What is the legal basis for local municipal government in Alaska?
The State of Alaska Constitution, Article X, establishes the framework for local government in Alaska, provides for creation and organization of local government, and bestows powers to local government. The intent of the framers of the constitution was to provide for maximum local self-government with a minimum of local government units and tax levying jurisdictions. To do this, the constitution vested local government powers, including the power to tax, in boroughs and cities. The Alaska Constitution also provides for a “liberal construction” of the powers of local governments, which essentially means if an act isn’t prohibited in law, a local government is probably free to act on the matter. The constitution provided the basic framework for Alaska’s municipal governments and delegated the responsibility for filling in the details to the legislature. Title 29 of the Alaska Statutes establishes the procedure by which municipalities are organized and municipal powers prescribed by law.
