Senate orders review of Port of Houston Authority

[ScreamingMeemie]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7582390.html

snip-

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has ordered a review of operations and policies of the Port of Houston Authority to investigate whether the body fully complies with state law, following reports of misuse of a tour vessel and possible conflicts of interest.

Sen. John Whitmire of Houston proposed the call for a Sunset Commission review in an amendment to a bill related to the powers of navigation districts and port authorities, The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday. The state Senate approved the review Tuesday.

Whitmire has been critical of the port's $71 million Bayport cruise ship terminal, which has not been home to a cruise ship since its 2008 completion.

Port Authority chairman Jim Edmonds and CEO Alec Dreyer have requested an investigation by the Harris County district attorney's office to ensure their activities have not violated state law.

-snip

[sonias]

1. About damn time

The Houston Chronicle link in your OP is coming up broken. Even on google, so the newspaper screwed it up.

So here's the same article at The Statesman:

Senate orders review of Port of Houston Authority

(snip)
"(The Port Authority) was created 100 years ago by the state," said Sen. Rodney Ellis, also of Houston. "I think that after a century it's a good thing to give it a top-to-bottom review to see if there are governance issues, accountability issues and transparency recommendations."

The Houston Chronicle has reported that Dreyer used the port's tour vessel for a private function, and that Edmonds had a contract with AECOM, a company that does business with the port. Edmonds said last week that his AECOM contract ended in March. Further details on the contract were not immediately available.

Shine some light in there!

:kick: