Legislative glossary
Home rule
Definition
Authority granted to cities or counties to govern themselves on local matters. Bills that touch home rule pick fights with mayors and county boards.
Why it matters
Home rule is the principle that cities and counties govern their own local affairs, and the battleground when states disagree. The line between 'local matter' and 'state concern' is wherever the legislature and courts last drew it: minimum wages, plastic bags, policing, housing. Every preemption fight is a home-rule fight viewed from the other side.
In the game
Bills in The Bill to Law Game that touch zoning, local enforcement, or municipal authority wake up the mayors, a constituency with no vote in your chamber and influence over half of it.
Related terms
Comes up alongside