Associated Builders and Contractors v. City of Lansing

I agree with the majority’s ultimate conclusion that the prevailing-wage ordinance is expressly authorized by Const 1963, art 7, § 22. I write separately to address the powers granted to municipalities by the 1963 Constitution.

Municipalities have never possessed inherent authority not expressly granted by the Constitution or laws of Michigan and do not have it today. It was not until the 1908 Constitution that municipalities were granted the power of self-governance, a concept known as “home rule.”

The 1908 Constitution required the Legislature to enact a general law for the incorporation of…