In Matter of Smith v. City University of New York, 92 N.Y.2d 707 [1999] the Court of Appeals stated that in determining whether an entity is a public body within the meaning of the Open Meetings Law, various criteria are relevant. These criteria included the authority under which the entity was created, the power distribution under which it exists, the nature of its role, the power it possesses and under which it purports to act, and a realistic appraisal of its functional relationship to affected parties and constituencies. In the Smith case, the Court of Appeals held that the College Association of La Guardia Community College, a CUNY college, was subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings Law. The association was comprised of administrators, faculty, and students. It was authorized to review proposed budgets for student activities, to allocate fees, and to authorize disbursements. The Court found the association to be a formally chartered entity with officially delegated duties and organizational attributes of a substantive nature and, accordingly, deemed it to be a public body performing a governmental function. It noted that the association was invested with decision-making authority to implement its own initiatives and that, as a practical matter, its recommendations and actions were executed unilaterally, or with mere perfunctory review. Thus, a decision by the association not to appropriate funds to an activity was tantamount to a final determination. The Court thus concluded that the association plainly functioned as much more than a mere advisory board, that it was powerfully and substantively autonomous, and that it clearly was not just a club or an extracurricular activity.