newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE TYRRELL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Comprised of public officials, with employees covered by the state pension system, the New Jersey League of Municipalities is also a public agency when it comes to answering to the public, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

Overturning lower courts, a unanimous high court ruled in favor of a Cherry Hill housing group that sought information about the league's opposition to state fair-share housing regulations.

"We have no authority, or reason, to erect artificial judicial hurdles for a citizen to gain access to a government record," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote in his opinion.

The Supreme Court pointed out that the state Legislature in 1915 authorized creation of the league, which lobbies on behalf of all the state's 566 municipalities.

"A 1955 Attorney General Memorandum Opinion declared the League was 'a public agency or organization,'" making its employees eligible for pensions and benefits, Albin wrote. Some 16 percent of its budget comes directly from the taxpayers through membership fees, he added.

In 2008, the league opposed new regulations proposed by the state Council on Affordable Housing for a third round of housing obligations. Under the state Supreme Court's Mt. Laurel housing doctrines, towns have an obligation to provide for low- and moderate-cost housing.

The league contended the proposed rules would cost builders and property taxpayers "nearly $19 billion" and negatively impact the state economy.

Fair Share Housing Center Inc., an advocate for low-income residents, then wrote to the league, asking for any studies, records or correspondence that supported those claims. League Executive Director William Dressel refused, saying the league is not covered by the state Open Public Records Act or the common law of access to public records.

The state Government Records Council, established to referee such conflicts and keep them out of the courts, chose to side with the league, declaring it "is not a public agency under OPRA."

The defense tried to compare the league to "a trade association" and giving "no weight" the 1955 Attorney General opinion, Albin wrote. Appellate judges agreed, rejecting the argument that the league is a combination of political subdivisions, administered and staffed by public officials and employees.

But the Supreme Court found the league meets the legal definition of an instrumentality created by political subdivisions.

"That plain language places the League squarely within the term 'public agency,'" Albin wrote, adding that it "is achieving an end and providing a function on behalf of all 566 of New Jersey’s municipalities."

By combining towns' resources and personnel, the league "can do for all municipalities what no one municipality can do for itself," lobbying the Legislature, filing lawsuits, conducting educational programs, the opinion said. Moreover, it is is "controlled by elected or appointed officials."

The lower courts erred by importing a definition of public body from the state's limited Open Public Meetings Act, according to the Supreme Court. That "Sunshine Law" applies only to bodies that perform a government function or are authorized to expend public funds.

"The language defining a 'public body' under OPMA and the language defining 'public agency' under OPRA are distinctly different," according to the ruling.

Language in the ruling also could have implications for the current legal dispute over public records between Newark Mayor Cory Booker and a parents' group.