Dissolution of a Public Authority

Authorities Authorized in Statute

Public benefit corporations authorized under Public Authorities Law or General Municipal Law require an act of the New York State Legislature to dissolve.

If you believe that your authority created under PAL or GML should dissolve, the ABO recommends that you contact your local legislators to introduce legislation through a home rule message to dissolve the authority. A resolution adopted by the affiliated municipality stating that the authority is inactive and supporting the statutory dissolution of the authority should be provided to the ABO. Authorities in the process of dissolving created under PAL or GML will remain a public authority until such time as it is dissolved by the Legislature.

Not-for-Profit Corporations

In order to dissolve an authority created under Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, the board of directors must follow a formal process, as outlined by the Attorney General's Office:

Once the dissolution process is complete, the Department of State will send the corporation a receipt stating that the corporation's Certificate of Dissolution has been filed.

If your authority has begun the dissolution process, please provide copies to the ABO of any relevant dissolution documents, such as a Resolution adopted by the board to dissolve, or papers filed with the Attorney General's Office. When the ABO receives the official Certificate of Dissolution, the authority will be removed from the list of covered authorities.

Authorities in the process of dissolving are expected to comply with the public disclosure, reporting and corporate governance provisions of Public Authorities Law until such time as it is officially dissolved. The failure to comply with Public Authorities Law can result in the ABO taking enforcement action against the corporation's board of directors.