School Committee of Town of York v. Town of York

• Decision Date: 14 June 1993
• Citation: 626 A.2d 935
• Parties: 83 Ed. Law Rep. 1075 SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF TOWN OF YORK v. TOWN OF YORK and York Charter Commission.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 935

626 A.2d 935

83 Ed. Law Rep. 1075

SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF TOWN OF YORK v. TOWN OF YORK and York Charter Commission.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued March 19, 1993.

Decided June 14, 1993.

Richard A. Spencer (orally), Barbara L. Krause, Drummond, Woodsum, Plimpton & McMahon, Portland, for plaintiff.

John C. Bannon (orally), Murray, Plumb & Murray, Portland, for Town of York.

James T. Kilbreth (orally), Robert C. Brooks, Verrill & Dana, William P. Briggs, Dill & Briggs, Kittery, for Charter Com'n.

Before WATHEN, C.J., and ROBERTS, GLASSMAN, COLLINS and RUDMAN, JJ.

WATHEN, Chief Justice.

Defendant Town of York (Town), acting through its Selectmen, appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (York County, Brodrick, J.) in favor of defendant York Charter Commission ¹ (Charter Commission) declaring virtually all of the provisions of the York Home Rule Charter (Charter) valid except those pertaining to the school budget process. The Charter Commission cross-appeals from a previous judgment entered in the Superior Court (York County, Brodrick, J.) in favor of plaintiff School Committee of the Town of York ² (School Committee) declaring all Charter provisions relating to school budget matters to be invalid. Because we conclude that all of the challenged provisions of the Charter are within the Town's home rule authority pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001 (Pamph.1992), we vacate the judgment entered in favor of the School Committee, and we affirm the judgment entered in favor of the Charter Commission with respect to non-school matters.

The Charter Commission was created in 1989 for the purpose of drafting the Town's first charter. The Charter, enacted in 1991, significantly changed the structure of the Town's government. Prior to that time the Town was governed by the applicable laws of Maine (Title 30-A M.R.S.A.) and local ordinances. Under that system of governance, the School Committee had sole responsibility for preparing a budget for the school administrative unit and the Selectmen had responsibility for preparing a municipal budget. Those budgets were presented to voters for approval by voice vote at the annual Town Meeting.

The Charter divested budgetary authority from the School Committee and the Selectmen, and established a Budget Committee with exclusive authority to determine the amount of each warrant article in the Town Budget ³ to be presented at the annual Budget Referendum (similar to the former Town Meeting) and included on the ballot for consideration by the voters. ⁴

Shortly after the Charter was enacted, the School Committee filed a declaratory judgment action challenging the validity of the Charter's school budget provisions. The Town cross-claimed and counterclaimed, seeking a judgment declaring the extent to which other Charter provisions would be enforceable in the event that the school provisions were found to be invalid, and seeking clarification of the effective date of the Charter. ⁵ On May 15, 1992, the Superior Court granted a summary judgment in favor of the School Committee, declaring the Charter provisions relating to "school budgetary matters" to be invalid because they "usurp power and authority reserved to the School Committee." The Town then amended its counterclaim and cross-claim asserting the invalidity of the Charter provisions concerning the Budget Committee, voting by secret ballot, recall elections, and the election of a town meeting moderator. The Town moved for a summary judgment and the Charter Commission countered, moving for a summary judgment on the ground that the contested provisions are a valid exercise of home rule authority. The Superior Court granted a summary judgment in favor of the Charter Commission, with one minor exception. ⁶ Thus, on appeal we are presented with judgments striking down the school budget provisions, but sustaining the remainder of the Charter.

I. HOME RULE AUTHORITY

This case concerns the limits of the Town's home rule charter authority. At issue is the relationship between the constitutional grant of home rule authority and the statutory grant of home rule authority in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001 (Pamph.1992).

The Maine Constitution's home rule provision reads as follows:

The inhabitants of any municipality shall have the power to alter and amend their charters on all matters, not prohibited by Constitution or general law, which are local and municipal in character. The Legislature shall prescribe the procedure by which the municipality may so act.

Me. Const., art. VIII., pt. 2, § 1. The last sentence of that provision contemplates the enactment of procedural enabling legislation. The original enabling legislation, however, went beyond procedural matters and broadened the scope of municipal home rule authority set out in the Maine Constitution by permitting local legislation in areas beyond those "local and municipal in character." ⁷ With the advent of the most recent amendments to the home rule enabling legislation, it is clear that the Legislature intended to convey a plenary grant of the state's police power to municipalities, subject only to express or implied limitations. ⁸ Title 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001 reads in pertinent part as follows Any municipality, by the adoption, amendment or repeal of ordinances or bylaws, may exercise any power or function which the Legislature has power to confer upon it, which is not denied either expressly or by clear implication, and exercise any power or function granted to the municipality by the Constitution of Maine, general law or charter.

1. Liberal Construction. This section, being necessary for the welfare of the municipalities and their inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to effect its purposes.

2. Presumption of authority. There is a rebuttable presumption that any ordinance enacted under this section is a valid exercise of a municipality's home rule authority.

3. Standard of Preemption. The Legislature shall not be held to have implicitly denied any power granted to municipalities under this section unless the municipal ordinance in question would frustrate the purpose of any state law.

The Legislature has authority to grant municipalities broader home rule powers than are granted in the Constitution's home rule provision. Although a statute would ordinarily be restricted by the underlying constitutional provision, in this instance, the resort to the constitution was not necessary and was employed only to address concerns about the validity of the delegation of powers. For a summary of the relevant legislative history, see Robert W. Bower, Jr., Comment, Home Rule and the Preemption Doctrine: The Relationship Between State and Local Government in Maine, 37 Me.L.Rev. 313, 339 (1985). Legislative power is plenary, subject only to express or implied limitations of the state and federal constitutions. See Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 1 ("The Legislature, with the exceptions hereinafter stated, shall have full power to make and establish all reasonable laws and regulations for the defense and benefit of the people of this State, not repugnant to the Constitution, nor to that of the United States."); Ace Tire Co. v. Municipal Officers of Waterville, 302 A.2d 90, 96 (Me.1973). Although the Constitution's grant of home rule power is limited, it imposes no express or necessarily implied restrictions on the Legislature's power to grant additional home rule authority to municipalities. "[A] state is free to delegate any power it possesses to its political subdivisions." Central Maine Power Co. v. Town of Lebanon, 571 A.2d 1189, 1192 (Me.1990).

We conclude that section 3001 constitutes an independent and plenary grant of power to municipalities to legislate on matters beyond those exclusively "local and municipal," and is not limited by the Constitution's narrower home rule provision. ⁹ Compare 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001 with Me. Const., art. VIII, pt. 2, § 1. Municipal legislation will be invalidated only where the Legislature has expressly prohibited local regulation, or where the Legislature has intended to exclusively occupy the field and the legislation would frustrate the purpose of a state law. Central Me. Power Co. v. Town of Lebanon, 571 A.2d at 1193.

II. SCHOOL BUDGET PROVISIONS

The School Committee first argues that Article VIII, Part First of the Maine Constitution is the exclusive source of legislative authority over education. ¹⁰ This contention is without merit. "Article VIII of the Constitution of Maine is a mandate to insure the establishment of public schools ... but it does not prevent the promotion of education by other constitutional means." Opinion of the Justices, 261 A.2d 58, 76 (Me.1970) (citations omitted). The Legislature is free to delegate to municipalities all of its authority over education so long as the delegation is not unconstitutional.

The School Committee next asserts that matters relating to education, including the school budget provisions, are not "local and municipal in character" and therefore are outside the scope of Article VIII, Part Second of the Maine Constitution. It reasons that therefore, municipalities may not legislate on education matters in the absence of express legislative authority and, because there is no such authority for a budget committee, the enactment of the Charter provisions regarding the school budget process is not within the Town's home rule authority. The Town relies on a string of decisions recognizing the state's unique interest in matters relating to education. See Squires v. City of Augusta, 155 Me. 151, 159, 153 A.2d 80 (Me.1959) ("From our study of the laws pertaining to education, we are convinced that the Legislature ... intended that no municipality should regulate by ordinance or order any subjects which would affect or influence general education unless permitted to do so by an express delegation of power."); School Committee of Winslow v. Inhabitants of Winslow, 404 A.2d 988, 993-94 (Me.197...