Home Rule Charter

The City of Dayton is one of 350 cities in Texas which operates under a Home Rule Charter.

What is a Home Rule city?

Home rule cities are cities with populations of more than 5,000 in which citizens have adopted home rule charters. A charter is a document that establishes the city’s governmental structure and provides for the distribution of powers and duties among the various branches of government. In order to be implemented, the charter must be approved by the people at an election. There are two types of city government in the State of Texas: General Law cities and Home Rule cities. The primary difference between the two is that a General Law city can ONLY do what the state legislature, through law, allows them to do. A Home Rule city, on the other hand, can pass any regulations or laws it deems necessary unless the state law prohibits it. The City of Dayton adopted it’s Home Rule Charter in 1975. You can find a copy of it Here.