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DRPA has questions about reforms

The Delaware River Port Authority continued to grapple with reform-minded resolutions yesterday, claiming that some violated the Constitution and were fraught with legal peril and that another, limiting post-employment work, was unworkable.

The Delaware River Port Authority continued to grapple with reform-minded resolutions yesterday, claiming that some violated the Constitution and were fraught with legal peril and that another, limiting post-employment work, was unworkable.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a DRPA resolution aimed at prohibiting former DRPA employees from accepting positions with companies with which the agency did business. During a terse visit last month, Christie said he wanted a tougher resolution.

Yesterday, however, the DRPA board narrowly rejected a revamped resolution that included a two-year ban on employees or commissioners working for companies that had prior involvement with the agency.

"I think this is a terrible policy and a terrible resolution," DRPA Chairman John Estey said before the vote.

The commissioners listened to counsel from both states for nearly an hour as they warned about the constitutional challenges that would arise if the board passed resolutions limiting political donations by its vendors.

"There are serious issues with restrictions on this type of speech," said Alan Kessler, general counsel for Pennsylvania. "Someone would challenge."

The commissioners voted to table the resolution until counsel for Christie and Gov. Rendell could offer suggestions that would help the measure hold up to legal scrutiny.

The board did manage to pass a reform aimed at barring employees and commissioners from doing political work on DRPA time.

If the board wished to be in "lock-step" with Christie, Pennsylvania Commissioner John Dougherty suggested it introduce resolutions to cut back salaries. Dougherty also hinted at allegations involving a favor between the agency's police department and its legal department, which received a sharp rebuke from the DRPA's police chief and its general counsel.

"It's crap," general counsel Richard Brown murmured at Dougherty, before repeating the phrase loudly.