Environmental Ordinance – Jay

After a particularly serious chlorine dioxide leak, which could have injured thousands of workers had they been in the factory, the town selectmen instructed the town lawyer to draft an environmental ordinance. He hired environmental and constitutional lawyers, and they drafted the Jay Environmental and Improvement Ordinance, which was enacted by the people of Jay in a town meeting in May of 1988.… Read More

Federalism – Executive Order

In May 1998, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13083 on Federalism. Its centralizing language generated such a firestorm of opposition from conservatives and state and local elected officials that the House of Representatives voted 417-2 to reject it.… Read More

Timber Supply Stabilization Act – Idaho

Idaho was the first state to mandate in-state processing for logs harvested from state forests. Since becoming a state in 1890, Idaho has required all timber sales from state lands to be manufactured into lumber for timber products with the State of Idaho. … Read More

Purchasing Preferences

On occasion, governments at the local, state and federal level make purchasing policies that take factors besides price into consideration. For instance, some state and local governments prefer to purchase locally manufactured products, all other things being equal. Government agencies frequently purchase recycled paper for their offices, or environmentally friendly cleaners for their janitorial service, even … Read More

Town Meetings

The New England town meeting and school district meeting are the only direct democracy institutions in the United States involving lawmaking by assembled voters. Law making by assembled adult males dates to the age of Pericles in Greece in the fifth century B.C. But the only other currently assembled voters’ lawmaking body is the Landsgemeinde in … Read More

Devolution and Preemption

What level of government should exercise what kinds of authority? That question has been vigorously debated throughout U.S. history. Indeed, the U.S. Constitution itself represented a radical departure from the nation’s original governance structure under the Articles of Confederation from 1776 to 1789. The Constitution established the supremacy of the federal government vis-a-vis the states, and … Read More

Unified Development Budget – Texas

Texas has created a Unified Development Budget — an annual statement to the legislature with all forms of spending itemized in one place. All tax credits (such as those for investment, job creation, enterprise zones or research and development), all tax exemptions (such as sales and utility tax breaks)and all appropriated spending (such as training, manufacturing extension services, loans and loan guarantees).… Read More

Town Meeting Rule – Marshfield

The conduct of Marshfield’s Town Meeting is dictated by Federal and State law, the Town’s Charter and By-Laws, local tradition, and the publication entitled, "Town Meeting Time."… Read More

Residency Requirements – Providence

All officers of the city, as defined in section 1207, and all employees of the city and any and all agencies and instrumentalities thereof, including all employees of the school department and the department of public safety, shall be residents of the city during such employment… Read More

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