The state House of Representatives has passed a bill that one local legislator said is intended to place more “guardrails” on the Connecticut Port Authority, barring its controversial use of success fees and the ability to allow its own construction manager to apply for work on a project it oversees.

State Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, said she helped negotiate language of a revised bipartisan bill passed by the House on Wednesday that incorporates proposals pitched by herself and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague.

The bill, which has yet to be taken up by the state Senate, would bar a construction manager hired by quasi-public agencies like the port authority from bidding on elements of a project it oversees. The provision specifically addresses the fact that Kiewit Corporation, the company hired by the port authority to manage the $255 million State Pier reconstruction project, recommended itself for millions of dollars worth of work on the project. State Pier in New London is in the midst of being transformed into a staging and assembly area for the offshore wind industry.

Lawrence Fox, chairman of the State Contracting Standards Board, said in written testimony in support of the bill that the board received an inquiry from a legislator to investigate Kiewit’s ability to recommend itself for work. While the practice is not allowed in most state contracts because of the potential for a conflict of interest, Fox said the Connecticut Port Authority’s enabling legislation exempts it from the state statute that prohibits the practice. The board had recommended a legislative fix that would prohibit the practice for any state contract.

Connecticut Port Authority Board Chairman David Kooris, in an interview with CT Mirror earlier this year, said that Kiewit’s recommendations did not present a conflict of interest because the consulting firm for the State Pier project, AECOM, also reviewed bids for the project and made the same recommendation.

A second major provision of the bill that passed Wednesday would prohibit the port authority and other quasi-public agencies from awarding contracts with “success fees,” addressing another controversial subject for the port authority. The State Contracting Standards Board had investigated the port authority’s use of a $523,000 success fee as part of a $700,000 payment to a Seabury Capital Group, a consulting firm hired to find a port operator at State Pier. A managing director of Seabury previously had served as a port authority board member.

The State Contracting Standards Board had compared the success fee to a “finder’s fee,” which is prohibited in state contracts to ensure fairness in the bidding process.

“Fees for completing the work, which the contractor was already paid a fee to complete, are not considered an industry best practice,” Fox said in his testimony on the bill.

The two provisions of the bill, along with continued state oversight of port authority finances, provides “strong guardrails” to protect public funds being used for projects like State Pier, Conley said.

“The General Assembly needs to make sure the guardrails are stronger and continue,” she added.

“We have each year, incrementally, brought different parts of the port authority under control and I think we have to continue to do that,“ Osten said.

Fox said in his testimony that “I support this bill and any measures taken to improve the ethical processes with which the state does business.”

Conley said that there was concerns about some of the provisions in the bill from other quasi-public agencies. As a result, final language in the bill was revised to help alleviate those concerns.

A representative from the Connecticut Port Authority was not available to comment on the House vote. Port Authority Executive Director Ulysses Hammond has said previously that the authority welcomed legislative efforts to “clarify procurement policies and best practices for state and quasi-public agencies.”

Co-sponsors of HB6903 included state Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, state Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, and state Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R- East Lyme.

g.smith@theday.com