A Selected Bibliography on Special Districts and Authorities in the United States, Annotated

Excerpts from the report: Special districts and authorities are public corporate entities which exist outside the regular structure of government. They exist for special, usually single purposes, and perform limited functions. They are formed under a variety of statutory procedures, and are governed by an elected or appointed board of directors. Special districts are distinguished from authorities by two main criteria. First, special districts almost always possess a territorial jurisdiction, while authorities usually do not. Second, special districts usually possess some form of taxing power, while authorities rely upon revenue-producing enterprises, and normally have no taxing power. It can easily be seen that these two criteria are closely related. If an authority relies upon tolls or user charges, there is no need to define any boundaries. If, on the other hand, taxes are to be levied, the properties which are to bear the tax must be defined geographically. It is because of the growing importance of special districts and authorities that this bibliography has been compiled. It is meant to be of service to anyone interested in them, whether he be a district organizer, a lawyer engaged in litigation involving these entities, a legislator trying to improve them, or a citizen seeking a better understanding of these agencies of his local government. Particularly, though, it is hoped that this bibliography will be of special value and utility to the researcher who wants to find in one place a guide to the literature and information from which new investigations and research on this subject can begin.