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Home rule allows a subset of a larger government to make their own laws. Municipal house rule is typically enacted through state legislation and allows particular cities or counties to establish their own statutes. Local charters are limited in that they generally cannot waive statewide taxes or legalize something that is specifically prohibited by state law. The concept of home rule in the UK is increasingly referred to as devolution, which allows Scotland and Wales to have their own separate assemblies from the British Parliament.
In general, home rule is the ability of a subset of a larger government to make their own laws. In a federal government, member states can grant municipal internal regulation to city or county governments, allowing them to establish certain laws and policies that supersede broader state laws. Home rule also specifically refers to the ability of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, to have some degree of autonomy in their governance. A number of other countries, including Canada and Denmark, employ similar types of local primacy.
Municipal house rule is typically enacted through state legislation and allows particular cities or counties to establish their own statutes. These cards essentially contain the rules for governing the municipality. Comparisons between the reports of a state and its federal government and a domestic rules charter and its state government are tempting, but misleading. States are typically constitutionally guaranteed to exist, while local statutes can be revoked at any time by repealing their enabling legislation.
State laws typically limit what local governments may or may not enact through municipal by-laws. One thing specified in many city statutes is the model of government that the city can have. Examples include a mayor system, a city council system, or a combination of both. Zoning is another common house rule problem, as larger cities may require special zoning laws that are not appropriate for suburban or rural municipalities. In America, gun regulation is another example, as large urban areas generally suffer from greater levels of gun violence and, as a result, choose to enact stronger regulation through their statutes.
Local charters are limited in that they generally cannot waive statewide taxes or legalize something that is specifically prohibited by state law. For example, a local government would not be able to legalize something like marijuana if it were specifically banned at the state level. If marijuana were legal statewide, however, a municipality would probably be able, under its statute, to institute a local surcharge on top of any state and federal taxes.
As regards the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, the concept of home rule has increasingly been referred to as devolution. Devolution in this case is largely geared towards maintaining a certain degree of cultural and political independence. The countries of Scotland and Wales, for example, have their own separate assemblies from the British Parliament. The Scottish Parliament in particular has the ability to legislate policy in a variety of specific areas, such as education. It was also granted the power to levy additional taxes on Scottish citizens. In the same way that local governments could have their statutes revoked, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are theoretically at the mercy of the British Parliament for their continued existence.
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