Municipal Legislative Barriers to a Free Market

Abstract

Municipal ordinances having the possible effect of restricting a free market are more voluminous than any other single type of barrier legislation.The more than 7,000 municipalities in the United States, not to mention other local subdivisions of states possessing a measure of legislative power, have all adopted ordinances which intentionally or unintentionally operate in one way or another as barriers to the unfettered economic operation of the market within their areas.This vast volume of local legislation certainly calls for consideration aside from its counterparts in state and federal laws.The term barrier in this context is descriptive of a broad result only, and is not used in the sense of evaluating the legislation as desirable or undesirable.Throughout this discussion there will be no attempt made to determine as a matter of political philosophy or economic policy what types of local ordinances may be regarded as justified or unjustified.Regardless, however, of its merits, there are certain fundamental principles relating to the power of municipal corporations to which legislation of this type must conform if it is to be sustained by the courts.Many of these principles constitute Achilles' heels by which ordinances that are considered undesirable can be legally attacked.The history of local ordinances relating to economic affairs traces from the earliest of municipal legislative activities.'Even in the Middle Ages some of the principal activities of municipal authorities dealt with efforts to control matters of trade and industry, particularly with respect to importing and exporting, matters of