A Joint Powers Authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some states of the USA, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts) can operate collectively. Joint Powers Authorities may be used where:
- an activity naturally transcends the boundaries of existing public authorities. An example would be the Transbay JPA, set up to promote the construction of a new transit center in San Francisco, with several transportation boards and counties around the San Francisco Bay Area as members;
- by combining their commercial efforts, public authorities can achieve economies of scale or market power. An example is U.S. Communities, a purchasing consortium of local government agencies.
Joint powers authorities are particularly widely used in California (where they are permitted under Section 6500 of the State Government Code), but they are also found in other states.
A joint powers authority is distinct from the member authorities; they have separate operating boards of directors. These boards can be given any of the powers inherent in all of the participating agencies. The authorizing agreement states the powers the new authority will be allowed to exercise. The term, membership, and standing orders of the board of the authority must also be specified. The joint authority may employ staff and establish policies independently of the constituent authorities.
Joint powers authorities receive existing powers from the creating governments; thus, they are distinct from special districts, which receive new delegations of sovereign power from the state.
Famous quotes containing the words joint, powers and/or authority:
“I learned from the git-go in the joint to get in touch with the soft, nurturing side of myself, the feminine side.”
—Wesley Strick, U.S. screenwriter, and Martin Scorsese. Max Cady (Robert DeNiro)
“The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the shadowy and of the Egypt the Sphinx. Throughout history, the powers of single blacks flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“In colonial America, the father was the primary parent. . . . Over the past two hundred years, each generation of fathers has had less authority than the last. . . . Masculinity ceased to be defined in terms of domestic involvement, skills at fathering and husbanding, but began to be defined in terms of making money. Men had to leave home to work. They stopped doing all the things they used to do.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)