Legal hierarchy
Most countries have a clear hierarchy: in case of conflict, national laws win, local laws lose. The charter is the reverse for several reasons:
Politicians love to talk about US federalism when it suits them. We have 50 state political laboratories! Decentralize politics! But it only applies to states and the nation. Cities and counties? Pfah! They get no respect. Ackshually ... there's some distinction with "home rule" which I don't know much about, mentioned in the comments on the article below. Some states allow their cities more leeway than others, and maybe it's only some cities, not all. Some criminal laws are reserved for states, not cities or counties, even though cities and counties enforce them; counties have almost no authority, except for building codes and rural roads; and cities can overlap counties but not states, which is why there are two Kansas Cities next to each other in Kansas and Missouri. So Chartertopia has thousands of political laboratories. If some state wants to try rent control, cities can opt out. If a city wants to try rent control, neighborhoods can opt out. Or vice-versa.
Well, ackshually ... rent control is a clear violation of self-control and would never fly, but I spent a lot of time trying to make the spirit of the charter survive if it were ever revised to allow things like rent control, and bottom up bylaw supremacy is one of those ways.
I wanted some easy way for subdistricts to opt out of parent district bylaws. If a parent district wants to tax all subdistricts for a new library in just one subdistrict, the other subdistricts can pass their own bylaws and thumb their nose at the tax. Or conversely, they can add their tax and create their own library. The intent is to deter favoritism and keep cronies at bay. Make politicians think a little more about the full jurisdiction and not just their little corner.
This opt-out is a check on parent district politicians and bureaucrats getting too big for their britches. I especially like the idea that when politicians pass bills naming freeways and buildings after retiring colleagues, the subdistricts with the freeway or building can spit in their faces by passing their own bylaw taking away the name. Grandstanding politicians need to know they can be taken down a peg or two.
So here's a funny little kerfuffle over the order of flags on flagpoles. I had always thought it was just tradition that the US flag is highest, then the state flag, then the city flag. (Do counties have flags, or do they get shafted and ignored here too? Columbus, Ohio covers three counties. Would they have to include all three, or only the one the flagpole is in?) ANYWAYS ... a city passed an initiative requiring an "Earth Flag" to be at the top of city flagpoles. Not so fast! State law mandates the order of national, state, and city flags.
[California Government Code] section 436 ... provides, "Where the National and State Flags are used, they shall be of the same size. If only one flagpole is used, the National Flag shall be above the State Flag and the State Flag shall be hung in such manner as not to interfere with any part of the National Flag. At all times the National Flag shall be placed in the position of first honor." This mandate is absolute, barring a small carveout the Legislature provided in section 434.5, which states that entities such as cities and counties can impose "reasonable restrictions" on the time, placement, and manner of display of the National Flag, but only when "necessary for the preservation of the public's health, safety, or order."
Good grief. I wonder how much time legislators wasted debating such a law. I guess it's better than wasting their time on more substantial matters like rent control.
Well, it wouldn't fly, ha ha, in Chartertopia. The city could fly flags in any order they wanted.
It reminds me of the three military things I hated most in the navy: saluting, sirring, and inspections. Inspections were just rude, and I was always amazed at the end of each that I'd held my tongue and hadn't muttered "Did you count the nose hairs, sir?" as they passed by looking for Irish pennants and bad haircuts. Saluting and sirring are mandatory "signs of respect", which always struck me as oxymoronic: respect can only be earned. Mandating it automatically forfeits it. If politicians have to mandate the federal flag be honored more than the state flag, which is honored more than the city flag, then they have forfeited that honor.
Loved the ship, going to sea, visiting foreign ports. Even liked the flags, nothing like flags snapping in a good fast wind from the ship scooting along, or seeing all the signal flags and trying to remember what they said. But that's enough digression.