New Jersey Statutes Title 18A. Education 18A § 71A-3

The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, a body corporate and politic, shall be established in the Executive Branch of the State Government and for the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the authority is allocated in but not of the Department of State. The authority shall constitute an instrumentality of the State exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this act in the furthering of access to postsecondary education, whether by loans, grants, scholarships or other means, shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State. The authority shall submit its budget request directly to the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.