A Falmouth lawmaker is asking the state auditor to look into the operations of the Steamship Authority to ensure the ferry line is properly functioning. 

In a state committee hearing Tuesday, state Sen. Susan Moran told fellow legislators she requested that state auditor Diana DiZoglio conduct an audit of the authority in order to help “identify the current weaknesses of the authority as well as provide transparency and effective oversight.”

Her comments came during testimony for a bill Ms. Moran filed earlier this year that would change the Steamship Authority board’s voting process to give a greater voice to mainland communities.

Currently, the Vineyard and Nantucket representatives on the five-member board each have a weighted 35 percent vote, while representatives from Falmouth, Barnstable and New Bedford each have a10 per cent vote. 

The voting system is designed to give the Islands the strongest say in ferry operations, allowing them to supersede mainland towns if they vote together. 

Ms. Moran’s bill would require any affirmative vote to include one mainland board member, a change that is supported by many Woods Hole residents.

This change, in concert with an audit, would help strengthen the authority’s operations for both the Islands and mainland communities, she told the joint legislative committee on municipalities and government.

“I believe a successful audit and the passing of this bill will promote collaboration and compromise to resolve issues,” Ms. Moran said. “The Steamship Authority plays a vital role in the overall success and wellbeing of the Cape and Islands communities and it’s paramount that we as legislators make every effort to enable its prosperity.”

Steamship Authority spokesperson Sean Driscoll said the Steamship Authority is independently audited every year and, as a state agency, is subject to periodic state audits. In fact,  the auditor’s office recently completed an audit for the years 2020 and 2021, and a draft is being reviewed by the authority now, he said. 

“That should be out in the next couple of weeks,” he said. 

Ms. DiZoglio has made a name for herself on Beacon Hill for her attempts to audit the state legislature. In a statement to the Gazette Thursday, her chief of staff said the office was grateful for Ms. Moran’s advocacy and staff were currently reviewing ways to work with the senator to ensure her concerns are addressed in the next scheduled audit.

The Steamship Authority has recently come under fire for how it handled one of its freight boats coming untied from the docks in Woods Hole. But several Falmouth residents at Tuesday’s committee hearing called on lawmakers to make changes to the voting structure due to the ferry line’s freight boat schedule, which results in large trucks rumbling through Woods Hole in the early morning hours. 

“The harm of noise pollution is well documented but the Steamship Authority board’s structure allows the Island board members to ignore that harmful impact,” said Nat Trumbull, a Falmouth resident.

Ms. Moran previously filed the bill in 2021. She announced last week that she will not run for re-election in 2024.