Bistate bill to overhaul DRPA languishing in N.J.

New Jersey Democrats are fuming over last-minute vetoes issued by Govs. Christie and Andrew Cuomo of their proposed overhaul of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. But while lawmakers have expended great energy trying to overhaul that agency, they have left alone another one with its own share of problems: the Delaware River Port Authority.

In April, New Jersey and Pennsylvania lawmakers stood near the Camden waterfront and took the unusual step of announcing bistate legislation to reorganize the DRPA, which for more than a year has been under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia over hundreds of millions of dollars in politically connected economic-development spending.

The bill - which would prohibit such spending, require biennial audits, and force the agency to comply with the two states' public-records laws - has advanced in Pennsylvania but gone nowhere in the Garden State.

That is unlikely to change without the support of New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, the powerful Gloucester County Democrat who has wide latitude to decide which bills advance to legislative committees for hearings.

To become law, the bill would need to pass both state legislatures, be signed by the governors, pass Congress, and be signed by the president.

"We haven't had one hearing on this bill. Why?" New Jersey Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R., Morris), a sponsor of the bill, said in a recent interview.

"If it were up to me," he added, "we should show the same concerns and respect for the commuters and taxpayers of South Jersey that we're showing for North Jersey."

Sweeney, whose office declined to comment for this article, has said the legislation was unnecessary.

"What they're asking to be done has been done," Sweeney, whose brother Richard sits on the DRPA board, told The Inquirer in April. "The DRPA has returned to its original mission, and that's a good thing."

In a wide-ranging July interview, Sweeney said: "I know there's a lot been talked about economic development. But that was all things that were done in the past. I think all these authorities should focus on their original mission, which is transportation - all of them."

The agency, which has an operating budget of $278 million, oversees four toll bridges and the PATCO commuter line from Center City to South Jersey. It did not respond to requests for comment.

The DRPA borrowed and spent $500 million for more than 14 years, ending in 2011, on projects unrelated to transportation, such as soccer stadiums and museums.

Most recently, the agency in 2011 gave $6 million for a new cancer center in Camden to Cooper University Hospital, whose board chairman is George E. Norcross III, the South Jersey political power broker. It also gave more than $300,000 to the Gloucester County Improvement Authority for flood-control work.

The DRPA board, comprising 16 commissioners split evenly between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has said it would not spend any more money on nontransportation projects. The board positions are unpaid.

Sweeney and others have noted that the agency had already taken steps to change past practices.

"My fear has always been we return to the old ways later down the road," said Pennsylvania Sen. John Rafferty (R., Montgomery), a bill sponsor. "We want to codify the changes that have been made and those we want to see made going forward."

The bill passed the Pennsylvania Senate, 50-0, in September, but Rafferty said he must restart the legislative process because all pending legislation died Nov. 30. The state House had not voted on it.

Supporters said the requirement of biennial audits was especially important, given inspector general Thomas Raftery III's resignation in September. He had complained of board interference; board members countered he was incompetent and wanted raises for himself and his staff.

While the legislation has stalled in the New Jersey Senate, there may be movement yet. Two Democratic senators signed on as sponsors. And Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D., Bergen) said she would introduce the bill this month in the lower chamber.

"I feel the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is not the only bistate agency that needs reform," she said. "The DRPA is also plagued by mismanagement, abuse, and wasteful spending."

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D., Hudson) said he suspected "such a bill would have the same level of support" as the now-vetoed legislation that would have overhauled the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"Increased transparency and accountability for these agencies," he said in a statement, "remains an Assembly priority."