Assemblyman Ramos Sponsors Bill To Investigate Port Authority

A bill to subpoena the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's finances—introduced, among others, by Hoboken's Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr.—was approved by the state legislature on Thursday. 

The new bill will enable the assembly's transportation committee to investigate all aspects of the Port Authority's finances. The bill will allow a the assembly's transportation committee to subpoena the Port Authority, based on "scathing reports and questionable decisions by the Port Authority during recent months," according to a press release from Ramos' office.  

John Wisniewski, who chairs the committee, said on Monday that New Jersey and New York lawmakers will also hold a special joint April 20 hearing on Staten Island to discuss the Port Authority's operations.

The ultimate goal of the new bill is to overhaul the way the Port Authority operates. 

"The back-pedaling, double-talk and lack of transparency has to change," Ramos said in the announcement. 

Last summer, , after a report from New York's comptroller's office revealed waste and mismanagement of funds. 

"This is a monstrous agency that impacts the lives of countless tri-state area commuters every day and yet they operate in the shadows answering to no one," Ramos said. "We must shine some light on the way they operate."