BATON ROUGE, La. — An Algiers lawmaker wants to pump the brakes on the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and its beleaguered board of commissioners.
“In recent weeks, our RTA system has been under fire,” Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-Algiers, said.
Half of the eight RTA board members resigned amid mounting questions over whether the transit system’s CEO was transparent about a contractor that performed roughly one million dollars in work without proper approval.
“We’re here to correct an issue from the bottom up, to make it better and stronger for the citizens that travel with the Regional Transit Authority,” Boyd told the House Transportation Committee.
Boyd’s bill would give the New Orleans City Council a say in who serves on the RTA board.
Five of the commissioners are now chosen by the mayor.
The bill also calls for the creation of a non-voting advisory board with union representation.
“What we’ve seen over the last 30 days is alarming with board members quitting, with a former employee being under investigation. We need to now take control of this,” Boyd said.
The RTA opposed the bill.
“It’s redundant, it’s unnecessary and won’t do anything to make it any more transparent,” RTA Lobbyist Rodney Braxton said.
The RTA released a statement after the committee advanced the bill to the full House for more debate.
"We are working with Rep. Boyd on HB544 to ensure that the accountability and transparency goals of the State are achieved. The agency currently holds monthly Riders Advisory Committee, Finance Committee, Operations Committee and Full Board meetings – all of which highlight operational performance and financial reports. We follow State and Federal procurement guidelines, including annual audits required by the Legislative Auditor."
The committee also advanced a second bill by Rep Joe Stagni, R-Kenner, that would allow Jefferson Parish to opt out of the RTA.
JP President Cynthia Lee Sheng testified the parish operates 11 bus lines while the RTA is responsible for one in JP, the Kenner Loop.
“We don’t believe the rider will suffer in any way and hopefully we can even make improvements on that line and that’s our intention,” Lee Sheng said. “All we’re asking is that this law be changed, so there can be some exit provisions, so that we can run our own lines at the end of the day.”
Lee Sheng also said in the future JP would still work with the transit authority by cooperative endeavor agreements.
According to the RTA, "We remain steadfast in our commitment to working with all our stakeholders to provide regional transportation as demonstrated with our recent expansion of routes into employment and education centers like Ochsner and Laitram in Jefferson Parish and Nunez Community College in St. Bernard Parish. We look forward to continuing cooperation with leadership in each of the surrounding parishes to improve the quality of life for people in this region."
That bill is also headed to the House floor.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.