Public Records and FOIA

Public Authority

Public authorities are corporate instruments of the State created by the Legislature to further public interests. Public authorities have various levels of autonomy from the State based on the powers, as well as the constraints, built into their legislative mandate. Some public authorities are completely self-supporting and operate entirely outside the budget process, while others rely on State appropriations to fund operations. In addition, most authorities are authorized to issue bonds—without voter approval—to develop and maintain infrastructure, such as roads and schools, or to fund projects for third parties, including hospitals and nursing homes. The debt service for these bonds is usually supported by revenues of the project, such as tolls that are levied by the authority, fees paid by the third party or appropriated payments from the State to repay outstanding debt. The State has also assigned specific revenue streams to an authority as a way for the authority to pay debt service.

Unlike traditional State agencies, many authorities conduct business outside of the typical oversight and accountability requirements for operations including, but not limited to, employment practices, contracts and procurement procedures, and financial reporting. Each public authority is governed by a separate board of directors appointed by elected officials for varying terms of office.