Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. · ¶40

rather than an unincorporated government agency, precisely because of its independent legal status. This move allows the State to distance the entity from burdens that apply to the State itself or to distance the State from the burdens that the corporate entity may incur. For instance, States initially created banks as corporations in part because States themselves are not permitted to “emit Bills of Credit” under the Constitution. Art. I, § 10; see Briscoe, 11 Pet., at 326– 327. States have also created corporations to circumvent state constitutional debt limitations placed on state agencies. See, e. g., Schulz v. State, 84 N. Y. 2d 231, 243–244, 639 N. E. 2d 1140, 1145–1146 (1994). When it comes to facilitating certain projects, such as high-risk, long-term capital investments, States may establish corporations in order to shield themselves from the responsibility and, more…

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