Municipal Home Rule PDF Download

In Ohio, municipal corporations (cities and villages) have certain powers granted to them in Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution that exist outside authority found in the Revised Code. Because these powers originate in the Constitution, laws passed by the General Assembly that interfere with them may be invalid as applied to municipal corporations unless those laws are sanctioned by other provisions of the Constitution. These powers, granted by the Constitution and known as "home rule" powers, include the power of local self-government, the exercise of certain police powers, and the ownership and operation of public utilities. This paper briefly discusses each of these powers.