Exploring Boundaries in Governance Research: An Analysis of Enabling Legislation Permitting Intergovernmental Boundary Agreements

The existence and location of municipal boundaries, the annexation rules under which they are established, and the set of municipal legal entitlements that these boundaries create have been the subject of considerable policy debate and academic analysis. Previous work has overlooked state legislative attempts to modify the otherwise confrontational rules of this system. This paper describes the findings of a study of state enabling legislation permitting Intergovernmental Boundary Agreements (IBAs.) Using findings from a systematic Westlaw search and a complementary survey of legal experts, our research reveals that numerous states have adopted legislation that both provides local governments with the option of entering into IBAs that redraw municipal lines and realigns the incentive structure for doing so. Legislative provisions differ across states. IBAs can be roughly categorized as addressing current boundaries or future boundaries; within the latter category, the role played by planning in determining boundary changes is another distinguishing characteristic. IBAs differ according to their specific procedural requirements (“process attributes”) as well as by their substantive provisions related to boundary changes, fiscal relations and land use planning (“consideration attributes”). The paper closes with directions for further research into this as-yet-unexplored alternative to annexation.