Home Rule in America

Home Rule in America PDF Author: Dale Krane
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
Home rule powers are essential parts of the American governing process, but they vary widely from state to state. This authoritative reference work examines the powers and functions of municipalities and counties that operate under home rule within each state. For example, the ability of a local municipality to raise taxes, annex land, or impose regulations is determined by their home rule powers from the states. This volume provides a reliable reference work for researchers and students - a single source that readers can trust for information about: The actions that local governments can - and cannot - pursue States where power is centralized at the capital and where it is not How home rule varies within each state by governmental function Trends in important issues such as taxes, land annexation, and citizen access. The editors organized the book in three parts: an overview of American home rule, including its history; a state-by-state description of home rule authority; and a comparative appendix that allows readers a quick reference source of powers by state. A scholar or governmental expert was selected in each state to prepare the state descriptions. Each chapter follows the same outline of content that allows easy comparison between states. In an era of power and responsibilities devolving from the national government to states and localities, the use of home rule powers has become increasingly important to the health of American government and federalism. Researchers and interested citizens will benefit from this comprehensive reference. Home Rule in America was directed by Dale Krane of the department of public administration, University of Nebraska, Omaha; Platon N. Rigos, department of government and international affairs, University of South Florida; and Melvin Hill, the Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia.

Home Rule in America

Home Rule in America PDF Author: Dale Krane
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 524

Get Book Here

Book Description
Home rule powers are essential parts of the American governing process, but they vary widely from state to state. This authoritative reference work examines the powers and functions of municipalities and counties that operate under home rule within each state. For example, the ability of a local municipality to raise taxes, annex land, or impose regulations is determined by their home rule powers from the states. This volume provides a reliable reference work for researchers and students - a single source that readers can trust for information about: The actions that local governments can - and cannot - pursue States where power is centralized at the capital and where it is not How home rule varies within each state by governmental function Trends in important issues such as taxes, land annexation, and citizen access. The editors organized the book in three parts: an overview of American home rule, including its history; a state-by-state description of home rule authority; and a comparative appendix that allows readers a quick reference source of powers by state. A scholar or governmental expert was selected in each state to prepare the state descriptions. Each chapter follows the same outline of content that allows easy comparison between states. In an era of power and responsibilities devolving from the national government to states and localities, the use of home rule powers has become increasingly important to the health of American government and federalism. Researchers and interested citizens will benefit from this comprehensive reference. Home Rule in America was directed by Dale Krane of the department of public administration, University of Nebraska, Omaha; Platon N. Rigos, department of government and international affairs, University of South Florida; and Melvin Hill, the Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia.

Real Democracy

Real Democracy PDF Author: Frank M. Bryan
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226077985
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
Relying on an astounding collection of more than three decades of firsthand research, Frank M. Bryan examines one of the purest forms of American democracy, the New England town meeting. At these meetings, usually held once a year, all eligible citizens of the town may become legislators; they meet in face-to-face assemblies, debate the issues on the agenda, and vote on them. And although these meetings are natural laboratories for democracy, very few scholars have systematically investigated them. A nationally recognized expert on this topic, Bryan has now done just that. Studying 1,500 town meetings in his home state of Vermont, he and his students recorded a staggering amount of data about them—238,603 acts of participation by 63,140 citizens in 210 different towns. Drawing on this evidence as well as on evocative "witness" accounts—from casual observers to no lesser a light than Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn—Bryan paints a vivid picture of how real democracy works. Among the many fascinating questions he explores: why attendance varies sharply with town size, how citizens resolve conflicts in open forums, and how men and women behave differently in town meetings. In the end, Bryan interprets this brand of local government to find evidence for its considerable staying power as the most authentic and meaningful form of direct democracy. Giving us a rare glimpse into how democracy works in the real world, Bryan presents here an unorthodox and definitive book on this most cherished of American institutions.

Slow Democracy

Slow Democracy PDF Author: Susan Clark
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603584137
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Reconnecting with the sources of decisions that affect us, and with the processes of democracy itself, is at the heart of 21st-century sustainable communities. Slow Democracy chronicles the ways in which ordinary people have mobilized to find local solutions to local problems. It invites us to bring the advantages of "slow" to our community decision making. Just as slow food encourages chefs and eaters to become more intimately involved with the production of local food, slow democracy encourages us to govern ourselves locally with processes that are inclusive, deliberative, and citizen powered. Susan Clark and Woden Teachout outline the qualities of real, local decision making and show us the range of ways that communities are breathing new life into participatory democracy around the country. We meet residents who seize back control of their municipal water systems from global corporations, parents who find unique solutions to seemingly divisive school-redistricting issues, and a host of other citizens across the nation who have designed local decision-making systems to solve the problems unique to their area in ways that work best for their communities. Though rooted in the direct participation that defined our nation's early days, slow democracy is not a romantic vision for reigniting the ways of old. Rather, the strategies outlined here are uniquely suited to 21st-century technologies and culture.If our future holds an increased focus on local food, local energy, and local economy, then surely we will need to improve our skills at local governance as well.

Thoughts on Government: Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies

Thoughts on Government: Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies PDF Author: John Adams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Constitutional history
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Massachusetts Municipal Law

Massachusetts Municipal Law PDF Author: James B. Lampke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781683451785
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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American Forms of Municipal Government

American Forms of Municipal Government PDF Author: Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. Construction and Community Development Department
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Municipal government
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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The New England Town Meeting

The New England Town Meeting PDF Author: Joseph F. Zimmerman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313003637
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
In this groundbreaking study, Zimmerman explores the town meeting form of government in all New England states. This comprehensive work relies heavily upon surveys of town officers and citizens, interviews, and mastery of the scattered writing on the subject. Zimmerman finds that the stereotypes of the New England open town meeting advanced by its critics are a serious distortion of reality. He shows that voter superintendence of town affairs has proven to be effective, and there is no empirical evidence that thousands of small towns and cities with elected councils are governed better. Whereas the relatively small voter attendance suggests that interest groups can control town meetings, their influence has been offset effectively by the development of town advisory committees, particularly the finance committee and the planning board, which are effective counterbalances to pressure groups. Zimmerman provides a new conception of town meeting democracy, positing that the meeting is a de facto representative legislative body with two safety valves—open access to all voters and the initiative to add articles to the warrant, and the calling of special meetings to reconsider decisions made at the preceding town meeting. And, as Zimmerman points out, a third safety valve—the protest referendum—can be adopted by a town meeting.

Assessors Warrant. [A Form Filled Up with the Names of Assessors for the Borough of Liverpool.] (The Duty of Assessors Under an Act Passed in the Forty-third Year of the Reign of His Present Majesty, Etc.).

Assessors Warrant. [A Form Filled Up with the Names of Assessors for the Borough of Liverpool.] (The Duty of Assessors Under an Act Passed in the Forty-third Year of the Reign of His Present Majesty, Etc.). PDF Author: Great Britain. Board of Inland Revenue
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism

The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism PDF Author: Jerold Duquette
Publisher: UMass + ORM
ISBN: 1613769466
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
“Thorough, engaging, and full of insight . . . a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the state’s governmental process and its political actors.” —Jeffrey M. Berry, author of Lobbying for the People: The Political Behavior of Public Interest Groups Are claims of Massachusetts’s special and instructive place in American history and politics justified? Alternately described as a “city upon a hill” and “an organized system of hatreds,” Massachusetts politics has indisputably exerted an outsized pull on the national stage. The Commonwealth’s leaders often argue for the state’s distinct position within the union, citing its proud abolitionist history and its status as a policy leader on health care, gay marriage, and transgender rights, not to mention its fertile soil for budding national politicians. Detractors point to the state’s busing crisis, sky-high levels of economic inequality, and mixed support for undocumented immigrants. The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism tackles these tensions, offering a collection of essays from public policy experts that address the state’s noteworthy contributions to the nation’s political history. This is a much-needed volume for Massachusetts policymakers, journalists, and community leaders, as well as those learning about political power at the state level, inside and outside of the classroom. Contributors include the editors as well as Maurice T. Cunningham, Lawrence Friedman, Shannon Jenkins, Luis F. Jiménez, and Peter Ubertaccio. “One-stop shopping for an understanding of Massachusetts politics.” —CommonWealth Magazine

American Forms of Municipal Government--

American Forms of Municipal Government-- PDF Author: Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. Civic Development Department
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Municipal government
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description