All Resources — Local Solutions Support Center

Can Local Emergency Authority Provide a Basis for Local COVID-19 Policy When State Law Otherwise Preempts?

This memo aims only to engage in a preliminary way with the question of what a state’s grant of emergency authority to local governments means for localities facing the COVID-19 crisis.

LegalAdam PolaskiAugust 1, 2020Memo, COVID-19, Public Health

The Digital Divide, Broadband Access, and the Pandemic

This guide highlights the scale of the broadband problem (before and during the pandemic) and important policies that local governments can consider in the short and long-term to increase access to broadband.

Research, Featured – TechnologyAdam PolaskiJuly 22, 2020Broadband Internet, Report

Suits Challenging State and Local Eviction Moratoria and Other Pandemic-Related Tenant Protections

This provides a listing of the lawsuits as of July 2020 that challenge pandemic-related tenant protections.

LegalAdam PolaskiJuly 10, 2020Housing, COVID-19, Resource Collection

Iowa Ban the Box Amicus Brief – Iowa Supreme Court

This July 2020 amicus brief in the case ‘Iowa Association of Business & Industry v. City of Waterloo’ deals with preemption of local “Ban the Box” policies.

Legal, Amicus BriefAdam PolaskiJuly 9, 2020Iowa, Criminal Justice, Racial Justice

Model Local Resolution Calling For Local Authority to Adopt Housing Protections During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This model resolution is geared towards helping local officials and advocates push their legislature and governor to clarify local authority pertaining to housing solutions.

Model Resolutions, LegalAdam PolaskiJuly 8, 2020COVID-19, Housing

Portland Pipeline Amicus Brief – Maine Supreme Judicial Court

This July 2020 amicus brief in the case ‘Portland Pipe Line Corporation v. City of South Portland’ deals with land use and a proposed pipeline in Portland, ME.

Amicus Brief, LegalAdam PolaskiJuly 7, 2020Maine, Environment, Energy

State & Local LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Laws: What the Supreme Court’s Bostock Decision Means & Opportunities for Further Action

Bostock undoubtedly represents a huge victory for LGBTQ rights in the United States, but it does not mark the end of the fight for LGBTQ equality.

LegalAdam PolaskiJuly 1, 2020LGBTQ, Guides

Message Guide: Talking About Local Control During COVID-19

This message guide will help you explain how existing and new state preemption has left local governments and people vulnerable to the pandemic, worsened inequities, and weakened efforts to protect public health.

Messaging Guide, CommunicationsAdam PolaskiJuly 1, 2020COVID-19

Model Local Resolution Calling For Local Authority to Adopt Housing and Worker Protections and Expand Broadband Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This model resolution is geared towards helping local officials and advocates push their legislature and governor to clarify local authority pertaining to key policies around housing, worker protection, and broadband access.

Model Resolutions, Legal, Labor - FeaturedAdam PolaskiJune 24, 2020COVID-19, Labor, Housing, Broadband Internet

Model Ordinance for Florida Cities and Counties Enacting Worker Health and Safety Ordinances to Protect Workers and the Public from COVID-19

Florida cities and counties have the authority to adopt a local worker health and safety ordinance to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19 and help curb its transmission. This model ordinance helps.

Legal, Model ResolutionsAdam PolaskiJune 20, 2020Florida, Public Health, Labor

Washington Fiscal Authority Amicus Brief – WA Supreme Court

This June 2020 amicus brief in the case ‘Garfield County Transportation Authority v. State of Washington’ deals with fiscal authority.

Amicus Brief, LegalAdam PolaskiJune 5, 2020Washington

Disbanding, Defunding, or Reforming Local Law Enforcement

As part of the Local Solutions Support Center’s ongoing efforts to help local leaders understand and deploy their authority to address their communities’ needs, we have produced this memo outlining legal possibilities and prohibitions.

LegalAdam PolaskiJune 1, 2020Criminal Justice, Racial Justice, Guides, Policing

How Do You Know if Your Local Government Has the Legal Authority to Expand Broadband Access in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic?

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, local elected officials and advocates alike are asking what they can do for their communities across a range of policies — including to ensure that everyone has broadband Internet access available.

LegalAdam PolaskiMay 28, 2020COVID-19, Broadband Internet, COVID Decision Tree

Tennessee Campaign to Suspend State Preemption During COVID-19 Public Health Crisis

On April 30, Odessa Kelly and Whitney Washington at Stand Up Nashville; Kelly Sue Waller at Bedford County Listening Project; and Bennett Foster at Memphis for All hosted a webinar focused on the Tennessee Campaign to Suspend State Preemption During COVID-19 Public Health Crisis.

State CampaignsAdam PolaskiApril 30, 2020Tennessee, Building Your Campaign

How Do You Know if Your Local Government Has the Legal Authority to Adopt Housing and Homelessness Related Policies in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic?

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, local elected officials and advocates alike are asking what they can do for their communities across a range of policies—including those that respond to our pressing housing and homelessness needs.

LegalAdam PolaskiApril 15, 2020COVID Decision Tree, Housing, COVID-19

Can Local Emergency Authority Provide a Basis for Local COVID-19 Policy When State Law Otherwise Preempts?

This memo aims to engage in a preliminary way with the question of what a state’s grant of emergency authority to local governments means for localities facing the COVID-19 crisis.

LegalAdam PolaskiApril 1, 2020COVID-19, Public Health, Memo

How Do You Know if Your Local Government Has the Legal Authority to Adopt a Policy in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic?

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, local elected officials and advocates are asking what they can do for their communities. This brief guide can help you determine whether your community has the authority it needs to adopt a particular policy.

LegalAdam PolaskiMarch 18, 2020COVID-19, COVID Decision Tree

The Essential Role of Fiscal Authority in Local Democracy

This White Paper considers the consequences of decreasing state aid to cities and offers some suggestions for policies that would allow municipalities to better carry out their important responsibilities as engines of local democracy.

Legal, White PapersAdam PolaskiMarch 1, 2020White Paper, General

Home Rule: Principles to Action Webinar

On February 27, 2020, staff from the Local Solution Support Center and Fordham Law hosted a webinar focused on home rule and discussed findings from the new report, Principles of Home Rule for the 21st Century.

LegalAdam PolaskiFebruary 27, 2020Virtual Trainings, Home Rule

Principles of Home Rule for the 21st Century

This groundbreaking new framework lays out a vision for rebalancing state and local relations, and provides model constitutional language to encourage legal reform.

LegalAdam PolaskiFebruary 13, 2020Home Rule, Report, General, Home Rule Reform

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