| May 13, 1992
Barry Skokowski,
Sr.
Deputy Commissioner
Department of Community Affairs
CN 800
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Re: 92-0055:
Whether the Atlantic City
Convention Center Authority is subject
to the Local Government Ethics Law.
Dear Deputy Commissioner Skokowski:
You have requested
advice as to whether the Atlantic City
Convention Center Authority, N.J.S.A. 52:27H-29 et seq., is a
"local government agency" pursuant to the Local Government
Ethics
Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq., and therefore, whether the
Authority's members and employees are "local government officers"
or "local government employees" subject to the requirements
of the
Law. For the following reasons you are advised that the Atlantic
City Convention Center Authority is not a "local government
agency"
for purposes of the Local Government Ethics Law and that the
Authority's members and employees are not "local government
officers" or "local government employees" subject
to the
requirements of the Law.
A "local
government agency" includes
any agency,
board, governing body, including
the chief executive officer, bureau, division,
office, commission or other instrumentality
within a county or municipality, and any
independent local authority, including any
entity created by more than one county or
municipality, which performs functions other
than of a purely advisory nature, but shall
not include a school board. [N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.3(e)].
Thus, a "local
government agency" is any local body other than
a body which performs purely advisory duties and school boards.
The "local government officers," N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.3(g),
and the
"local government employees," N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.3(f),
of a "local
government agency" are subject to a code of ethics. N.J.S.A.
40A:9-22.5. Further, "local government officers" are required
to
annually file a financial disclosure statement. N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.6.
The Atlantic
City Convention Center Authority was created in
1982. L. 1981, c. 459 (effective January 12, 1982). The purpose
of
the Authority is to promote, operate, and maintain the Atlantic
City Convention Center. N.J.S.A. 52:27H-29. The Authority
consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and the
governing body of Atlantic City. N.J.S.A. 52:27H-32. The
Authority may appoint and compensate officers, employees, and
agents to carry out its purposes. N.J.S.A. 52:27H-40(h). The
Authority's annual budget is subject to the approval of the
governing body of Atlantic City and the Director of the Division
of
Local Government Services. N.J.S.A. 52:27H-43.
The Authority
is a public body corporate and politic, and it
is an instrumentality of the State. N.J.S.A. 52:27H-31. For the
purposes of complying with the New Jersey Constitution, the
Authority is allocated within the Department of Commerce and
Economic Development. Ibid. Accordingly, the Atlantic City
Convention Center Authority is a State agency and not a "local
government agency" within the meaning of the Local Government
Ethics Law. It follows that the Authority's members and employees
are not subject to the Local Government Ethics Law.
Therefore, for
the foregoing reasons you are advised that the
Atlantic City Convention Center Authority is not a "local
government agency" pursuant to the Local Government Ethics
Law.
Further, the members and employees of the Authority are not "local
government officers" or "local government employees"
subject to the
requirements of the Local Government Ethics Law.
Very truly yours,
ROBERT
J. DEL TUFO
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY
By:__________________________________
John J. Chernoski
Senior Deputy Attorney General
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