Local government such as cities, towns, and counties are created and regulated by the states. The only role of cities, towns, and counties is to assist the states in providing government to the people. The role of local government varies from state to state depending upon the state constitutions and laws.
The U.S. constitution doesn’t mention cities, towns, and counties: there are only the states and the federal government. (The only exception is for Washington, D.C. which is given special status as the national capital.)
States can establish local governmental entities and abolish them; give them authority over various aspects of government or take that away. The states have complete power to regulate what cities, towns and counties can do and how they function.
Thus, in ****, the California legislature passed a law that said that cities and towns could not, after *** pass an ordinance that banned declawing of animals. This spurred Dr. Conrad and the volunteers of the Paw Project to convince cities in
California to pass declawing ordinances before the deadline. If the citizens of any city in California wanted to pass a declawing ordinance after ***, they would have to convince the state legislature to pass a law allowing such a vote and convince the governor to sign it.
LA Times
Here's the life cycle of a declawed cat, according to "The Paw Project": As a kitten, its toes — the top third of the fingers on a human — are amputated. Shorn of its defenses, that cat has a 1-in-3 chance of developing a behavioral issue, like biting or urinating outside its litter box (because stepping on gravel becomes painful). Because of such problems, that cat is more likely to be given up to a shelter and, finally, euthanized.
As an exotic-animal veterinarian, director Jennifer Conrad witnessed mountain lions walking on their wrists or forearms after declawing made normal movement agonizing. Conrad then launched a largely successful multi-city campaign across California to ban declawing among house cats, a practice already illegal in 30 nations. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-the-paw-project-review-
20131018,0,1149563.story#ixzz2uttEhh9v
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Veterinarian Jennifer Conrad is both the director and heroine of her impassioned documentary strongly making the case against the declawing of cats. Named for the

organization she founded to promote the banning of this all too common practice— some 25% of domesticated cats in the United States have undergone the procedure—The Paw Project is an eye-opening film that will be of interest to the millions of cat owners pondering whether or not to have their pets undergo similar treatment.
The film begins in dramatic fashion, with heartbreaking footage of cats both large and small, including mountain lions and lions, attempting to walk while being virtually crippled. As one of the many onscreen figures testifying to the inhumanity of the practice attests, “It’s an amputation.” It’s also a major revenue generator for veterinarians, who routinely charge $1,200 and up for the operation.
The film includes testimony from several vets vehemently opposed to the practice, with one commentating that those who questioned its morality during their medical training were branded as “animal communists.”
According to many of those interviewed, the procedure, which involves the amputation of vital bones, is not only physically but emotionally harmful, leading to problems including aggressive behavior.
The film largely focuses on the organization’s efforts to have declawing banned in California despite the strong opposition of the CVMA (California Veterinary Medical Association). West Hollywood was the first community in the state to pass a ban, leading to a lengthy legal battle. Eventually, the practice was banned in eight cities throughout the state, as it is in numerous countries around the world.
The film, not surprisingly, is aggressively one-sided, and often stacks the deck by including footage of adorable kittens and photographs of celebrities including
Marlon Brando and Paul McCartney with their pet cats. But it makes its case in passionate and ultimately convincing fashion and also provides useful information about such alternatives as the use of “soft paws,” vinyl sheaths that cover a cat’s claws, which may well lead cat owners to reconsider their position. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/paw-project/review/637386
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Brisk and informative, The Paw Project , from director Dr. Jennifer Conrad , is a look at practice of cat declawing and, ultimately, the lobbying efforts to have the practice banned in major California cities.
Citing behavioral issues that arise as a result of declawing cats (a procedure that is, in essence, a form of amputation), Conrad lobbies local legislators, gaining first the attention of HIV-positive West Hollywood mayor John Duran . Declawing, opening the door for behavioral issues that can create even more risk for immunocompromised persons seems, to Duran, to be a less controversial issue, but he’s wrong. After passing the ban his city is sued by California Veterinary Medical Association and is fought up to the state supreme court, where the city prevails

In 2009, after they are unable to defeat West
Hollywood, the CVMA along with the American Veterinary Medical Association and local chapters lobby
Sacramento a ban on bans, SB-762. SB-762 passes with a loophole allowing cities that pass declawing bans by January 1, 2010 – setting Conrad’s Paw Project into action. The issue becomes a proxy for a larger political discussion: individual city governments would prefer Sacramento say out of their business.
Conrad interviews several players, including vets who mostly remain in agreement with her, in a straightforward matter. The film has the visual style of a corporate training video, with little flash beyond some computer animation; it’s a testament to just how easy it is to tell a story you have an inside track on with limited technology and I applaud Conrad for doing so. The point is made early on (and continues to be made) that declawing is big business for the veterinary industry verses other alternatives, including rubber slippers that slide over claws, like a pair of Vibram FiveFingers. I do wish she found someone, other than the usual suspects like the CVMA, who would talk to her about this practice. The defense comes in the form of awkward promotional videos.
The Paw Project , to its credit, does play straight, relying heavily on medical evidence and very little on fluffy/adorable factor. This is, thankfully, not a movie about adorable cats on YouTube, but a call to action that hopefully will have broad appeal beyond the choir it preaches to. Taking the health and well being issue seriously the film is an effective grass roots tool. Running a very brisk 56 minutes, it doesn’t break new ground for documentary form, but it sets out to make its point and does so credibly.
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Any documentary as unabashedly one-sided and geeked-out on science and city council hearings as The
Paw Project is at risk of being tedious or unpersuasive. But the story of veterinarian Jennifer Conrad 's crusade to outlaw declawing of cats is eye-opening and sometimes charming. A cold open on the controversy segues to a slow intro of its hero, who wrote and directed; some initial awkwardness is, thankfully, fleeting. Conrad and another vet devise a surgical repair for declawed lions and other big cats that are disfigured, crippled, arthritic, and in pain. The project proves overwhelming, though, and doesn't even include the millions of domestic cats suffering the same way. Conrad and a retinue of vets, cat

owners, and other experts go for prevention by lobbying at city halls throughout California in hopes of banning the practice. But what would seem like a slam-dunk case is not, thanks to the entrenched interests of veterinary associations, depressingly akin to humans' fights with our own healthcare powers that be.
Editor Allan Holzman skillfully weaves arguments and images, which include droll moments as well as heartbreaking truths, and gives the political drama a cinematic flow. A declawed cat, says charismatic behavior expert Jackson Galaxy , is "not as apt to play; they're not as much a cat." Even a dog person can understand how wrong that is.