A Decade of Devolution: Perspectives on State-Local Relations

What principles are called into play by the states and their subdivisions as they re-sort responsibilities (both among themselves and between themselves and appropriate federal agencies) in order to determine which level of government should control, pay for, and deliver services? The book answers this question by examining what actually happened over the last decade when the states realigned services and authorities in response to this necessary devolution. The book also provides a guide for decisionmakers while they continue to work out the proper allocation of the powers and duties of various levels of government.

...the book's aim is less to say something new than to draw together what is known and to provide a primer on how to think about sorting out state and local functional roles in the years ahead....offers lucid summaries of recent trends.... (American Review Of Public Administration)

The 1980s, like the 1930s, were a time of immense change in the structure of governmental functions. A Decade of Devolution gives you a box seat in that ever-fascinating game of government. (Richard D. Lamm, former Governor of Colorado American Review Of Public Administration)

...sharp insights into an area of American federalism marked by growing importance and surprising neglect. (John Shannon, former Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations American Review Of Public Administration)