Sen. Fasano Seeks Immediate State Review of All Port Authority Bids and Contracts

Today Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) wrote to Attorney General William Tong and Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw to request that both the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Policy and Management immediately review every bid offered and every contract signed by the Connecticut Port Authority since its establishment.

Sen. Fasano said that while the governor’s office has taken some important steps toward transparency and better control of the Connecticut Port Authority, the state still needs an immediate legal and financial examination of all contracts and bids.

Full letter from Sen. Fasano is below.

August 21, 2019

Attorney General Tong and Secretary McCaw:

I would like to request that the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Policy and Management immediately review every bid and every contract signed by the Connecticut Port Authority since its establishment.

I understand that the Office of Policy and Management has recently taken an active role in financial decisions for the Port Authority. I also understand that the interim board chair has been instructed to begin the process to contract an independent third-party audit. While those are important steps, I believe we are missing a needed joint effort to immediately examine information available to the state today from both a legal and financial perspective.

I believe there is a need for both OPM and the AG to immediately review all bids and contracts to better assist in bringing transparency to the Connecticut Port Authority. The examination of all current contracts, past contracts and bids is something that can and should begin immediately so that we are all made aware of any potential issues as quickly as possible. The results will also be of great assistance to the administration in overseeing financial decisions for the Port Authority moving forward.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,
Len Fasano
Senate Republican Leader