Local opt-out
Also known as: local control · opt-out · opt out
A provision letting cities or counties choose not to apply the law in their jurisdiction. Often the price of moderate votes.
Why it matters
Opt-out provisions let cities and counties decline to apply a state law locally. They're a pressure valve for the urban/rural divide: legislators from communities hostile to a policy can vote yes knowing their constituents can vote it down at home. The tradeoff is a patchwork: the policy exists in some ZIP codes and not others, which can undermine the problem the bill set out to solve.
In the game
Adding a local opt-out in the Draft or amendment stages buys rural and suburban votes in The Bill to Law Game, and costs Bill Integrity, because a law with holes in the map is a smaller law.