DRAFT OF MUNICIPAL HOME RULE PROVISIONS. Section 1. Incorporation-General, Special and Optional Laws. Provision shall be made by general law for the establishment of municipal corporations, and general laws shall be passed for the organization and government of all municipal corporations which do not adopt laws or charters in accordance with other provisions of this article. Laws may also be passed for the organization and government of cities and villages, which laws shall become effective in any city or village only when submitted to the electors thereof and approved by a majority of those voting thereon. Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, the General Assembly shall pass no local or special law in any case where a general law can be made applicable and whether a general law can be made applicable shall be a judicial question. No such local or special law shall take effect until submitted to the electors of the municipality to be affected thereby, and approved by a majority of those voting. thereon. Section 2. Consolidation: Laws may be passed to provide for consolidating in whole or in part in the government of any city or village the powers vested in the town, school, library, park, sanitary, drainage or other local governments and authorities either wholly or partly within the territorial limits of such city or village, and to provide for the assumption, adjustment, and protection of the financial and other rights and obligations of all the governments and authorities affected by such consolidation. Any law providing for the consolidation with any city or village of any such local government or authority being partly within and partly without the territorial limit of such city shall also provide either for the abolition of such local government or authority and the termination of the powers vested therein with respect to the territory without the limits of such city or village, or for the future exercise of the powers of such local government or authority with respect to such territory in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. No law passed in pursuance of the provisions of this section shall take effect until submitted to the electors of the city or village concerned and also to the electors of any local government or authority being partly within and partly without the territorial limits of such city or village and approved by a majority of those voting thereon in each municipality. Section 3. City and County Consolidation: Any city which has attained a population of 100,000 inhabitants may be authorized by law to assume within its then existing and future territorial limits all powers and duties which then or thereafter would otherwise be vested by the constitution or by law in counties or in any county officer, and to exercise such powers and duties through such of its officers as may be designated by law or by the charter or ordinances of said city, and the county government and county officers for the territory within the limits of any such city shall thereupon be abolished. Any law passed in pursuance of this section shall provide for the assumption, adjustment and protection of the financial and other rights and obligations of the respective governments or officers affected thereby. and no such law shall become effective as to any city until submitted to the electors of such city and also to the electors of the county or counties concerned and approved by a majority of those voting thereon in each case. Section 4. Charters: The electors of any city or village shall have the power to frame, adopt and amend a charter for its government. and to amend any existing charter or law relating to its organization and government heretofore granted or passed by the General Assembly. No such charter or amendment thereto and no amendment to any existing charter or law shall take effect until submitted to the electors of such city or village and approved by a majority of those voting thereon, and until a certified copy thereof has been filed as a public record in the office of the Secretary of State. The provisions of this section shall be self-executing: but the manner in which the powers herein granted shall be exercised may be regulated by general law. Until such law shall be passed, the regularly constituted legislative authority of such city or village mav by ordinance prescribe the manner in which such powers shall be exercised. Section 5. Powers: Each city and village shall have and is hereby granted authority to exercise all powers relating to municipal affairs. and no enumeration of powers in this constitution or any law shall be deemed to limit or restrict the general grant of authority hereby conferred: but this grant of authority shall not be deemed to limit or restrict the power of the General Assembly to enact general laws applicable to cities and villages in matters relating to state affairs. The following shall be deemed to be a part of the powers conferred upon cities and villages by this section: (a) To levy, assess and collect taxes and to borrow money, within the limits prescribed by law; and to make local improvements and to provide for local services by special assessment. by special taxation, or otherwise: (b) To furnish all local public services; to make local public improvements; to acquire, construct, own, lease, maintain and operate local public utilities, and to grant licenses therefor and regulate the exercise thereof, subject to restrictions imposed by law for the protection of other communities; (c) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by law, to acquire by condemnation or otherwise, property for public purposes; (d) When appropriating or otherwise acquiring property for public use, to appropriate or acquire in furtherance of such public use an excess over that actually required for the improvement; to sell such excess with such restrictions as shall be appropriate to preserve and protect the improvement made; and to issue bonds. to supply funds, in whole or in part, to pay for the excess property appropriated or otherwise acquired, but bonds so issued shall by their terms be made a lien against the whole or any part of such excess property, and they shall not be a liability of the municipality nor be included in any limitation of the bonded indebtedness of such municipality prescribed by law; (e) To organize and administer public schools and libraries, subject to laws establishing standards for the state; (f) To adopt and enforce within its limits local police, sanitary and other similar regulations. Section 6. Reports: General laws may be passed requiring reports from cities and villages as to their financial transactions. and condition, and providing for the examination of the books, accounts and vouchers of all municipal authorities and of public undertakings conducted by such authorities. Section 7. Elections: Unless otherwise provided by law, all municipal elections shall be conducted by the election officials authorized to conduct general elections for state and county officers. APPENDIX No. 1. REFERENCES. Citizens Union of the City of New York: Preliminary Brief for Municipal Home Rule. A Brief for Municipal Home Rule and Digest of Proposals sub- An analysis and criticism of the Home Rule Amendment pro- Cyclopedia of American Government, II, 325-329; 475-486. Constitutional Home Rule for Ohio Cities. Report of the Municipal Home Rule Committee of the Municipal Association of Cleveland. Deming, H. E. Government of American Cities (1909) pp 79-97. Eaton, A. E. The Right of Self Government, Harvard Law Review, XIII, 441, 570, 638; XIV, 20, 116. Goodnow, F. J. Goodnow, F. J. Hatton, A. R. Municipal Government (1909) ch. IV. Digest of City Charters. Chicago, (1906). First Annual Convention (1914). Municipal Home Rule, by Fourth Annual Convention (1917). Papers on Municipal Home Rule in Missouri, Michigan, Texas, Nebraska and Öregon. McBain, H. L. The Law and Practice of Municipal Home Rule (1916). McBain, H. L. American City Progress and the Law (1918). Bulletin No. 11. Municipal Home Rule. Bulletin No. 14. Constitutional Restrictions on Municipal Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1907-08. Proceedings and Debates, I, 466; II, 806-850; 1047-1048; 11061107; 1149-1156; 1324-1335, 1364, 1382-1383. Munro, W. B. Government of American Cities (1912) pp 54-70. Revision of the State Constitution. Papers on Special Topics, Home Rule for Cities, by H. L. McBain, pp 1-38; A Proposal for a Revision of the Municipal Article, by L. A. Local Government and the State Constitution, by M. H. Glynn, The City and the State Constitution, by J. P. Mitchell, pp New York Constitutional Convention, 1915, Documents No. 36. Report of the Committee on Cities in relation to several proposed amendments relative to home rule for cities and villages. Minority report in relation to home rule for cities and villages, by Mr. Foley and Mr. Franchot. New York Constitutional Convention, 1915. Revised Record II, 1161-2176; III, 2904-2982; IV, 3708-3726, 3885-3887. Ohio Constitutional Convention, 1912. Proceedings and Debates II, 1430, 1433-1498, 1860-1869. Schaffner, Margaret A. Municipal Home Rule Charters. Comparative Legislation Bulletin No. 18 of the Wisconsin Li brary Commission, 1908. |