PHILADELPHIA, JULY 30, 2010 — Following reports of alleged misuse of toll payer money at the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), state Sen. Anthony H. Williams has urged further inquiry into the matter.
He sent a letter today to Pennsylvania Treasurer Robert McCord thanking him for initiating a formal inquiry and asking him to share the department’s findings with the Pennsylvania state Senate.
Williams, who is the Democratic chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, said he will request the committee to hold public hearings and consider legislative remedies to ensure that proper code of conduct and conflict of interest safeguards are in place for DRPA’s future spending decisions. McCord’s inquiry findings, Williams said, will be helpful in the committee’s efforts to examine this issue.
“I’m highly concerned about these allegations because my constituents are using their hard-earned money every day to travel across bridges with DRPA tolls. They deserve to know if their toll money is being spent properly,” Williams said. “We need to take the proper steps on the state level to ensure that the DRPA is making proper spending decisions.”
DRPA is the creation of a joint-state compact between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and as a result, state laws that apply to most all other government agencies do not apply to the DRPA, such as the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Act, the Sunshine Act and the state Ethics Act.