Home rule in the United States


In the United States, home rule refers to the authority of a constituent part of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance delegated to it by its state government. In some states, known as home rule states, the state's constitution grants municipalities and/or counties the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit. In other states, only limited authority has been granted to local governments by passage of statutes in the state legislature. In these states, a city or county must obtain permission from the state legislature if it wishes to pass a law or ordinance which is not specifically permitted under existing state legislation.
Forty of the fifty states apply the principle known as Dillon's Rule in some form to determine the bounds of a municipal government's legal authority. The National League of Cities identifies 31 Dillon's Rule states, 10 home rule states, 8 states that apply Dillon's Rule only to certain municipalities, and one state that applies home rule to everything except taxation. Each state defines for itself what powers it will grant to local governments. Within the local sphere, there are four categories in which the state allows discretionary authority:

Home rule and Dillon's Rule states

The following chart indicates which of the 50 U.S. states are home rule states and which states obey the legal principle of Dillon's Rule for determining local government authority. A state in this chart with "Limited" home rule may grant home rule to particular cities and municipalities individually but has no constitutional amendment guaranteeing home rule. A state which is both a home rule state and a Dillon's Rule state applies Dillon's Rule to matters or governmental units not accounted for in the constitutional amendment or statutes which grant home rule.
The District of Columbia has a limited form of home rule granted by the Federal Government; see District of Columbia home rule for details.
StateHome Rule State?Dillon's Rule State?Comments
AlabamaNoYesDillon's Rule applies only to counties.
AlaskaYesNo
ArizonaYesYes
ArkansasLimitedYes
CaliforniaYesYesDillon's Rule does not apply to charter cities.
ColoradoYesYes
ConnecticutYesYes
DelawareNoYes
FloridaYesUnclearConflicting statutes address Dillon's Rule. See 1968 Constitution and 1973 MHRPA.
GeorgiaYesYesHome rule specifically granted in Article IX of Georgia Constitution
HawaiiYesYes
IdahoYesYes
IllinoisYesYesDillon's Rule applies to municipalities not individually granted home rule.
IndianaLimitedYesDillon's Rule applies only to townships.
IowaYesNo
KansasLimitedYesDillon's Rule does not apply to cities or counties.
KentuckyLimitedYes
LouisianaYesYesDillon's Rule only applies to charter municipalities established before 1974.
MaineYesYes
MarylandYesYes
MassachusettsYesNo
MichiganYesYesHome rule applies to all cities, some villages, and two counties.
MinnesotaYesYes
MississippiNoYes
MissouriYesYes
MontanaYesNo
NebraskaNoYes
NevadaNoYesHome rule legislation SB29 passed and gave more power to County Commissioners; the law took effect July 2015. However, local government including general improvement districts, special districts, fire districts, and school districts were not affected by this change.
New HampshireNoYes
New JerseyYesNo
New MexicoNoNo
New YorkYesYes
North CarolinaLimitedYes
North DakotaYesYes
OhioYesNo
OklahomaNoYes
OregonYesNo
PennsylvaniaYesYes
Rhode IslandYesYes
South CarolinaLimitedNo
South DakotaYesYes
TennesseeYesYesDillon's Rule applies only to non-home rule municipalities.
TexasLimitedYesCities may adopt home rule once their population exceeds 5,000 and the voters adopt a city charter ; if the population subsequently falls below 5,000 the charter remains in force and may be amended. Otherwise, cities with populations of 5,000 or less are governed by general law only. School districts are generally governed by general law; a district may adopt a home rule charter, but no district has chosen to do so. Counties and "special districts" are governed solely by general law and prohibited from adopting home rule.
UtahLimitedNo
VermontNoYes
VirginiaNoYes
WashingtonYesYes
West VirginiaNo*NoDillon's Rule was effectively abolished in the 1969 Municipal Code, §7, Article 1. *The state has conducted a home rule pilot program which is due to stop by the middle of 2019.
WisconsinLimitedYes
WyomingNoYes