Table of Contents
(Sequential)

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• Cover
• Acknowledgement

Tables of Contents

• Table of Contents (Sequential)
  
• Table of Topics and Issues (Alphabetical)

Introduction

• Introduction
  
• Note on “Solving” Constituent Inquiries
  
• What is the Local Government Commission?

Basics

• Categories of Local Governments in Pennsylvania
  
• Dillon’s Rule: State Primacy Over Local Governments
  
• Home Rule: An Incursion on State Supremacy
  
• Preemption of Municipal Regulation by the Commonwealth
  
• Municipalities - How They Change...Boundaries, Classification, or Forms of Government
  
• Intergovernmental Cooperation
  
• Municipal Authorities
  
• Municipal Statistics

Issues and Questions

• Pennsylvania Open Records or Right-to-Know Law
  
• The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act
  
• Procedural Due Process
  
• Substantive Due Process
  
• Equal Protection
  
• What Is the “Police Power”?
  
• Discretionary vs. Ministerial Acts and the Action of Mandamus
  
• Quorum—Official Action - Abstention
  
• Can a Municipal Governing Body Enter Into a Contract That Will Bind Future Governing Bodies? Revisiting the Distinction Between Proprietary and Governmental Functions
  
• Selected Municipal Employment Issues
  
• Authority Over Borough Police: Mayor vs. Council
  
• Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
  
• Removal From Office
  
• Governmental Immunity and Municipal Liability
  
• Selected Examples of Actions Against Municipalities
  
• Public Use of Municipal Recreational Land
  
• Pennsylvania Statutory and Regulatory Measures to Protect Agricultural Land and Open Space
  
• Exclusionary Zoning and the Fair Share Doctrine
  
• Public Nuisances
  
• Some Examples of Municipal Code Sections Authorizing the Regulation or Abatement of Nuisances
  
• Regulation of Animals
  
• Limbs From My Neighbor’s Tree Overhang My Property...What Can I Do?
  
• Municipal Fiscal Distress
  
• Homestead Exemption
  
• Voter Initiative Under Act 50 of 1998

Resources

• Frequently Cited Laws Governing or Impacting Municipalities
  
• Publications of the Local Government Commission
  
• Publications of the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
  
• Useful Internet Websites
  
• Local Government Associations and Related Groups
  
• Contacts for County Row Office Associations Who Are Members of the Pennsylvania State Association of Elected County Officials (PSAECO)