Agenda Packets - 1987/06/01 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The State and Local Legal Center was created to fill a void in the advocacy of state and local governmental interests before the nation's highest court. No other organization represents the interests of the chief elected policy makers of both state and local governments. We cannot leave those interests unprotected, nor can we assume that others will make the Court aware of our policy choices, and the legal arguments in support of them, in cases before the Court. The Legal Center's staff attorneys work closely with the National Institute of Municipal Low Officers (NIMLO) and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). And the Legal Center staff is backed up by specialized, highly skilled, private attorneys —experts on the intricacies of Supreme Court practice and specific substantive areas of law --who are contributing thousands of hours of time to the Legal Center without compensation. The Legal Center submitted 22 amicus briefs on behalf of state and local government during the Supreme Court's Tast term alone. It has conducted more than 50 moot court sessions to assist stale and local government attorneys prepare for oral arguments before the Supreme Court. And all of this has been accomplished with no charge or fee to the individual jurisdiction whose case was before the Court. No other organization provides state and local government with such horsepower. Does legal advocacy work? Indeed It does. In a very short time, in case after case, the State and Local Legal Center has been instrumental in protecting and advancing the interests of local government. During last term, we won major rulings from the Supreme Court, reducing greatly, the exposure of cities to antitrust challenge, allowing local zoning regulations to limit the location of adult movie theaters, protecting voluntary affirmative action plans of cities, and restoring the ability of state regulatory agencies to limi local telephone rate increases. The Legal Center has been funded, to date, through a start-up grant from the Pew Memorial Trust. The grant is now concluding, and the sponsoring state and local government organizations have agreed to assume responsibility for ensuring the continued support of the Legal Center. The state government associations have a goal of raising $2.5 million and local government associations another $2.5 million. Instead of trying to support this effort through annual dues, the National League of Cities, United States Conference of Mayors and the International City Management Association have agreed to raise $l.5 million as the municipal government share through a joint appeal to our members for a one-time payment. The results of our collective efforts wil It permanently finance the work of the Legal Center. Fees are hosed on the population of the contributing jurisdiction. Because we need your support and involvement, we have taken the liberty of enclosing a statement with the amount of the proposed one-time payment for your city.