The term home rule has both a philosophical and legal meaning. Philosophically, it is widely understood to suggest a spirit of self-government. Legally, it represents a particular method for distributing power between state and local government. It is the granting of power to local governing bodies to initiate legislation. This manual is devoted to the legal concept of home rule in Kansas, as granted to cities by Article 12, Section 5 of the Kansas Constitution. This manual was last updated in 1994 and is the ninth edition since 1961.