NY Books and Law Review Articles

A Short Constitutional History of Entities Commonly Known as Authorities, 56 Cornell L.Rev. 521 (1971) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: William J. Quirk and Leon E. Wein HeinOnline subscribers can access the article here.

Adam Paul Gordon Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 01/01/2012 “Turning the Lights On:  An Analysis of the fiduciary Duty Provisions of the New York State Public Authority Reform Act” by Adam Paul Gordon.  Volume 56, 2011/12 (attached).

Agenda For a City: Issues Confronting New York Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 01/01/1970 Author: Lyle C. Fitch & Annmarie Hauck Walsh

An Analysis of Authorities: Traditional and Multicounty, 71 Mich. L.R. 1376 (1973) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles “For years state and local governments have used the authority device to provide revenue-generating services. Among the reasons for the popularity of authorities have been their ability to finance capital facilities without increasing taxes or violating state debt restrictions on local governments and the belief that they operate more efficiently that other governmental bodies because of their corporate structure and powers. In recent years, however, the jurisdictional flexibility of authorities, which allows them to be superimposed on a given area without regard to existing city and county boundaries, has become increasingly important in decisions to create them. . . . This Comment will briefly define and describe authorities in general, as well as the new multicounty authorities. Their legal status and practical advantages and disadvantages will be explored. Finally, an attempt will be made to isolate the uses to which multicounty authorities can most profitably be put in light of the conflicting goals of maximum governmental efficiency and public accountability.”JSTOR subscribers can access the article here.

Are New York State’s Public Authorities Performing Well? Who Knows? Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Dennis C. Smith This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Assessing the Fourth Branch of Government: The Benefits and Challenges of Public Authorities in New York State Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 03/04/2005 Author: Bennet Liebman This article was prepared for the 2005 symposium Assessing the Fourth Branch of Government: The Benefits and Challenges of Public Authorities in New York State. The program agenda is available here, and video of the symposium is available here. The article presents a historical overview of public authorities in New York State.

“Turning the Lights On: An Analysis of the fiduciary Duty Provisions of the New York State Public Authority Reform Act” Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Adam Paul Gordon

The Use and Abuse of Special Purpose Entities in Public Finance Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 03/12/2012 Author: Steven L. Schwarcz

Building the Twentieth-Century Public Works Machine: Robert Moses and the Public Authority, in Reindustrializing New York State: Strategies, Implications, and Challenges, pp. 231-256 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1985 Author: Lines, Jon J., Ellen L. Parker, and David C. Perry

Can A Private Corporate Analysis of Public Authority Administration Lead to Democracy? Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, New York Law School Review, Vol. 50, No. 851, 2006. Social Science Research Network

Can a Private Corporate Analysis of Public Authority Administration Lead to Democracy?, 50 N.Y. L. Sch. L. Rev. 851 (2006) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Jonathan D. Rosenbloom As the abstract to the article, here linked to SSRN, states:”Over the past ninety years, cities and states have increasingly shifted control and oversight over government services from elected officials to quasi-private entities, called “public authorities”. Today, public authorities perform thousands of services previously provided by state and local governments, such as mass transit, economic development and housing. In executing these services, public authorities borrow more money than all of the cities and states combined, and in some states, such as New York, they issue over 90% of the public debt.While public authorities are authorized to perform public services, they are specifically organized around a private sector model. The most common justification for structuring public authorities around the private sector model is that the model inherently achieves an increase in efficiency and independence in the provision of government services. Despite their rapid growth and increased issuance of debt, public authorities have received little critical analysis. Further, there is no existing standard to establish whether public authorities are meeting “efficiency, expertise and independence.”This article sets forth one such standard based on private sector norms. It evaluates public authorities based on: (1) corporate responsibility measures; (2) market forces; and (3) internal monitoring systems. Based on the analysis, the article proposes a restructuring of public services to form regional governments or municipal cooperation, rooted in collaboration and efficiencies lost in the provision of public services through public authorities.

Can public authorities “just get things done”? An analysis of politically buffered institutions in a contentious policy arena Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Carolyn Jordan Bourdeaux

Conduit Financing: A Primer and Look Around the Corner Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Kenneth W. Bond This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Crisis in the Making: The Political Economy of New York State since 1945 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/2008 Author: McClelland, Peter D., and Allen L. Magdovitz

Empire on the Hudson: Entrepreneurial Vision and Political Power at the Port of New York Authority Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/2000 Author: Jameson Doig

Ethics Laws and the Public Authorities of New York State Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Karl J. Sleight and Joan P. Sullivan This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Financing Infrastructure Tools for the Future Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 10/31/1988 Author: Feldman, Roger D., Richard Mudge, and Kenneth I. Rubin

Getting Past the Prisoners’ Dilemma: Transparency and Accountability Reforms to Improve New York’s Industrial Development Agencies Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Amy Lavine This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Government Railways in a Democratic State, Economic Journal 2, 629-636 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 12/31/1969 Author: Acworth, W. M.

Guidelines for Directors’ Ethics and Compliance Program Oversight Responsibilities Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Dana H. Fryer Corporate governance reforms and the responsibility of directors to ensure that the company follows effective compliance programs.

Guidelines for Directors’ Ethics and Compliance Program Oversight Responsibilities, 1536 PLI/Corp 915 (2006) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Dana H. Freyer

History of Conduit Financing Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: George Weissman This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

How Public Authorities Have Complied With the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 (PAAA) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Janis Fallon This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Interpreting the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Judson Vickers This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Is Authority Financing the Answer?, American City 70: 115-116 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1954 Author: Alderfer, Harold F

Is the Private Sector Really a Model of Efficiency and Independence? Re-evaluating the Use of Public Authorities During Recessionary Times Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Jonathan D. Rosenbloom This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Keynote Address by Ira M. Millstein, NACD Annual Corporate Governance Conference, Washington D.C., 1449 PLI/Corp 297 (2003) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Ira M. Millstein

Labor Relations in Public Authorities: The New York State Experience, Policy Studies Journal 18 (Summer): 1015-1031 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1989 Author: Joel M. Douglas

Metropolitan Transportation Policies and the New York Region Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Doig, Jameson W

Moses on the Green Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1958 Author: Keeley, John B

New York Public Authorities: Changing form and Function, National Civic Review Vol. 63, Issue 6 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Aron, Joan

New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal: Public Authority Reform Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 12/01/2009 This issue of the NYSBA Government Law and Policy Journal is devoted to the topic of public authority reform. Topics include the use of public authorities during recessionary times, the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009, the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005, conduit financing, comptroller oversight, industrial development agencies, and ethics laws.

New York State Public Authority Reform: Where We Have Come From and Where We Need to Go Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Lynn Wilson and Clayton Eichelberger This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

New York State’s Other Government: The Long Shadow of Public Authorities Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1983 Author: Bang-Jensen, Lise

New York’s Urban Development Corporation: A Study on the Unchecked Power of a Public Authority, 43 Brook. L.R. 237 (1977) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1976 Author: Osborn, John E This 1977 article discusses moral obligation financing and the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a public authority chartered in 1968 and tasked with financing, planning, and constructing industrial, civic, and residential facilities.HeinOnline users can access the article here.

New York, in Telecommunications Policy and Economic Development, pp. 111-143 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 09/25/1989

New York: The Politics of Urban Regional Development Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1982 Author: Danielson, Michael N., Jameson W. Doig

Our Other Governments: The Public Authorities, New York State Today, pp. 198-204 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1988 Author: Henderson, Keith M.

Oversight of Public Authority Contracts by the State Comptroller Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Kim Fine This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Power Broker Robert Moses and the Fall of New York Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 07/25/1975 Author: Caro, Robert

Public Authority Controversies: Root Causes and Lessons Learned Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Scott Fein This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Public Works: A Dangerous Trade Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1969 Author: Moses, Robert

Public/private development: lessons from history, research, and practice, Journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 73, no. 1 (Mar. 2007) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Lynne B. Sagalyn Abstract:Public/private partnerships have become a favored strategy for implementing complex urban developments in the United States and Western Europe, but the large volume of literature on the topic falls short of providing city planners, development experts, and policy analysts the knowledge needed for either teaching or practice. In the late 1970s, the blurring of lines between public and private action spurred significant intellectual debate in the U.S. literature, and concern that those financing and carrying out public/ private projects had too much influence compared to those who would ultimately pay for or be affected by the projects. As a consequence, the early literature on public/private development projects in the United States did little to enlighten. This has been changing, however, and academic literature from abroad has used inventive means to analyze public/private developments and generalize about their impacts and significance. I synthesize the case-based research on public/private development projects to extract insights and lessons for planning, deal making, and performance, concluding by recommending the additional research that I consider most needed.

Recommendations to Increase the Usefulness of Public Authorities and Corporations Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: City Club of New York

Reconsidering the Determinants of Public Authority Use, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct.1997) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 10/01/1997 Author: Howard Frant Abstract:This article investigates the causes of differences among the states in the use of independent public authorities. Contrary to the findings in previous work, I find that the evidence does not support the view that authorities are “borrowing machines,” created to provide better access to capital markets. Rather, the factors associated with use of authorities seem distinct from those associated with general obligation borrowing, which suggests that purely fiscal motivations are not primary determinants of the use of authorities.

Reforming the State’s Public Authorities, NY Affairs 9:50-57 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Leigland, James

Robert Moses: Single Minded Genius Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 08/31/1989 Author: Krieg, Joann, ed

Shadow government: the hidden world of public authorities–and how they control over $1 trillion of your money (1992) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Donald Axelrod Axelrod’s expose on public authorities covers the history and evolution of authorities, their evasion of state constitutional debt limits, and other ways in which they have been abused. He highlights the fact that the benefits of public authorities often accrue to bond underwriters, bond raters, attorneys, developers and brokerage firms–but only at the public’s expense. Axelrod’s solution is to get rid of constitutional debt limits and convince the public to support state debt bonds for infrastructure, capital and development projects.

The Abuse of Power: the Permanent Government and the Fall of New York Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 06/01/1977 Author: Newfield, Jack, Paul Du Brul

The Constitutional History of New York Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Charles Z. Lincoln Lincoln’s Constitutional History of New York is the preeminent source documenting the evolution of the state constitution during the 19th century, and it includes numerous discussions relating to the constitutional treatment of state lending to public and municipal corporations. All five volumes are available as PDFs through the link to the New York State Library Digital Collection.

The Disfavored Constitution: State Fiscal Limits and State Constitutional Law, 34 Rutgers L.J. 907 (2003) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: RIchard Briffault From the article’s introduction: “Fiscal limits, as well as positive rights, thus characterize state constitutional law. Indeed, the states’ fiscal constitutional provisions may offset the more widely heralded positive rights provisions. By giving priority to taxpayers over service recipients, these provisions can make it more difficult for states and localities to raise funds to finance public services…. This Article examines these fiscal limits and their significance for state constitutional law. I refer to these limits as the “disfavored constitution” for two reasons. First, they have been disfavored by state constitutional law scholars, who have largely ignored the state fiscal constitution in favor of other state constitutional provisions. Second, to a considerable degree, they have been disfavored by state courts, who frequently read the fiscal provisions narrowly, technically, and formalistically – often more like bond indentures than statements of important constitutional norms.”

The Effect of Constitutional Debt Limits on State Governments’ Use of Public Authorities, Public Choice, Vol. 68, No. 1/3 (Jan. 1991) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Beverly S. Bunch “This paper expands on the literature by using data from the 1980s to empirically test whether state governments use public authorities to circumvent constitutional debt limits. This analysis develops numerical estimates of the impact of state constitutional debt limits on the number of state public authorities, the scope of their functions, and the extent to which a state government relies on authorities to issue debt that is used to finance public infrastructure.” (JSTOR)

The Effectiveness of Firm-Specific State Tax Incentives in Promoting Economic Development: Evidence from New York State’s Industrial Development Agencies (Economic Development Quarterly, Feb. 1996) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 02/01/1996 Author: Robert G. Lynch, Gunther Fishgold & Dona L. Blackwood Abstract:This article discusses the effectiveness of industrial development agencies (IDAs) in contributing to economic development in New York State by providing firm-specific tax incentives. The costs of IDAs, especially in terms of foregone tax revenues, are documented. The benefits of IDAs are partially reviewed, and a methodology for the wider evaluation of the benefits of IDAs–which may yet become possible–is set forth. The authors conclude that New York State’s experience with its IDAs provides evidence that firm-specific tax incentives are ineffective in promoting economic development. The reason is straightforward: An analysis of evidence shows that the benefits of IDAs are questionable, whereas their costs, in terms of foregone tax revenues, are clear and substantial. Between 1987 and 1991, for example, IDA activity resulted in few verifiable economic benefits to New York State, although causing state and local governments to lose over $1.3 billion in tax revenues.

The Permanent Government: Who Really Rules New York? Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1981 Author: Newfield, Jack, and Paul DuBral

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in Public Enterprise: Studies in Organizational Structure, pp. 131-165 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Louis L. J. Gambaccini

The Port of New York Authority Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1941 Author: Bard, Erwin

The Power Authority of the State of New York: Accountability and Public Policy Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1981 Author: Longshore, Richard

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Vintage Books ed. 1975) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Robert A. Caro

The Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 (pending enactment) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Scott Fein This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

The Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 Bringing Transparency, Accountability, and a System of Checks and Balances to New York’s Shadow Governments Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Assemblyman Richard Brodsky This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

The Public Authority, 105 U. Pa. L. Rev. 553 (1956-1957) Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Jerome J. Shestack

The Quiet Evolution: Power, Planning, and Profits in New York State Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1987 Author: Heiman, Michael K

The Use and Abuse of Special-Purpose Entities in Public Finance Category: ALL Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 09/13/2011 Author: Steven L. Schwarcz

They Builded Better Than They Knew Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1945 Author: Cohen, Julius Henry

Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Seymour P. Lachman and David Simon Three Men in a Room is an insider’s exposé of how New York’s government, one of the country’s largest and most powerful,has become a model of inefficient and undemocratic governance. Seymour Lachman describes what he found when he arrived in the halls of the state senate: a Potemkin village of government where legislators vote on bills they haven’t read during legislative sessions they haven’t attended. After four terms, Lachman left his safe seat in disgust, and wrote this sharp, mordant, and impassioned call for reform. Questioning the use of public authorities, Lachman notes that while these entities carried $227 billion of debt in 2006, “only $56 billion-one quarter of the total-will be repaid through revenues generated by the authorities, such as tolls and other usage fees. Another $40 billion will be repaid by universities and hospitals that have availed themselves of funding throught the Dormitory and other authorities. The remainder, $187 billion, is to be paid off from state and local government revenues-another politer, and less-threatening-to-voters way of saying ‘taxes.'”Visit the publisher’s website, or read a review here.

To Claim the Seas and the Skies: Austin Tobin and the Port of New York Authority, in Leadership and Innovation: A Biographical Perspective on Entrepreneurs in Government, pp. 124-173 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 11/30/1986 Author: Jameson W. Doig

Transit Board Members: Who Are They and What Do They Do?, Transit Journal 3 (Fall): 51-69 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Horn, Kevin H

Turning the Lights On Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles

Turning the Lights On: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Duty Provisions of the New York State Public Authority Reform Act Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 05/01/2011 Author: Adam Paul Gordon

Turning the Lights On: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Duty Provisions of the New York State Public Authority Reform Act Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Adam Paul Gordon

Turning the Lights On: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Duty Provisions of the New York State Public Authority Reform Act Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Adam Paul Gordon, New York Law Review Vol. 56/2011-12

Urban Development Corporation Act section 17 Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles

What Happened to Authority Reform? Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Author: Charles Brecher This article appeared in the Fall 2009 edition of the New York State Bar Association Government, Law and Policy Journal, which was devoted to the topic of public authority reform. View the entire journal here.

Would a State Constitutional Amendment Promote Public Authority Fiscal Reform? (NYSBA Gov’t, Law & Pol’y J. Spring 2010, Vol. 12, No. 1) Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 04/01/2010 Author: Scott Fein Recent interest in the reform of State public authority borrowing practices has increased discussion about the need for a constitutional amendment to place limits on the ability of the State to borrow in the absence of voter approval. The growth of the number of State and local public authorities in New York, now numbering more than 600, and the fact that State public authorities are responsible for 85 percent of the State’s infrastructure and 93 percent of the State’s indebtedness incurred outside of the constitutionally mandated voter approval process, has fueled the discussion. This article examines the background of the issue and the likelihood that a new constitutional provision limiting the role of authority borrowing could make any meaningful change in the State’s fiscal practices.

Zee Public Authority Problem Category: NY Sub-category: Books and Law Review Articles Publication Date: 08/23/2011 Author: Harvard Law & Policy Rev