Weinberg Legislation to Reform NJ Transit, Empower NJT Board Clears Senate Committee

Trenton – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) issued the following statement after the Senate Transportation Committee voted 7-0 to advance S-2600, the bill she sponsored to reform New Jersey Transit and empower its Board of Directors:

“I would like to thank the Senate Transportation Committee for approving this important reform legislation today. For some years, there has been bipartisan concern about NJ Transit and its management. The problems are obvious—the deterioration of service, the failure to meet essential goals such as PTC, the inefficiency of management and the waste of resources.

“Four years ago, during the Christie Administration, the Legislature began investigating the cause of these issues under the joint committee chaired by then-Senator Bob Gordon and Assemblyman McKeon. That investigation uncovered a New Jersey Transit incapable of self-management. NJ Transit’s interests, its very mandate to provide transit service, had been subordinated to the short-term political concerns of the then-Governor’s Office. The agency was suffering a severe brain drain due to a growing exodus of middle and upper management. And there was no leadership—not on the Board, not at DOT, and not in the Governor’s Office—prepared to step up to the plate.

“It was to correct the problems caused by years of neglect of NJ Transit under the previous Governor that this Legislature passed S-630 two years ago. That law sought to permanently address the leadership issue at NJ Transit by providing for a strengthened Board with greater power over the running of the agency. The hope was that a competent Board would be able to resist the pressures that had blighted the corporation in years prior and ensure NJ Transit adhered to its mission.

“I am sorry to say that S-630 has failed to deliver the independent, competent NJ Transit that we hoped to create—and that our residents deserve. The expanded Board has still not been filled out, with two seats left vacant. The vaunted Customer Advocate failed to represent customer interests and has instead been made into a glorified PR representative for corporation management. The law gave specific duties to the Board, which are instead being performed by corporation management and the Administration.

“I want to be clear about something. I did not draft this bill, S-2600, merely because the corporation is behind on PTC, or because my constituents are disappointed in the quality of service. Two years ago we all readily admitted that NJ Transit would need some time to address its operational issues. The reason this bill is so vital is because the root cause for Transit’s ills—inconsistent leadership—has not been cured. I do not think it’s realistic to expect these operational issues to improve so long as this leadership issue remains unaddressed.

“With all that said, I’d like to discuss what this bill would accomplish. First, and most importantly, the bill would provide greater independence to the Board. As amended, the bill provides that the chair and vice-chair shall be elected from amongst its public members. Since the passage of S-630, the public members have been required to have certain expertise or experience. It is high time we allow these people to take the lead.

“The bill explicitly requires the Board to review, approve, and monitor the operational and capital decisions of the corporation, and to have a stronger hand in operational and capital planning. Today, the Board is often presented with policies already-decided-upon by corporation management or by DOT. This is backwards. The Board is not meant to be a rubber stamp, and this bill would ensure the Board holds real decision-making power.

“This power would extend to the hiring and firing of the Executive Director and the Customer Advocate, as well as approving the hiring of every executive at the level of Senior Vice President or higher recommended by the Executive Director. The Board would finally have the wherewithal to reward and discipline corporation management. This increased accountability should, over the long run, improve management at Transit. This would also make sure the Customer Advocate is providing information that is useful to the Board.

“The bill expands the purview of the Board’s audit committee, and further requires active collaboration between senior staff and the Board’s administration committee. Under this bill, the Board would not be a distant authority but an active participant in policy formulation. The bill opens the committees to the chairs of the two passenger advisory committees—passengers should have a voice in the Board’s work.

“And speaking of the passenger advisory committees, this bill also requires NJ Transit to seek out greater input from the public. The bill would require at least two public hearings each year prior to the adoption of Transit’s capital budget, with additional hearings for its strategic plan. The bill also expands the Legislature’s oversight role to ensure we can access the information we need to make relevant legislative decisions.

“We all have a lot of work to do if we want to ensure that NJ Transit is capable of delivering the reliable, on-time service its riders have a right to expect.”