The SAFETEA proposal would allow State and local governments, in the aggregate, to issue up to $15 billion in private, tax-exempt bonds to pay for highway facilities or surface freight transfer facilities.[380] The purpose of this proposal is to encourage greater private-sector participation in the financing of surface transportation infrastructure projects. This change would allow private entities to maintain tax-exempt status of bonds issued to finance surface transportation infrastructure projects. Under the proposal, the bonds also would be excluded from States' private activity bond volume caps, so that other types of projects eligible for tax-exempt facility bonds would not be displaced. This provision would help level the playing field for private entities interested in financing these types of projects.