Hochul’s Veto of Port Authority Reforms Is Big Missed Opportunity

Governor Hochul could have signed S2901-A (Comrie) / A175-A (Paulin) and jump-started Port Authority reforms dating all the way back to the 2013 Bridgegate scandal. As she commonly does, the Governor could have used chapter amendments to edit out specific items she reasonably objected to, while leaving core reforms intact. 

Instead, the Governor vetoed the bill, ignored the unanimous, bi-partisan vote in both the Senate and Assembly and failed to bring New Jersey to the table to finally pass the same laws in both states – this is a big missed opportunity. 

The legislation contains a number of worthy proposals that we strongly supported – with a particular focus on the capital planning process. The new requirements would align Port Authority transparency with what is currently required for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, such as to publish a capital program dashboard and corresponding open data on capital projects – measures enacted with Governor Hochul’s support.

The onus is now on the Governor to move Port Authority reforms forward and provide the public and Legislature with her own plan to ensure that the public has greater confidence in the Port Authority. With a $9.4 billion proposed budget for 2025 (includes $3.6 billion for capital), the Port Authority is the second largest public authority in NYS behind the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.