The FHWA asked several States, construction companies, law firms, and consulting firms that specialize in innovative contracting for their views on whether and how laws, regulations, or practices should be changed to remove impediments to the formation of public-private partnerships. Below is a compilation of the suggestions we received regarding changes that should be made to Federal laws, regulations, and practice. Although the need for changes to State law were mentioned in the section on impediments, they are not covered in this chapter because the focus of this chapter is the Federal influence on the formation and use of public-private partnerships.
Although the U.S. DOT supports a number of changes similar to those listed below, the recommendations listed in this section are recommendations of those engaged in pursuing public-private partnerships, not the Administration.
Overall, the recommendations from a number of States reflect a common opinion that current Federal regulations are too restrictive and impede wider use of public-private partnerships on transportation projects. States would prefer the Federal government serve as more of a partner in advancing the use of public-private partnerships and not as an entity overseeing State decisions. In addition, it was suggested that the Federal requirements that apply to a project should be reduced if the level of Federal financial involvement is minimal.
The majority of comments received focus on measures to further streamline the environmental review process. The remainder of the comments address Federal financing and contracting regulations that impede the formation of public-private partnerships.