North Carolina Remains a Dillon Rule State — Tread Lightly, Raleigh City Council
North Carolina remains a Dillon’s Rule state rather than a Home Rule state. This means that local governments can only exercise those powers expressly granted by the General Assembly and those other powers that can be reasonably inferred therefrom. Home Rule, on the other hand, allows local governments to exercise all legislative authority unless “expressly” prohibited by the state government.
This issue came to mind when RaleighForward was contacted this week by Jasmine Gallup, a reporter from IndyWeek. She was seeking input on rent control issues in response to a recent social media posting and a pending rent control bill filed by Senator Lisa Grafstein that would repeal North Carolina’s prohibition on rent control. This proposed legislation amounts to nothing more than performative politics. The reason? The current Republican control of the General Assembly. Because Republicans control the General Assembly, this legislation never had a chance of passing. And, given the Supreme Court’s ruling on gerrymandering, it’s likely Republicans will retain control for the foreseeable future.
When elected officials post on social media about this bill, it is likely to mislead the general public by suggesting there is a chance it could actually pass. It also distracts from the efforts of those working on improving housing affordability using the tools available today. The housing crisis is too important to trivialize with performative legislation that is doomed at inception. Because Republicans view rent control as an extreme legislative tool, promoting it in this legislative environment risks alienating Raleigh’s potential allies in the General Assembly.
Raleigh is the State Capitol, so all legislators spend significant time in the City. They eat in local restaurants, they read the local papers and watch local TV. As a result, legislators closely follow what Raleigh and its leaders are doing. City Councilors must not lose sight of the fact that Raleigh has a legislative agenda that goes beyond housing matters. Posting support for legislation that is viewed as “extreme” by Republicans (and that has no chance of passing) risks needlessly antagonizing the Republican leadership in the General Assembly.
Beyond the performative politics, Council’s recent actions that appear to tie conditional zoning approval to affordable housing may be adding to the risk of General Assembly backlash. Several recent rezoning cases contained conditions mandating the inclusion of affordable housing or the payment to the City of a de facto affordable housing impact fee. If Raleigh is viewed as pushing the limits of its delegated legislative authority, it could come back to haunt the City when it asks the General Assembly to pass its broader legislative agenda. Instead of working with the City, Republican leadership might decide to “punish” Raleigh by refusing to advance its legislative agenda. It could even decide to take authority away. For example, the General Assembly could expressly prohibit local governments from accepting conditions related to affordable housing if it suspects the City is creating a “shadow” inclusionary zoning ordinance or an affordable housing “impact fee.”
The General Assembly might also further constrain local government authority to address housing like Montana did recently. The Montana legislature passed sweeping bipartisan legislation restricting local government authority to regulate housing. It also limits community engagement opportunities where new housing projects are proposed. With so much at stake, City Councilors should always be mindful of these risks and consider how their words and deeds might be interpreted by members of the General Assembly.