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Home Rule City
There are two categories of cites in Texas
- Home Rule
- General Law
General law cities are smaller cities whose powers are limited.
- They are restricted to doing what the state directs or permits them to do
- If the general law city has not been granted the express or implied power by the state for a particular action, none may be taken.
Home rule cities must have a population of 5,000 and have adopted a home rule charter, voted on by the citizens.
- The legal position of the city is the reverse of the general law city.
- Instead of looking to state law to determine what they can do, home rule cities look to determine what they may not do.
- If a proposed action has not been prohibited or pre-empted by the state, the city generally can proceed.
What Can a Home Rule City Do?
Home rule is the right of citizens at the grassroots level to manage their own affairs with minimum interference from the state. Home rule assumes that governmental problems should be solved at the lowest possible level, closest to the people. |
The citizens of a home rule city are free to (established by City Charter)
- decide their form of municipal government (Mayor-Council, Council-Manager, and so on)
- choose between a large or small city Council
- provide for the election of the City Council at-large, by single-member district. or by place
- fix the terms of office or Council members at two, three. or four years, or establish overlapping terms of office
- decide whether the Mayor is to be elected directly by the voters, selected from among members of the Council, or chosen by some other method.
- provide for the creation of any boards or commissions that local voters decide are necessary to make the city function effectively
- annex adjoining unincorporated areas, subject to State statutory requirements
In addition, home rule cities have initiative, referendum, and recall powers that are reserved for exclusive use by local voters in order to provide direct remedies in unusual situations. There is no constitutional or statutory authority for initiative, referendum, or recall. These powers are unique to home rule cities, and they are not available to voters at any other level of government, including the state. This is addressed in the City Charter in Article IX Initiative, Referendum and Recall .