Del. David Englin (D-45) has proposed HJ111, the purpose of which is to study the Dillon Rule.
WHEREAS, the Dillon Rule is a 19th century judicial philosophy of statutory construction that holds that all local authority must be based on expressed constitutional or statutory provisions; and
WHEREAS, Virginia is among a handful of states that adheres to the Dillon Rule; and
WHEREAS, some Virginians argue that the Dillon Rule, first adopted by the Virginia Supreme Court over 100 years ago, is a hindrance to modern localities as they try to meet the complex needs of modern society; and
WHEREAS, it is further argued that many of the reasons for the initial adoption of the Dillon Rule no longer exist, especially with the enactment of safeguards such as the Freedom of Information Act, the Public Procurement Act and the Conflict of Interest Act; and
WHEREAS, it is also argued that it is an unproductive use of the General Assembly’s time to deal with a multitude of local bills each year, many of which are purely technical or procedural in nature; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study the Dillon Rule.
Good for you, Del. Englin! Count me among those who would love to see the Dillon Rule scrapped.
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Oh gee, just what we need. The Norfolk City Council freed of all restrictions and limits on its assault on individual rights.
They have already shown they have no respect for State firearms laws, knowingly passing and enforcing ordinances in conflict with State concealed carry laws. Who knows how far they would go in their Nanny state quest to stamp out smoking.
They certainly will show no restraint on taxing business. Without Dillon’s Rule to hold them in check, they would drive every business out of the city.
Dillon’s Rule restrains localities in much the same way the Constitution restrains the avarice of the Congress and the excesses of the executive. If we lose Dillon’s rule, my Norfolk office is up for sale.
Studying the issue is a long way from doing away with it, Don. And if, by some miracle, the Dillon Rule was eliminated, you wouldn’t be able to run away from Norfolk because all the other cities would be doing the same thing.
Not to mention the fact that the likelihood of the GA giving up that power is somewhere around zero.
“WHEREAS, it is also argued that it is an unproductive use of the General Assembly’s time to deal with a multitude of local bills each year, many of which are purely technical or procedural in nature;”
They think they’re busy now? Just wait until 95 counties and 39 cities start getting all sorts of creative with their local ordinances. They’ll spend half of each session writing laws to eliminate strange things the localities have cooked up.
That’s great news — thanks for highlighting that bill, Vivian.
Vivian — we all know that some cities are run better than others, and we all know where Norfolk is in the rankings.
Huh. Maybe something good can come from Richmond, after all.
Hmm…what are the odds that politicians are going to voluntarily give up power? Hmm…. I would put the odds of the Dillon Rule going anywhere at about where I would put them for bipartisan redistricting.