond effectively to local conditions was severely limited by the Dillon Rule. No local action could be taken without the permission of the state legislature; The state Legislature met only once every two years, so the Dillon Rule generally required local governments to approve bills that gave them powers and veto bills that imposed restrictions on them. They are required to spend a significant amount of time lobbying state legislatures.”
Local governments argue that home rule is better because it allows them to respond immediately to urgent problems while holding them to a higher degree of accountability to local residents. The League of Cities recognizes 10 states as home rule states: Alaska, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah, with the balance being Dillon Rule states (31 states). , mix (9).
On the other hand, more conservative groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) take a different view and support the concept of the Dillon Rule. The group articulates what many people are concerned about when some local governments begin to promulgate social policies or pass resolutions on foreign affairs.
“States are using the Dillon Rule and Home Rule as a way to keep local governments focused on what they do best. As a result, states are using the Dillon Rule and Home Rule as a way to keep local governments focused on what they do best. Limited local government can be maintained; the final decision on what powers local governments have, whether they are governed by the Dillon Rule or the Home Rule Rule is in the state.”
For example, 30 states are ahead of the curve on rent control. This policy has been debated for years and has become an obsession for many housing advocates. In the self-governing state of Ohio, the Legislature has acted decisively to prevent local governments from enacting rent controls, rigorously documenting the negative effects of these measures on housing prices and vacancy, and regulating state actions. Established statewide impact creating evidence. Their actions were prompted by efforts by activists pushing for rent control measures in many cities across the state. Politics mattered in Ohio. Republicans hold an overwhelming majority in Congress, and most cities in Ohio are run by Democrats.
