The commission's stranglehold on our ports is hurting business at the port," said Assemblywoman Anette Quijano (D-Union), one of the Assembly co-sponsors of the legislation. "While there is still a need to regulate this business to ensure fairness and safety, this job should not be done by the commission. Handing this responsibility over to the state police will ensure that business at the port is being conducted as it should be, without hampering progress."
But the bill (S3502/A2179) could also create some confusion about who will regulate waterways between New York and New Jersey, especially since the commission has been in place since New York, New Jersey and Congress agreed to create it in 1953.
In 2015, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill, indicating that it was potentially illegal for the Legislature of a single state to unilaterally attempt to dissolve such an agreement. But legislative leaders have indicated that Christie is likely now on board and the initiative to abolish has been fast-tracked during lame-duck, the last opportunity Christie has to sign bills before he leaves office in January.
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