Weinberg, McKeon Reform Bill Will Make NJ Transit Responsive, Transparent and Accountable to Commuters

Legislation putting commuters on NJ Transit Board, mandating public hearings, and requiring disclosure of fiscal, safety and personnel data clears Assembly panel  

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) today unveiled sweeping NJ Transit reform legislation that will add commuters to the Board of Directors, require expanded public hearings prior to substantial schedule changes, and mandate the disclosure of detailed fiscal, safety and personnel data.

“This legislation will make NJ Transit one of the most representative, responsive and transparent public transit agencies in the country,” said Senator Weinberg. “It responds directly to the concerns of commuters who too often felt in recent years that NJ Transit had stopped listening to them and stopped caring about their needs. We expect this legislation will help NJ Transit’s new leadership deliver the safe, reliable, on-time service its riders have a right to expect.”

“These reforms came out of months of joint investigative hearings by the Senate Legislative Oversight and Assembly Judiciary Committees, and incorporates recommendations from the Governor’s NJ Transit audit,” ” said Assemblyman McKeon. “We worked cooperatively with the Administration on the final amendments, and we are confident that the legislation will move swiftly through the Legislature and be signed into law.”

The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved the amended Weinberg-McKeon bill (S630/A1241) by a vote of 11-0 today, and it is expected to receive final legislative approval in both the Assembly and the Senate on December 17.

The bipartisan legislation, which is the most sweeping overhaul of the structure of NJ Transit since the agency was created 40 years ago, would:

• Create a new, broadly representative 13-member NJ Transit Board of Directors chaired by the Commissioner of Transportation that will include at least one  rail and one bus commuter; one representative each recommended by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and by the New Jersey members of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission; four public board members with transportation policy experience, including one each recommended by the Senate President and the Assembly Speaker; the State Treasurer and one representative of the Governor’s Office; and two non-voting representatives of the largest NJ Transit rail and bus employee unions.
• Expand public hearing requirements to mandate daytime and evening hearings, each of which must be attended by at least two NJ Transit Board members, for fare increases and for the elimination or substantial curtailment of service on any rail, bus or light rail line, and require the full NJ Transit Board to vote on these fare hikes or significant service changes.
• Require 50 percent of board meetings to be held in the evening, to facilitate commuters.
• Require NJ Transit to submit a two-year budget including operating and revenue projections, ridership data, employee statistics and the status of capital projects, by April 1 each year to enable the Legislature to ensure that the agency is adequately funded.
• Require the public disclosure of detailed data on accident and safety records, and on discrimination and harassment lawsuits.
• Require the appointment of a Chief Ethics Officer to investigate allegations of unethical conduct or illegal activity within the agency, and establish a whistleblower protection program and a toll-free hot line for reporting improper activity.
• Establish the right of legislative committees to call in NJ Transit’s chair and top two executives for public hearings.
• Set up broadly representative 15-member North Jersey and South Jersey Transportation Advisory Committees to be made up primarily of rail, bus and light rail commuters to advise NJ Transit’s management and its Board of Directors.
• Create a Customer Advocate, as recommended by the Governor’s NJ Transit audit, to represent the needs of commuters within the agency on a daily basis.
• Revise procurement and contracting provisions to make NJ Transit more efficient, and authorizes it to enter into contracts to operate passenger ferry and light rail service, which were not included in the original law.

The NJ Transit reform bill grew out of joint Senate-Assembly hearings held over a 15-month period following the fatal Hoboken derailment that were chaired by former Senator Bob Gordon and Assemblyman McKeon, with Senator Weinberg and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson serving as vice-chairs. The bipartisan measure is co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, who served on the panel.

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