As in the case of PPP projects, the United States is a late comer in the field of dedicated PPP units. While some states created PPP offices in their departments of transportation as far back as 2003, it is only in the last three years that U.S. states have established dedicated PPP units. Today, seven states have a PPP office though only three can be considered to be dedicated PPP units, based on characteristics identified in Section 4 and also Table 1.
Virginia. Virginia has had a transportation PPP program (the Public Private Transportation Act) since 1995, with the offices of innovative finance and project delivery involved in implementing the program. A review of the PPTA program in 2010 recommended the establishment of a dedicated PPP office to create a unified leadership team on PPPs, more accountable and more cohesive across several disciplines, and able to deal with multiple transportation modes.82
| Table 1. State PPP Offices | |||||
| State | Name of the PPP office | Location in the State Government | Dedicated PPP unit | Type | Year Created |
| Virginia | Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3) | Department of Transportation | Yes | Public agency | 2010 |
| California | Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission | Business, Transportation and Housing | Yes | Commission/ Advisory Board | 2010 |
| Michigan | Office For Public-Private Partnerships | Treasury Department | Yes | Public agency | 2008 |
| Oregon | Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding | Department of Transportation | No | Public agency | 2003 |
| Colorado | Colorado High-Performance Transportation Enterprise | Department of Transportation | No | Government-owned business | 2009 |
| Georgia | P3 Program | Department of Transportation | No | Public agency | 2009 |
| Washington | Transportation Partnerships Office | Department of Transportation | No | Public agency | 2005 |
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In December 2010, Virginia created the Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3). On June 6, 2011, the staff moved into permanent offices and officially opened.83 The purpose of the office is to develop, implement and administer state PPP projects across all modes of transportation. In this way, OTP3 serves as the authority on state transportation PPP projects across all modes. While housed by the Virginia Department of Transportation, OTP3 works closely with other state agencies (Department of Transportation, Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Department of Aviation, Virginia Port Authority, and Department of Motor Vehicles) to procure P3 projects. Virginia's PPP unit also works in coordination with the multi-modal Secretariat of the office of the Secretary of Transportation on PPP policy.84 As with international PPP units, the responsibility for the PPP project remains with the procuring transportation agency. OPT3 has nine employees and a budget for operational purposes provided by the Secretary of Transportation.85
California. As part of its 2009 PPP legislation, California created a Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission (PIAC) to advise the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and regional transportation agencies on developing PPP projects.86 Located in the Business, Transportation and Housing (BTH) agency, PIAC was created to facilitate and encourage the development of PPP projects. A group of 20 commissioners from academia, industry and government, provide feedback on transportation PPP projects proposed by California transportation agencies. The commissioners examine the business case of a proposed project, its financial soundness, its Value for Money, how it impacts state funding, and provide a recommendation on the best way to move forward.87 PIAC is funded by the BTH agency but has no line item in its budget.
The Presidio Parkway was the first project reviewed by PIAC. After several meetings, the commissioners recommended the California Transportation Commission to allow the public entities in charge of the project (Caltrans and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority) to pursue it as a PPP. After the PPP contract was concluded, PIAC provided an additional set of comments on its benefits and weaknesses and lessons for future PPP agreements in California.88
Michigan. In July 2008, Michigan created the Office for Public Private Partnerships to promote the development of PPPs in the state. The office is a statewide dedicated PPP unit in charge of helping state agencies to procure projects across all sectors. Similar to international PPP units, Michigan's office is located in the Treasury Department. This allows for flexibility in dealing with projects from any sector.
One of the innovations in the organization of the Michigan Office for PPPs is its funding structure. The unit was set up with the goal to become self-sustaining by including its expenses into the closing costs of PPP projects. Until the unit has operational PPP projects, it is funded through a loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The purpose of this type of structure is for the Office not to depend on state general funds and to also show performance and accountability.89
These three dedicated state PPP units differ in terms of functions performed. While Virginia's and Michigan's offices are full service agencies, California's PIAC is a mix of a review body and center for excellence. PIAC is focused on providing high-level reviews on the business case and on promotion of PPPs through the creation of a pipeline of potential projects. The projects in the PIAC pipeline are categorized based on their level of readiness for a PPP process. In addition, PIAC acts as a resource center of best practices and news on PPPs around the world.
Virginia's and Michigan's offices perform most of the functions of a PPP unit but while Virginia's helps only transportation agencies, Michigan's has jurisdiction over all sectors. Both units affect policies and best practices for PPP management, Virginia through its implementation manual of the PPTA program and Michigan through recommendations on policy and use of PPPs. They are reviewers of PPP deals proposed by agencies under their jurisdiction and they also provide them with technical assistance.
States are rapidly learning that they need to build capacity for development of PPP projects. Large and complex, PPP projects require expertise from the public sector in a range of fields. Virginia, California and Michigan understood this gap and set up dedicated PPP units in the last three years. While too early to tell if they are successful, these three PPP units are an experiment in new governance structures in developing the PPP market in the United States.