A Home-Rule City is a city that...

• A. Is controlled by the federal government.
• B. Is defined by state statute with no charter.
• C. Is governed by a charter that gives self-government, and may act unless state or federal law prohibits.
• D. Lacks charter and follows general law.

Answer: (C)

Home-rule status means a city operates under its own charter that grants local self-government, and it may act in local matters unless state or federal law prohibits. This captures the essence of a home-rule city: broad local authority defined by a charter, not constrained to general state laws. The other descriptions describe different arrangements—being controlled by the federal government, or being limited to general-law authority defined by state statute with no charter, or lacking a charter entirely and following only general law. Those do not fit home-rule status because they either remove local autonomy or rely solely on general-state rules without a charter.