Home Rule

Local governments are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution and are legally creatures of the states. In 1868 Iowa judge John F. Dillon held that municipalities have only the powers expressly granted by the state, those necessarily implied, and those essential to their purposes, a principle known as Dillon's Rule that the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed in 1907. A competing view from Michigan judge Thomas Cooley, in 1871, held that localities have an inherent right to self-government, but most states rejected it.

Reformers responded with home rule, which lets localities adopt their own charters and act on local matters without specific state permission. Missouri adopted the first constitutional home rule provision in 1875, and St. Louis became the first home rule city in 1876. Today most states grant home rule to at least some cities or counties, while many still apply Dillon's Rule in some form, and the line between local and statewide concerns is often contested. Since the 2010s, many state legislatures have expanded preemption of local ordinances on subjects such as minimum wages, firearms, plastic bags, and policing.

Washington, D.C., has a distinct form of home rule. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act, signed December 24, 1973, created an elected mayor and council, but Congress keeps power to review and overturn local laws and controls the city's budget. Congress overturned a D.C. criminal code revision in 2023, and in August 2025 President Trump invoked the act to place the city's police under temporary federal direction. Supporters of strong home rule say local residents know their needs best, while advocates of state or federal oversight say localities need limits to protect uniform rights and statewide interests.