State & Local Gov Law

Catalog description

Elective Course Course Requirement: final paper (pending approval) State and local laws matter immensely to the lives of most American citizens, but the governments that create and enforce these laws receive limited attention in law school. This course surveys the rules and principles governing the powers and operations of state and local governments. Specifically, it explores: how local governments are formed or changed; how state and federal law constrains local power; what rules govern the services localities provide and how they finance those services; principles concerning cooperation and conflict between localities; and theoretical perspectives on what sorts of tasks are best assigned to local governments, or elsewhere. From taxing to zoning to voting, we will look under the surface of the most common contexts in which citizens brush against government.