FREEHOLD, NJ – The New Jersey Appellate Division has ruled that the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) is not considered a “public agency” under the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), meaning the nonprofit organization is not required to release records under that law.
The decision, issued Friday, stems from an appeal filed by plaintiff Steven Wronko, who sought access to MCSPCA records under OPRA. The court affirmed a June 2024 trial court order that found the animal welfare group exempt from public records obligations.
Writing for the panel, Judge Marczyk explained that while the MCSPCA provides humane law enforcement services for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) through a Memorandum of Understanding, it functions as a private nonprofit—not a governmental body. Because the prosecutor’s office is an “office” rather than a “political subdivision” under state statute, the court found that the MCSPCA acts as an instrumentality of an office rather than a public agency.
The ruling drew on precedent from Verry v. Franklin Fire District No. 1 (2017), where the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a volunteer fire company was not a public agency for OPRA purposes. The panel concluded that the same reasoning applied to the MCSPCA.
The court also traced the legislative history behind New Jersey’s 2018 restructuring of animal cruelty enforcement, which dissolved the state SPCA’s law enforcement powers and transferred them to county prosecutor’s offices. Although the MCSPCA continues to assist local authorities, the judges determined that its relationship with the MCPO does not transform it into a government entity.
As a result, the appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the Monmouth County SPCA is not subject to OPRA disclosure requirements.
The Appellate Division ruled that the Monmouth County SPCA operates as a private nonprofit and is not bound by New Jersey’s public records law.