Plaintiff appealed from the trial court's order finding defendant Monmouth County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) is not a public agency under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -13. The question before the court was whether the MCSPCA—a non-profit entity that provides humane law enforcement services for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office (MCPO) under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)—is a public agency required to disclose records under OPRA. The court concluded the MCSPCA is not a public agency under OPRA because the MCPO is not a political subdivision under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, but rather an office. Therefore, the MCSPCA is an instrumentality of an office, analogous to the volunteer fire company in Verry v. Franklin Fire District No. 1, 230 N.J. 285 (2017), which our Supreme Court held did not fall within OPRA's definition of a public agency.
The court concluded the MCSPCA derived its authority to perform law enforcement functions from the MCPO through an MOU. The MCPO has the discretion to appoint the MCSPCA but was not required to do so. Moreover, the MCPO is responsible to supervise the law enforcement functions of the MCSPCA. N.J.S.A. 4:22-14.4(a)(2)(b). This delegation of authority does not transform the MCSPCA into a public agency for the purpose of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.
The court was mindful the law enforcement responsibilities of the MCSPCA are considered traditional government functions. However, that was not dispositive of whether the MCSPCA is a public agency subject to OPRA under our jurisprudence. Volunteer fire companies also exercise a governmental function. SeeVerry, 230 N.J. at 300; N.J.S.A. 40A:14-70.1(b). Nevertheless, the Verry Court determined the volunteer fire department at issue there was not a public agency under OPRA's statutory framework. 230 N.J. at 288.
Lastly, the court observed plaintiff is not without recourse. Law enforcement-related documents may be requested through the MCPO based on its supervisory authority over the MCSPCA as set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:22-14.4(a)(2)(b) and the MOU.