Home rule is a provision of the state constitution or similar legislation granting a local municipality a certain amount of autonomy to allocate powers between the state and the local government. If it is accepted by the local government, then it constitutes self-government. For example, setting up a system of government and enacting local ordinances. Within the U.S. legal system, such power must ordinarily be granted by the state government. When a state contains both general law and chartered local government, counties and cities governed under the charter have more home rule than those governed only under general law in the same state.
[Last updated in March of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]