"Because transportation project sponsorship is typically a state or local rather than federal responsibility, public-private partnerships are generally entered into by state departments of transportation or regional or local transportation agencies. The federal government nonetheless can help set appropriate safeguards to protect the public interest, provide technical assistance, and foster best-practice peer exchanges among the states."(Paying Our Way - A Framework for Transportation Finance, National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission 2009, page 181)
The federal government, through the transportation authorization, should assist State agencies focus on the careful and prudent analysis, negotiation and oversight to ensure adequate protections of the public interest when entering into public-private partnerships. For state agencies to better address the mounting critical infrastructure crisis in their jurisdictions, and thus improve the mobility of the entire nation, the federal government should provide a regulatory environment that encourages the exploration of the utilization of public-private partnerships. In the next transportation authorization, we would recommend that Congress provide these state departments of transportation with the flexibility required to complement the traditional financing and delivery methods, by pursuing innovative financing and project delivery methods with the private sector. Congress should encourage state governments to develop the appropriate regulatory structure to best engage the private sector, rather than create a new federal regulatory regime.
New federal regulations regarding public-private partnerships should be limited in scope. Congress should focus on the aspects of transportation infrastructure governed by federal regulations and funded through federal allocations, coupled with TIFIA and Private Activity Bonds. Federal regulatory oversight should provide standards for facilities that are part of the federal interstate system regarding safety, availability, national emergency situations and tolling system integration. The primary motivation of federal involvement in the PPP procurement process should be towards ensuring transparency in the process, both in financial and engineering terms. The federal government can best assist states by providing a climate of public accountability when engaging the private sector. We look forward working with federal decision makers to help facilitate regulations and policies regarding PPPs that are both feasible and beneficial to the end consumer - the American public.