Answer: B. the authority of a local government to exercise broad powers
Step-by-step explanation:
Home rule used to refer to the authority that a colony or dependent country had to rule over itself but can also refer to the powers of the local government to conduct affairs in its domain.
Home rule is very important because it decentralizes government and makes sure that people are able to see the effects of governance at a local level and thus have influence in deciding how they are ruled at the most visible level of local government.