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In the United States, a home rule city, charter city, or home rule charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by its own municipal charter document rather than solely by state statute (general law). State law may require general-law cities to have a five-member city council, for example, as in California, but a city ...
In addition to these general-purpose local governments, states may also create special-purpose local governments. [2] Depending on the state, local governments may operate under their own charters or under general law, or a state may have a mix of chartered and general-law local governments.
In the systems of local government in some U.S. states, a general-law municipality, [1] general-law city, [1] code city, [2] or statutory city [3] [4] is a municipality whose government structure and powers are defined by the general law of its state.
A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the United States Code. [1] The first charter issued by Congress was for the First Bank of the United ...
A municipal charter is the basic document that defines the organization, powers, functions and essential procedures of the city government. The charter is, therefore, the most important legal document of any city. [1] Municipalities without charters, in states where such exist, are known as general-law municipalities or cities.
Generally, in a state having both chartered and general-law local governments, the chartered local governments have more local autonomy and home rule. Municipalities are typically subordinate to a county government, with some exceptions. Certain cities, for example, have consolidated with their county government as consolidated city-counties.
Fourteen counties [9] are "charter" counties while the rest are "general law" counties. [10] Other than San Francisco, which is a consolidated city-county, California's counties are governed by an elected five-member Board of Supervisors, who appoint executive officers to manage the various functions of the county. [10]
Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter, a term used because municipal power was historically granted by the sovereign, by royal charter .