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House Approves Public-Private Transportation Partnership Legislation
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The House Wednesday approved House Bill 3 (Geist-R-Blair) to enable Pennsylvania to explore and implement partnerships with the private sector to help rebuild the Commonwealth’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure.
Similar legislation-- Senate Bill 344 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery)-- passed the Senate in December and is now in the House Transportation Committee.
House Bill 3, which was approved by a vote of 128-66 with strong bipartisan support, establishes a broad-based framework authorizing transportation-specific public-private partnerships as a tool to help the Commonwealth meet its growing transportation infrastructure needs.
“With House passage today, we took a tremendous step toward enacting legislation that will open the door to unprecedented investment in Pennsylvania’s infrastructure at a time when it is desperately needed,” said Rep. Rick Geist (R-Blair). “While public-private partnerships alone cannot solve what has become an enormous transportation infrastructure funding problem, they certainly are a critical tool for the Commonwealth to have at its disposal as it confronts this problem.”
According to a 2010 study by the State Transportation Advisory Committee, an additional $3.5 billion a year is needed to fully meet immediate needs. Pennsylvania has the most structurally deficient bridges of any state in the nation-more than 5,000, or 26 percent of the state-owned inventory – and roughly 8,000 miles of roadway in very poor condition.
“A problem of this magnitude and urgency requires us to explore innovative financing and project delivery alternatives,” Rep. Geist said. “We welcome the opportunity to team with the private sector, engaging its financial resources and efficiencies, where feasible and where beneficial to the Commonwealth. In every scenario, protecting the public interest is paramount.”
A public-private partnership, or P3, is a contractual arrangement between a public entity and a private entity to deliver a public service. These partnerships, which have been successful in other states and around the world, provide an infusion of private-sector capital that accelerates the maintenance and improvement of roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Under a P3, the public entity maintains ownership of the asset, but contracts with a private entity to develop, construct, manage, operate and/or finance a given project.
“My legislation mandates nothing, but it enables the Commonwealth to harness the power of P3s where it is advantageous to do so,” Rep. Geist noted. “Projects that have been on the shelf will be undertaken, creating a multitude of jobs in the engineering and construction industries that are looking to get back to work.”
Rep. Geist is recognized nationally as the Legislature’s foremost proponent of public-private partnerships, having sponsored his signature piece of legislation and championed the concept for the better part of a decade.
“Without a doubt, this is one of the most satisfying days of my tenure in the House, and it is particularly satisfying to see that House Bill 3 passed with such broad bipartisan support,” he said. “I know that the Senate and the Corbett Administration are squarely behind my legislation, so I am confident we can soon get this bill to the governor’s desk.”
Enacting public-private partnership legislation is one of the major recommendations of Gov. Tom Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission, which issued its report last August.
“The governor’s commission recognizes, as did a previous commission convened during the Rendell Administration, that P3s are a key component of a comprehensive transportation funding plan,” Rep. Geist said.
Currently, 32 other states and Puerto Rico have enacted laws authorizing the implementation of public-private partnerships. P3s also are endorsed by the United States Department of Transportation.
“Providing a safe and reliable transportation system is one of the core functions of government,” Rep. Geist said. “Pennsylvanians’ safety and mobility, as well as Pennsylvania’s economy, depend on it. I envision P3s playing a vital role as we tackle that challenge.”
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4/9/2012 |
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