Bill of rights for local governments

ARTICLE IX\n Local Governments\n Bill of rights for local governments.\n Section 1. Effective local self-government and intergovernmental\ncooperation are purposes of the people of the state. In furtherance\nthereof, local governments shall have the following rights, powers,\nprivileges and immunities in addition to those granted by other\nprovisions of this constitution:\n (a) Every local government, except a county wholly included within a\ncity, shall have a legislative body elective by the people thereof.\nEvery local government shall have power to adopt local laws as provided\nby this article.\n (b) All officers of every local government whose election or\nappointment is not provided for by this constitution shall be elected by\nthe people of the local government, or of some division thereof, or\nappointed by such officers of the local government as may be provided by\nlaw.\n (c) Local governments shall have power to agree, as authorized by act\nof the legislature, with the federal government, a state or one or more\nother governments within or without the state, to provide cooperatively,\njointly or by contract any facility, service, activity or undertaking\nwhich each participating local government has the power to provide\nseparately. Each such local government shall have power to apportion its\nshare of the cost thereof upon such portion of its area as may be\nauthorized by act of the legislature.\n (d) No local government or any part of the territory thereof shall be\nannexed to another until the people, if any, of the territory proposed\nto be annexed shall have consented thereto by majority vote on a\nreferendum and until the governing board of each local government, the\narea of which is affected, shall have consented thereto upon the basis\nof a determination that the annexation is in the over-all public\ninterest. The consent of the governing board of a county shall be\nrequired only where a boundary of the county is affected. On or before\nJuly first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the legislature shall provide,\nwhere such consent of a governing board is not granted, for adjudication\nand determination, on the law and the facts, in a proceeding initiated\nin the supreme court, of the issue of whether the annexation is in the\nover-all public interest.\n (e) Local governments shall have power to take by eminent domain\nprivate property within their boundaries for public use together with\nexcess land or property but no more than is sufficient to provide for\nappropriate disposition or use of land or property which abuts on that\nnecessary for such public use, and to sell or lease that not devoted to\nsuch use. The legislature may authorize and regulate the exercise of the\npower of eminent domain and excess condemnation by a local government\noutside its boundaries.\n (f) No local government shall be prohibited by the legislature (1)\nfrom making a fair return on the value of the property used and useful\nin its operation of a gas, electric or water public utility service,\nover and above costs of operation and maintenance and necessary and\nproper reserves, in addition to an amount equivalent to taxes which such\nservice, if privately owned, would pay to such local government, or (2)\nfrom using such profits for payment of refunds to consumers or for any\nother lawful purpose.\n (g) A local government shall have power to apportion its cost of a\ngovernmental service or function upon any portion of its area, as\nauthorized by act of the legislature.\n (h) (1) Counties, other than those wholly included within a city,\nshall be empowered by general law, or by special law enacted upon county\nrequest pursuant to section two of this article, to adopt, amend or\nrepeal alternative forms of county government provided by the\nlegislature or to prepare, adopt, amend or repeal alternative forms of\ntheir own. Any such form of government or any amendment thereof, by act\nof the legislature or by local law, may transfer one or more functions\nor duties of the county or of the cities, towns, villages, districts or\nother units of government wholly contained in such county to each other\nor when authorized by the legislature to the state, or may abolish one\nor more offices, departments, agencies or units of government provided,\nhowever, that no such form or amendment, except as provided in paragraph\n(2) of this subdivision, shall become effective unless approved on a\nreferendum by a majority of the votes cast thereon in the area of the\ncounty outside of cities, and in the cities of the county, if any,\nconsidered as one unit. Where an alternative form of county government\nor any amendment thereof, by act of the legislature or by local law,\nprovides for the transfer of any function or duty to or from any village\nor the abolition of any office, department, agency or unit of government\nof a village wholly contained in such county, such form or amendment\nshall not become effective unless it shall also be approved on the\nreferendum by a majority of the votes cast thereon in all the villages\nso affected considered as one unit.\n (2) After the adoption of an alternative form of county government by\na county, any amendment thereof by act of the legislature or by local\nlaw which abolishes or creates an elective county office, changes the\nvoting or veto power of or the method of removing an elective county\nofficer during his or her term of office, abolishes, curtails or\ntransfers to another county officer or agency any power of an elective\ncounty officer or changes the form or composition of the county\nlegislative body shall be subject to a permissive referendum as provided\nby the legislature.\n