§ 20. Construction. 1. Where a power granted by this statute relates
to the property, affairs or government of a local government, its
inclusion herein shall not be deemed to imply that the legislature has
construed such power as not relating to the property, affairs or
government of such local government or as restricting the powers of such
local government in relation to its property, affairs or government to
those powers included herein.

2. Nothing in this statute shall operate to restrict the meaning of or
diminish or impair any power granted to a local government by the
constitution or by any other law; nor shall the failure to include a
power of a local government in this statute operate to restrict the
meaning of or diminish or impair such power.

3. No power granted in this statute shall be deemed repealed,
diminished, impaired or suspended by the enactment of any subsequent act
of the legislature, unless such act shall be enacted and re-enacted as
prescribed in paragraph one of subdivision (b) of section two of article
nine of the constitution and section twelve of this statute and unless
such act shall contain a specific reference to this statute.

4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this statute
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,
paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

5. Powers granted to local governments by this statute shall be
liberally construed.

6. This chapter shall not affect or impair section sixteen hundred
seven of chapter eight hundred seventy-nine of the laws of nineteen
hundred thirty-six.