Municipal and Local Law

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Municipal and Local Law

• Class Handout
• Local Government Resources

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Problems with Local Law Research

• Complexity - 85,000 to 90,000 units of local
  government.
• Not adequately or systematically published -
  although the internet is changing this
  dramatically.
• Historically there has been poor Lexis/WL access
  to local laws.

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Types of Local Documents

• Legislative - ordinances, codes, charters,
  resolutions.
• Ordinances are slip laws and codes are the
  codification.
• Administrative - budgets, financial reports,
  Environmental Impact Reports . Not much published
  but more and more on local government websites.

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California Units of Government

• Cities
• California Constitution. The legislature must
  prescribe uniform procedures for formation of
  cities. Cal. Const. art. XI, 2. Once formed a
  city may make and enforce within its limits all
  local, police, sanitary and other ordinances and
  regulations not in conflict with general law.
  Cal. Const. art. XI, 7. General laws have a
  uniform statewide operation and generally
  prohibit local or special legislation. Cal.
  Const. art. IV, 16.
• Counties
• Counties are expressly designated as political
  subdivisions of the state in the California
  Constitution. See Cal. Const. art. XI, 1(a).
  See also Cal. Gov't Code 23002 ("The several
  existing counties of the State and such other
  counties as are hereafter organized are legal
  subdivisions of the State.")
• A major function of counties is to assist the
  state in administering state programs.
• Special districts
• Bay Area Air Quality Management District
• Regional bodies
• ABAG

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Terms of Incorporation in CA

• The California Government Code classifies cities
  as charter or general law cities. See Cal. Gov't
  Code 34100 34102 and determines
• how locality is organized
• level of responsibilities for services
• power to legislate
• autonomy from state control

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CA General Law Cities

• General law cities derive their corporate powers
  from general laws enacted by the legislature.
• Most of California's incorporated communities are
  general law cities
• For example, Cal. Gov't Code 36501 requires
  general law cities be governed by a city council
  of five members, a city clerk, a city treasurer,
  a police chief, a fire chief and such subordinate
  officers or employees as are required by law.

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CA Charter Rule Cities

• Cities can adopt a charter giving a maximum
  degree of local discretion and home rule.
• Charter City Powers. A city charter represents
  the supreme law of a city, subject only to
  conflicting provisions in the state or federal
  constitutions and preemptive state law on matters
  of statewide concern
• The larger cities and counties tend to be charter
  jurisdictions i.e. Oakland and Berkeley
• 107 Charter Cities in CA
• City Charters. A charter is a written document,
  approved by the electorate, which operates as a
  "constitution" for the adopting city. See Cal.
  Const. art. XI, 3.

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Special Districts

• Special districts are public corporations formed
  to perform particular governmental functions
  within a specific territory.
• Such districts may be created pursuant to general
  law or, under appropriate circumstances, a
  special act. Examples of government services
  provided by special districts include fire
  protection public education health care parks
  and recreation water sewer power and
  transportation
• Special districts first appeared in California
  after the legislature passed the Wright Act of
  1887 to establish a system of irrigation
  districts. Act of March 7, 1887, 1887 Cal.
  Stats., ch. 29. The first special district formed
  in California was The Turlock Irrigation District
  in Stanislaus County.
• Cross municipal boundaries
• Governing boards may be elected or appointed or
  is city council or board of supervisors of the
  city or county in which the special district is
  located.
• California has over 4,800 special districts
• Example Port Authority of Oakland
• The Charter of the City of Oakland vests the
  Board of Port Commissioners with exclusive
  control and management of the Port Department.
  The Board consist of seven members nominated by
  the Mayor and appointed by the City Council for
  four year terms. Members must live in Oakland
  during their term and at least 30 days prior to
  their appointment. Members of the Board serve
  without salary or compensation.
• Example Oakland Landscaping and Lighting
  Assessment Alameda County Mosquito Abatement
  District

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Regional Bodies

• Regional bodies address concerns that extend
  beyond local city and county boundaries
• Some are advisory only, and others have true
  regulatory powers.
• Councils of government, which have a regional
  planning function are advisory
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Allocates federal transportation funds
• Association of Bay Area Governments
• Air quality management districts are regulatory.
• Bay Area Air Quality Management District

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Local Publishing

• Ordinance - single measure passed by an elected
  body. California Constitution Article XI, section
  7 states a county or city may make and enforce
  within its limits all local, police, sanitary and
  other ordinances and regulations not in conflict
  with general laws of the state of CA.
• Collected into codification
• TOC, index in looseleaf format, unannotated. No
  bells and whistles. Some tables
• City or county clerk should file, codify, index
  and publish codes
• Slow and updating spotty
• May contract out publishing to various publishers
• Example Oakland 1.01.010 Adoption.
• Charters amended via local referendum and are
  published in annual volume of Cal statutes, voter
  handbook, and supplements to published charters
• Example Oakland Charter Article II

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Local Publishing Contd

• Local ordinances available in issuing clerks
  office, local county law library or main library
  in county.
• Cal government code 50110 mandates all local
  publications to go into Institute of Governmental
  Studies (UCB), Public Affairs Service (UCLA) and
  California State Library.
• Local agency participation is voluntary and seen
  as burdensome and costly by local officials.
• IGS now has 75 of cities and counties.

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Electronic Sources for Codes

• A number of municipal code publishers making
  codes available for free
• Class Handout List of Publishers
• IGS
• Municipal Codes (Seattle Public Library) has
  links to code publishers as well as individual
  cities and counties

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Examples Oakland Plastic Bags and "Access To
Reproductive Health Facilities" Ordinances

• Ordinance on plastic bags
• http//tinyurl.com/533ofe
• See Oakland Municipal code
• Search plastic bags
• Chapter 8.11 NON-COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC CARRYOUT
  BAGS
• Office of the City Clerk
• Legislative Search
• reproductive health
• Note ordinance
• Legislative File
• Report
• Supplemental Report
• Streaming Video
• See Oakland Municipal Code
• http//municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/oakland
  /
• Note This document is current through Ordinance
  12850, passed January 15, 2008.

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Example San Francisco Health Care Mandate

• SFGate story
• http//tinyurl.com/3q2mbw
• San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance
• http//www.sfgov.org/site/government_index.asp
• http//www.municode.com
• Browse to San Francisco Municipal Code
• Note Advanced Sheet
• Search Code Chapter 14

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Example Berkeley Sidewalk Smoking Ordinance

• Newspaper Story http//tinyurl.com/4gahyg
• http//www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/bmc/
• Ordinances Pending Codification (A list of
  Ordinances recently adopted by the City Council,
  but are not codified or effective yet.)
• Agenda of March 25th, 2008 Meeting
• Annotated Agenda
• Video of Meeting
• Complete code in pdf
• Miscellaneous Tables and Index includes Ordinance
  List and Disposition Table
• Records Online Search Application
• medical marijuana
• Chapter 12.24 Marijuana Policy

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Lexis Municodes and Native Lexis

• As publisher of numerous codes, Lexis has a free
  Municipal Codes Web Library
• These codes also appear on regular lexis
• Legal gt States Legal - U.S. gt Combined States gt
  Statutes Legislative Materials gt Municipal
  Codes
• dog! w/25 (noise or bark!) - in Oakland and
  Alameda County codes combined

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Westlaw

• All Databases gt Topical Materials by Area of
  Practice gt Municipal Law gt Forms, Treatises, and
  Other Practice Materials
• Ordinance Law Annotations (ORDLAWANNO)
• Search gun w/3 show!
• All Databases gt Topical Materials by Area of
  Practice gt Municipal Law gt Municipal Law Forms,
  Treatises, and Other Practice Materials
• Municipal Library Multibase (MUNI)
• Search panhandl!

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Secondary Sources

• See class handout , especially
• Ordinance Drafting and Case Law
• Looseleaf Services
• Hornbooks and Handbooks
• Casebooks and Treatises
• Of particular note
• California Municipal Law Handbook
• Example 9.2.35 GUNS AND WEAPONS
• IMLA Model Ordinance Service
• Municipal Ordinances, text and forms, by Matthews
  
• Sands, C. Dallas, Local government law
• Stevenson, Sandra M, Antieau on local government
  law
• Lexis Legal gt Secondary Legal gt Matthew
  Bender(R) gt By Area of Law gt Local Government
• Example gun w/3 show!

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Other Resources

• League of California Cities
• National Association of Counties
• National League of Cities
• California Planners Book of Lists
• The State and Local Government on the Net
  Directory