Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy

Is Home Rule the Answer?

Clarifying the Influence of Dillon's Rule on Growth Management

This paper conducts a first-ever state scan to determine which states adhere to Dillon's Rule, and which do not. Dillon's Rule is a little-known judicial doctrine that restricts local autonomy and is often criticized as a hindrance to growth management. This paper probes the definition and use of the rule and finds that it neither prohibits nor hinders action to limit sprawl.

The paper is available at www.brookings.edu/es/urban/publications/dillonsrule.htm