Local Autonomy and Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Author: Dana Patton,Ann Durand,Kyle Whipple,David L. Albright
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221089661
• Subject Matter: Field Notes

Local Autonomy and Response

to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dana Patton

1

, Ann Durand

1

, Kyle Whipple

1

,

and David L. Albright

2

Abstract

We examine local government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States utilizing a

unique dataset created by the National League of Cities. The most common action by local govern-

ments was changing administrative procedures and implementing policies aimed at prevention or

“f‌lattening the curve”. The general public was the most common population target. In addition

to detailing the most common local action types, policy areas, and population targets, we analyze

local response based on the autonomy granted to local governments by states. We expected

local governments with greater levels of autonomy would have a greater level of response; however,

some local governments did not ‘behave’as expected based on their degree of policymaking auton-

omy granted by state governments. Some states with higher levels of autonomy enacted relatively

few local actions in response to the pandemic, whereas some with little autonomy engaged in con-

siderable activity to address COVID-19.

Keywords

COVID-19, home rule, local government

Introduction

The nature of federalism provides opportunities

for both collaboration and conf‌lict. Opportunities

for federal-state collaboration are plentiful and

state governments enjoy considerable autonomy

through the reservation of powers to the states

via the Tenth Amendment. The US Constitution,

however, dictates that federal-state conf‌lict result

in federal supremacy. Opportunities for collabora-

tion and conf‌lict between local governments and

state governments are structured differently

across and within states. The US Constitution is

silent regarding local governments, leaving it up

to states to determine how local governments

will exercise power. Some states, such as New

Jersey, have a long history of granting local

governments considerable policymaking powers;

whereas other states, such as Alabama, require

almost all local actions to be approved by

the state legislature or voted on as a state

Constitutional amendment.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in

early 2020 brought the issue of federalism into

sharp relief not only among academics and

1

Department of Political Science, University of Alabama,

Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

2

Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health

Research, School of Social Work, University of Alabama,

Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Dana Patton, Department of Political Science, University of

Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.

Email: dana.patton@ua.edu

Field Notes

State and Local Government Review

2022, Vol. 54(2) 165-173

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221089661

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