12885914-mmmain.jpg

Buses, Max Trains, cars, bikers and pedestrians share Southwest 6th Avenue in downtown Portland. Oregon lawmakers have called for an audit of TriMet.

(Jamie Francis/The Oregonian)

Secretary of State Kate Brown will conduct an unprecedented top-to-bottom audit of TriMet's operations, finances, governance and transparency under a bill approved Tuesday by the Oregon Legislature.

The state Senate voted unanimously to finalize the measure, which lawmakers say was prompted in large part by recent investigations by The Oregonian into sleepy drivers and managers receiving secret pay raises. Gov. John Kitzhaber has said he will sign the bill.

Even before the newspaper published the series of stories raising questions about how Oregon's largest public transit agency is being run, legislators had grown increasingly concerned by what have seemed like nonstop union fights, service cuts and red ink.

Rep. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale, the chief sponsor of House Bill 3316, said the audit probably wouldn't have been necessary if TriMet didn't have what he sees as a reputation for ignoring problems and operating behind closed doors.

"For an agency that controls as much money and as many lives as TriMet, transparency is very important," Gorsek said. "We need to know what's going there and why."

When asked for comment about the audit bill's passage, a TriMet spokeswoman referred The Oregonian to a statement posted on the agency's website.

"We will be fully responsive as the audit proceeds," the agency says in the statement.

TriMet noted that its finances are independently audited each year, while state and federal agencies regularly perform outside audits of its operations.

"These reviews provide important validation on the direction of the agency, but can also point out ways to improve our operations," the agency said. "We hope the secretary of state's audit will provide that same validation or recommendations on ways to improve related to recent questions raised about our finances, union contact, non-union compensation, governance and transparency, and other issues."

The House approved the bill by a vote of 85 to 1 last week.

Check back for more updates to this story as it develops.

-- Joseph Rose