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What is the purpose of Home Rule?
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Constitution, as amended, in 1968 included a provision
that mandated that the General Assembly act to authorize home rule for Pennsylvania municipal
governments. Act 62— The Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law was formally enacted in
1972.
The procedure to draft and adopt a local constitution is comparable to that undertaken at the state
and federal levels of government. Under Act 62 local citizens create a structure of government
through which the local elected and appointed officials are best able to respond to citizen needs
and expectations and provide services and programs to the community. The charter is crafted
within limitations set by the Pennsylvania Constitution and general statutory laws that apply to
all municipalities.
Braddock Borough, as a home rule charter community, would no longer be wholly subject to the
provisions of the current Borough Code. Instead, the borough code would only apply in instances
where the home rule charter, administrative code and/or adopted policies and procedures are
silent.
The home rule study and charter development processes required voter approval of a referendum
to initiate a study of home rule and elect a 7-member home rule study commission. If the
government study commission recommends a home rule charter, local voters then must approve
the charter before it can take effect.
Generally, the home rule process exists as an opportunity for a municipality to address issues that
are not addressed or ineffectively addressed by the local government’s existing municipal code.
To view the full document, please see the downloadable documents section below.
Downloadable Documents:
Braddock Home Rule Charter.pdf (3.89 MB)