State Sovereignty through Local Coordination Act

State Sovereignty through Local Coordination Act

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of {insert state}:

Section 1. Title __, chapter ___, article ___, ________ Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section ________, to read:

Federal Regulations; Local Coordination for Cities, Towns, Counties, and Special Districts

(A) Definitions.

(1) “Coordinate” means the action necessary to achieve coordination.

(2) “Coordination” means the process by which the federal or state government seeks in good faith to reach consistency between a federal or state regulation, rule, plan or policy and a city, town, county, or special district law, regulation, plan or policy that is less restrictive than the federal or state regulation, rule, plan or policy.

(3) “Less restrictive” means a city, town, county, or special district law, regulation, plan or policy imposes or would impose less of a burden on the exercise of rights, privileges or immunities enjoyed by individuals, organizations and businesses within the city’s or town’s jurisdictional boundaries.

(B) Demand.  If a city, town, county, or special district has laws, regulations, plans or policies that are less restrictive than a federal or state regulation, rule, plan or policy, the city, town, county or special district shall demand by any lawful means that the federal or state government coordinate with the city, town, county, or special district before the federal or state government implements, enforces, expands or extends the federal or state regulation, rule, plan or policy within the city’s, town’s, county’s, or special district’s jurisdictional boundaries.  This subsection is mandatory unless the city, town, county, or special district specifically votes to not demand coordination at a duly noticed public hearing.

(C) Litigation.  Unless its elected public body shall vote against authorizing such litigation at a duly noticed public hearing, if the federal government fails to coordinate in good faith with the city, town, county, or special district after demand has been made, the city, town, county, or special district shall authorize appropriate litigation to enforce its coordination rights and powers.

(D) Taxpayer Standing.  Any taxpayer residing or doing business within the jurisdiction of the relevant city or town shall have standing to enforce the obligations created by this statute by way of special action filed in state court against the relevant city or town, without first exhausting any administrative remedy, if the relevant city, town, county, or special district fails to discharge its obligations under this statute within sixty (60) days after the taxpayer serves each member of the relevant elected local public body with a written demand that the city or town comply with this statute.  To be effective, the written demand must specify the federal and local laws, regulations, plans or policies, with which coordination ought to be sought by the city, town, county, or special district.