Abstract

Local councils, boards, and commissions have all the lawmaking powers of a legislature—including the power to criminalize conduct—but they are far too small to deserve them. With an average size of only four members, local legislatures depart from the norm observable at all other levels of government. Only in the past few years have legal scholars turned their attention to the institutional design of these bodies, but this developing literature has yet to address their most striking feature—their small size.

This Article takes up this project. It claims that local microlegislatures are comparatively unrepresentative and undemocratic, and that their size can affect the content of local law and the way that it is perceived. The fundamental problem with a micro-legislature is that it is not inclusive of the diversity of interests in a modern society. Too few seats results in a deficit of descriptive representation—meaning the legislature will not “look” like its community—and also of democratic deliberation, since all voices will not be a part of political debate. This works to silence or muffle minority viewpoints, resulting in more extreme legislation. Moreover, minorities will perceive this exclusion, and may view local law as less legitimate because of it.

Rather than being models of democratic involvement, localities—at least as they are currently structured—are sites of exclusion, not inclusion. The path forward is uncertain and depends on one’s appetite for reform.

ISSN

0042-1448

DOI

10.26054/0d-a5yv-hcpc

Keywords

micro-legislatures, local government, municipalities, ordinances, diversity, noninclusive legislation, representative institution, mayor-council, council-manager

Disciplines

Administrative Law | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Criminal Law | Law | Law and Society | State and Local Government Law

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